shelley stein

Rochelle “Shelley” Stein’s opponent for the District 5 Genesee County legislator seat has said there is a disconnect between Stein and her Le Roy constituents, and The Batavian asked if she knew why or how she would address it.

The way Stein sees it, there was a tie at the Le Roy Republican Committee, resulting in a non-endorsement, and another non-endorsement at the county level, which means a Primary, she said. She is running against newcomer Laurie Mancuso for the District 5 seat on the Genesee County Legislature.

“And this is the democratic process, and I welcome the opportunity to confirm for folks that I'm doing the work that I was elected to do as the county legislator from Le Roy,” she said. “Some of the things that I can absolutely point to are the direct county investments in Le Roy, and that being a multi-year subsidy contract with Le Roy Ambulance so that we can lessen response time and maintain a robust EMS system here in Le Roy that also can respond in the county. We purchased equipment for Le Roy Ambulance for $185,000, and that puts life-saving equipment on those ambulances.

“We also have invested in the high-speed broadband available to all address points, and those investments improve the quality of life in Le Roy,” she said. “And just today, I know that Spectrum has been calling on folks on Thwing Road and North Road, and Griswold Road is on its way. These direct investments are incredibly important to people here in Le Roy.”

Stein said that she is a positive force working for Le Roy, and however other candidates want to campaign, “I am going to stick by what I have done, what I've brought forward of my work and my responsibilities at the county,” she said.

One bone of contention appears to be the sales tax agreement, which was discussed beginning in 2018 and approved on August 25, 2021. The deal capped sales tax distribution at $10 million for the city of Batavia, towns and villages within the county. Ever since, there have apparently been concerns and complaints by town board officials — a few of whom have spoken during county budget talks — and it was shared with Stein as “the crux” of issues with her reelection, she said.

“I’m very proud of the fact that this Legislature takes a long view on capital investments that have to be made, such as the jail and the change to the sales tax agreement that was done. The jail belongs to everybody here in the community, and this is what the county needed to do. It was a difficult decision to come to. It was difficult for legislators. It was difficult for our communities,” she said. “The county Legislature took the stance that when we could share extra, we would, as far as additional revenue distribution, and we actually did that twice. So we did what we said we were going to do.”

The deal was a way to pay off the state-mandated and unfunded $70 million new county jail, Stein said. By capping sales tax distribution, the county was able to reserve $4 million a year for the jail’s debt service.

“I don’t know how that was misconstrued, let me put it that way,” she said. “I’m the only candidate who has any sort of county experience or municipal experience, and I will continue to represent Le Roy in a positive manner.”

The sales tax agreement is for 40 years to match the jail’s debt service, she said. And it didn’t just happen.

“Conversations were had for three years ahead of this. There was a lot of conversation and explanation from the county, including the county manager and the county treasurer. However, this jail did not have any funding stream available from the state. There are no grants,” she said. “It is a requirement by the state of New York to replace this 100-plus-year-old jail, which, quite frankly, other legislatures had kicked down the road. We didn’t have any options left. So you stand up and you do the difficult tasks at hand, and you take the criticisms at the same time.”

As for Stein being elected as the county Legislature’s chairwoman, a two-year term she has consecutively served since 2020, she believes that has only bolstered her position both as a legislator and representative of Le Roy. 

Although her opponent has openly questioned whether it’s a distraction from her District 5 duties, Stein said she thinks “a strength the community would want to have in their elected leader is that other legislators have tapped me to be chair … that shows that there is a trust and a value that other legislators put in me.”

She also shared how her position as chair connects her to opportunities that she in turn communicates to her district officials.

“Just this week … I have shared with both our mayor and supervisor, village clerk and town clerk about the Rochester Area Community Foundation. They are targeting grants for rural communities this year, and I have been in touch with (a key official), asking that I can host a conversation in the county, I would prefer that it would be in Le Roy, of course, or somewhere close to Le Roy, where we can have them come in and talk to us specifically about how these grants are going to work, what the application deadline is, understand the mission of the Rochester Area Foundation, why they are targeting rural towns and villages in Genesee and Orleans County, And what the grant would look like on the front end and the reporting process on the back end.

