Assemblyman Joe Giglio (R,I,C-Gowanda) today called on the people of the Southern Tier to join him in celebrating Dairy Month in New York state. Dairy Month is an annual celebration honoring dairy farmers and the safe, wholesome products they produce daily.

Giglio and his Assembly colleagues held the annual Dairy Day reception this week in Albany to recognize the importance of dairy farming in New York state. State agriculture representatives and members of New York’s dairy industry attended the event, which has become a legislative tradition.

“Dairy Month is not like any other monthly designations that exist,” said Giglio. “It has special meaning for us in the Southern Tier because of the importance of the dairy industry to us locally and the number of hard-working dairy farmers we have in our region.”

New York’s dairy industry generates $1.84 billion from the sale of milk by 7,200 dairy farmers, which is more than half of the state’s total agricultural receipts. Nationally, New York ranks first in the production of cottage cheese, and third for fluid milk, Italian cheese, and total cheese production.

To aid dairy farmers negatively impacted by last year’s low milk prices, $30 million was set aside in this year’s state budget for the Dairy Assistance Program, which will provide cash payments to farmers to offset lost earnings resulting from a price drop.

“A productive agriculture industry is crucial to our region’s economic success, which is why I am committed to pursuing legislation that aids in its long-term viability,” said Giglio.