“Gov. Hochul just announced $100 million available for municipal and not-for-profit community centers. So I again sent this off to both the town clerk, village clerk, the village mayor and the town supervisor because I know that there is an interest in revamping the community pool,” she said. “Then this same week, the consolidated funding application workshop was noted and, again, sent that off, and the GCEDC hosted a meeting for a workshop … so these communications I continue to share these opportunities with both the town and village because when I get these opportunities, sharing them is the best way to keep communication going, and the opportunity for our communities to apply to these grants.”

She added that for the past two years, the county has budgeted for each town and village to obtain up to $5,000  for grant-writing services — a way to bring back our taxpayers’ dollars in the state government to work in their communities, she said, and “all very positive.”

If you were reelected, what do you feel are the needs of Le Roy, and what would be your priorities?

Completion of the 2050 Comprehensive Plan
“That is really going to help us determine how we address challenges in our 10 focus areas,” she said, including the latest one of community wellness to address a lack of beds for end-of-life care; how to get communication out to seniors and sufficiently connect them to services and common tools they can use when not familiar with email and websites.

Obtain the total funding for the $150 million Phase 3 water capacity project
“The impetus of that focus for myself was the fact that we lost out in Le Roy on the Great Lakes Cheese plant, which would have brought hundreds of jobs to our community, and would have been able to help grow our community,” she said. “And that was in 2022 when we lost that opportunity for that economic development project, that really kick-started the focus on getting Phase 3 water capacity, and I have been diligent, committed, laser focused. 

"I have been the one who has the networks with our state and federal funding entities, our engineering folks, our water engineering folks," she said. "Tim Hens said it best: ‘this was the first time that they felt support from the Legislature to really buckle down and knuckle in on this water capacity.’ So that all started from a project that Le Roy lost.”

Initiate a land bank
To help renovate dilapidated homes, get them out of bank holdings and bring them back onto the tax rolls, put those homes back into homeowners’ hands.

The role of the Legislature chair is elected by the other legislators. Stein said that she would serve again if asked to do so by the other members, adding that “there is a lot of work that is unseen.”

For example, she is or has been involved in the Genesee Regional Transportation Council, which funds some bridge projects; the Genesee Regional Finger Lakes Planning Council that works on the comprehensive plan for the village of Le Roy; and three different committees that cover environment, agriculture and resources, and intergovernmental issues. 

She is on the National Association of Counties board, Ag Committee, the Rural Action Caucus, a liaison for Workforce Investment Board, Office For the Aging Advisory Board, Inter-county of Western New York, Genesee 2050 Comprehensive Plan, and GLOW Works Inc.

On a more personal note, Stein also volunteers and serves at Our Lady of Mercy as an Eucharistic Minister and Lector, has been a trustee of the Le Roy parish for 12 years, and has taught catechism doctrine classes for seven years. She was a 30-year volunteer at the Oatka Festival and was part of the Bergen and Le Roy America’s Best Communities grant program, which earned those municipalities a $25,000 economic development plan.

Her 70-year family farm has grown and raised a second generation of ownership, she said, with now its third generation “being interested, being active in agriculture, growing a farm and continuing on with farming,” Stein said. The current owners are her two children, Jerrod and Natasha, and her nephew, Nathaniel, while Stein remains involved as an employee. There have been some accusations of the relationship between her official position and Stein Farms having received grant money in the past.

“I don’t have ownership in the farm. Any grant awarded to the farm is competitive,” she said. “There is no connection to the county; nobody has that amount of reach.”

She stated that her voting record can be verified, and the only potential conflict of interest she recalled was related to a conservation easement. She left the meeting while the remaining legislators discussed the matter and took any related votes. The Batavian did not have time to review her prior voting records before publication.

Why do you believe you deserve the vote for District 5 legislator?
“Because I am steadfast here in Le Roy. I have experience in local government,” Stein said. “I learned what it was like as a town supervisor for eight years and now in the Legislature, that foundation of municipal experience has brought me to a place where I am knowledgeable, I am tested, proven, and I'm trustworthy. That's why I deserve people's votes.”

Early voting for this year's Primary begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Arc Community Center, 38 Woodrow Road, Batavia.

Nearly 3,000 households in Genesee County receive SNAP benefits on behalf of 4,796 adults and children, for a total mandated expense of $835,256 a year that’s on the table for cuts, Legislative Chairwoman Shelley Stein says, as part of the promoted “big, beautiful bill” in the House.

For the sake of argument, she rounded that up to an even $1 million and made her point crystal clear.

“That’s what the county would have to pay,” Stein said after an online meeting with New York State executives about potential repercussions from a proposed $15 billion in annual cuts plus mandated costs that would heavily affect state Medicaid, healthcare and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

While some taxpayers may champion cost-cutting measures to reduce government spending, Stein said some of these measures are likely to fall on taxpayers' shoulders.

“We don’t have a choice to say no,” Stein said. “It’s like the two-headed llama of push and pull, and the push is coming from the federal government. We don’t know what the response is going to be from the state government, but it’s important for our budget folks at the county to understand what that budget impact could be and be really factual about it. So that’s a big job for our staff, because what we saw today was the first time we’ve seen numbers about any program.”

Genesee County officials believe their voices are important, she said, by sending messages to Congresswoman Claudia Tenney seeking her support and explaining that “if our levy is $30 million for Genesee County, any impact on that is going to cost our taxpayers,” Stein said.

“It will also impact on our ability to do roads and bridges. It'll impact our ability to invest in our machinery. We just … moved from leasing a piece of equipment to owning a piece of equipment, which was with the wheel loader. But because we didn't have access to resources, we still owned the county nursing home, we were really struggling with our budget, so we're coming out of that. We know that there will be an impact. We just don't know of the total impact of it yet,” she said. “So somewhere there is going to be a compromise down the road. There has to be, because the counties are the backbone of being program providers for both the federal and state governments. I just hope they don't get us to the last inch of the cliff before those two levels of government can hear us.”

What makes you feel that compromise is possible, given that the federal government has not seemed so inclined to bend lately?
“Those are the programs put into place by the state and the federal government, which are put into practice by counties. They need us, and if we cannot sustain ourselves, I don't want to go down that road,” she said. “I’m probably more practical right now than most people. But I'm raising the voice of Genesee County. I am raising the voice of our taxpayers to our congressional representative, which is the thing to do right now, right? And we have a relationship. She's been to our county. She knows who we are. She comes from a rural area. She has that understanding, and she comes from an agriculturally backed family, so she takes that with her.”

Stein is also counting on Sen. Chuck Schumer's support. He has been “an incredible supporter of our STAMP campus and the companies that are investing there.” He and others “know who we are,” which bodes well for this county, she said.

She also wanted to make the point that New York is different from other states when it comes to federal funding.

“So when the federal government makes cuts, it doesn't impact the state, it impacts counties directly,” she said. “I think that folks don't understand that, and that's important to understand.

“So, where other states -- every other state -- is going to feel the impacts of whatever federal cuts happen. They're going to feel it at the state level. We're going to feel it directly at the county level. So, of course, it's going to be different for us in New York,” she said. “Do we know exactly how much it's going to impact us? Today was the first time that I'd actually seen numbers for our county.”

Other financial items being considered in the bill include:

- $1.3 billion increase in uncompensated care costs for hospitals.
- $3 billion in Medicaid costs shifted to NYS every year.
- Over 1 million Medicaid enrollees (15% of the entire program) would lose coverage.
- Work requirements and other changes would increase administrative costs by more than 20%.

The bottom line message via meeting host, Executive Director and general counsel for the state Association of Counties Stephen Acquario was that, without immediate congressional action to prevent these cuts and resulting outcomes, New York and its counties “face an unsustainable $15 billion negative impact that will force choices between raising taxes or eliminating essential services for our most vulnerable residents.”

The report prompted Chautauqua County Executive Paul Wendel Jr. to pitch a scenario of a collision between federal and state entities. He asked if Hochul had information that would indicate any type of compromise.

“This is a dangerous game of chicken,” he said.

Jen Metzger disagreed with compromise as a solution.

“We don’t want our citizens here in New York State losing their health care, and we have to push, push, push at the federal level,” the Ulster County executive said. “Depriving people of healthcare is not the way we want to go.”

There was still no consensus about the bill as of Wednesday night, though some officials said they were getting closer, as House Speaker Mike Johnson and the president worked to secure enough votes for passage, according to a New York Times article. 

Genesee County’s Conservative Committee pulled its endorsement for Dr. George Vito in his bid for the county Legislature’s District 5 spot, secretary John Roach says.

“The Conservative Party endorsed Vito and then found out he had some legal issues and thought he should have told us ahead of time,” Roach said Thursday. “The fact that he had issues and didn’t tell us … we were disappointed not to know ahead of time.”

Vito is a first-time political candidate and contender for the District 5 seat, giving a potential challenge to incumbent Shelley Stein. Neither candidate has received an endorsement from the county Republican or Conservative committees from official votes, and Stein did not get an endorsement from the Le Roy Republican Committee. 

Vito said Thursday that he was meeting with the Le Roy Republican Committee about his impending campaign and future decision to run for the seat. He wanted to have that discussion first before an interview with The Batavian. 

Stein said she is “motivated to first understand the reasons behind not receiving the endorsement for re-election this year.” County Republican Committee Chairman Scott German had said he was aware that people in Le Roy were not happy with her performance, and Stein believes it relates to the sales tax cap initiated in 2021. 

“That action was taken after several months of conversations and discussions with all municipalities,” she said. “The driver for the sales tax cap was the debt service for the new jail. The role of a legislator is to run the county with the perspective of the district, yet putting the county first.”

As for why her constituents may be disgruntled, she suspects it could stem “from the extra layer of responsibility I have as chairwoman.”

“There is much legislature discussion around issues, and once a decision is made, the chair must support it.  These decisions may not be popular with towns and villages,” she said. “I will continue to work hard and advocate for all citizens of Genesee County and faithfully execute the fiduciary duties of the position.”

Candidates will find out from the New York State Board of Elections in a week how many signatures they must obtain to get onto the ballot.

It seems likely there will be primaries in Genesee County’s future, with no endorsements for two candidates in each of the county Legislature’s District 5 and 9, County Republican Committee Chairman Scott German says.

“There were people that were adamant for Kathy or Bob, but they didn’t get 60% of the vote,” German said Wednesday of City Council members Kathy Briggs and Bob Bialkowski, who are vying for District 9.

Gary Maha has opted not to run for re-election, so there will not be an incumbent in the race for District 9. Briggs and Bialkowski will have to petition for signatures to get onto the ballot.

“I’m sure they will each have people that will help them pass,” German said. 

It’s a similar scenario for the two candidates for District 5, although incumbent Rochelle “Shelley” Stein has said she will run for re-election. A longtime member of the legislature for the last 14 years, Stein was not endorsed by the Le Roy Republican, the county Conservative or the county Republican committees. 

“I know that people in Le Roy are just not happy,” German said.

The Le Roy Republican Committee has not yet endorsed, and county Conservative Committee has endorsed newcomer Dr. George Vito, a podiatrist from Le Roy for District 5. 

After three votes, neither Stein nor Vito “achieved 60%,” German said of the County Republican Committee vote. They will also have to petition for signatures to get onto the ballot. German estimated they would need about 90 names. 

The county Republican Committee did endorse this week District Attorney Kevin Finnell, Chad Klotzbach for District 1, Gordon Dibble for District 3, and John Deleo for District 7.

There is also likely to be a primary this June in the town of Byron along with the two districts, German said. 

A phone call made to Le Roy Republican Committee Chairman Andrew Lathan early Wednesday evening for comment was not returned. 

The following requests were also given unanimous approval during the county Republican meeting, according to a news release:

• Maureen Torrey Marshall, a member of the Genesee Community College Board of Trustees, requested a recommendation to the Legislature for another term.
• Carl Hyde Jr., Supervisor for the Town of Bethany, requested to pursue his interest in being a candidate for New York State governor.
• Michael Cianfrini and Barbara Eddy, the present Genesee County representatives as New York State Committee members, were appointed to another term.

Sometimes, it’s the unspoken words that take center stage during something like a public budget hearing.

And the silence of no one who signed up to speak after Genesee County Manager Matt Landers presented his proposed nearly $1.9 million budget for 2025 indeed said something to Legislative Chairwoman Shelley Stein.

“The silence is meaningful because, as everyone is aware, all of our local government leadership is aware that sales tax revenue is down, and we aren't going to even make what we have budgeted for this year. And that was the pot of money that we had that was available to share,” Stein said after the hearing Wednesday at the Old County Courthouse. “But something that we do do is we make available to each community the opportunity to have the county pay for and provide a grant writer. So our communities are taking advantage of that, and you will see some of the recent wins that we've had in those communities. So, you know, a little bit of seed money that brings other people's money into the county has greater value than what we could do by giving an extra dollar of revenue distribution.”

In the last couple of years, at least one or two town supervisors have asked if the county could loosen the purse strings and allow more sales tax to be shared amongst the municipalities. During his talk, Landers explained that a lack of sales tax was a major challenge in creating this coming year’s budget.

So, as it stands, the proposed plan is a 3.4% increase, or $6,264,607, from this current year’s adopted budget. Reasons for the increase include a $1.9 million increase in preschool supportive health services program costs, $1.5 million in state retirement system cost increases, $727,000 increase in medical expenses, and $200,000 more in the 730 court-ordered competency evaluation costs, he said. 

“We were able to hold the line for a couple of years, but just the second year in a row where we have sweeping cost increases on the medical side. This chart basically shows you know there's, we believe, no end in sight for mandate relief,” he said. “Over 95% of our property tax money goes directly to New York state-mandated costs. It'll be something that we continue to watch in the future. One of the fears we have is when the New York State Budget starts to go when it starts to become more challenging, and they do show how the reports that we get from NYSAC (New York State Association of Counties) indicate years of pledge deficits. There's always a fear that that just basically ends up resulting in a mandate push down to the counties. So when we're already at over 95% of our tax levy already on mandated services, there isn't much room to grow.”

With a shiny new $70 million county jail, that comes with $3.8 debt service payments in the general fund, plus operational, utility and contracted medical cost increases for the facility, he said.  

“At this point, water expenditures continue to be funded with water revenues. But there is a looming $150 million Phase 3 of the water system that has us turning over every stone to try to minimize future general funding,” he said.

He has recommended using a property tax levy of $33,630,739 toward the budget, an increase of $908,362, or 2.78%, from this year. Due to increased property assessments, he said, the tax rate will decrease by 51 cents per $1,000 assessed value, lowering the current rate of $8.08 to $7.57 per $1,000 assessed value.

If the county Legislature adopts this budget, it would mean an annual bill of $757 for a property assessed at $100,000, versus this year's tab of $808, for a decrease of $51 if a homeowner has not had a property assessment increase.

However, if a home's value went up from $100,000 to $125,000, it would mean that a home that cost $808 yearly would now cost $946.25, for an overall yearly increase of $138.25 due to that increased assessment. 

Landers wants to offset expenses by $2.5 million out of the county’s fund balance and $639,653 out of the Medical Reserve Fund. The budget would include $1 million for infrastructure spending on large span culverts; one full-time public works project manager and a part-time program assistant for the county park; 10 full-time corrections officers for the new county jail; and one each part-time financial clerk typist and discovery clerk for the Sheriff’s Office.

Infrastructure investments also include $4 million in capital projects for airport upgrades, building maintenance, information technology upgrades, Sheriff’s Office equipment upgrades — tasers, body cameras and guns — highway equipment replacement. 

Annual payments of more than $500,000, per previously signed contracts, are also included for Mercy Flight and Le Roy Ambulance to provide dedicated ambulance service to the county, he said. 

Listing three pages of budget challenges, Landers reviewed the rising employee retirement and medical costs, unfunded mandate increases, which include assigned counsel and 730 mental health restorative costs, and reduced sales tax — the first time since 2000 that sales tax revenues have declined year over year and falling under budget for 2024, he said.

The legal system is costing the county quite a chunk of money, to the tune of that extra $200,000 for the 730 mental health court and an additional $123,530 for assigned counsel costs, for a total spending of more than $1.8 million.

What is the 730 mental health court?
When a criminal suspect with mental health issues enters the justice system following an arrest, that defendant has a constitutional right to understand the proceedings, whether the defendant eventually ends up accepting a plea offer or facing trial.

In New York, that right is also protected by statute in Article 730 of the Criminal Procedure Law. The purpose of Article 730 is to ensure that a defendant is able to understand the charges against him or her and participate in his or her own defense.

Officials in Genesee County have wanted to see the law changed because it is outdated and getting increasingly more expensive with less efficiency than more contemporary options for dealing with a defendant's mental health capacity.

What is assigned counsel, and why are costs going up?
Assigned counsel costs "have been increasing drastically," primarily due to the state increasing the pay for assigned counsel attorneys from an hourly rate between $60 and 75 (depending on whether the offense was a misdemeanor or felony) to $158 an hour, more than doubling the cost of representation, Landers said. 

“This is for people that both meet the financial criteria for publicly paid for representation and have a conflict that prevents representation by the Public Defender’s Office,” he said. “In 2022, the county spent $624,336 between Criminal Court and Family Court assigned counsel.  In 2025, that budgeted figure has increased to $1,828,800.”

He thanked staff and department heads for the “team effort” to deliver an on-time budget that falls under the tax cap.

“I’m very happy that the legislature provided clear guidance. I feel like any time that I could reach out and communicate issues, this was my toughest budget because I didn't have a sales tax to help offset us … I felt like it was a team effort that department heads worked with me, delaying, pushing out costs in future years, if possible,” Landers said. “At this point, the budget is in the hands of the Legislature. Future budget meetings will be held to arrive at a consensus with the Legislature and make changes as recommended to manage the budgets. I hope for full adoption at the November 25 meeting, and feedback and input from the community is always welcome.”

Since the budget was just turned over to legislators, they would be reviewing and discussing it, Stein said, however, “when you have 98% of your tax levy as mandated services, it is really hard.”

“There’s almost nothing left to cut, and those things that we would cut are the highly valued quality-of-life issues such as our county park, such as our participation with our outside agencies of GO ART!, Cornell Cooperative Extension, our Workforce Development folks; those are not meaningful cuts, and so we appreciate the value that we can bring to our community through those, but also through our partners in our town, in our villages, in our city, where we offer them opportunities to participate with us, and they take advantage of that,” she said. “So we are happy to be a good partner, and we look for good partnerships because shared services is the only way that we’re going to get through what we have ahead of us today.”

For the full proposed 2025 budget, go HERE. 

The Birds and Bees Protection Act is a seemingly simple enough and all-natural sounding title that most anyone would be for it, wouldn’t they?

Well, not everyone. Shelley Stein, CEO of Stein Farms in Le Roy, said she had to speak up as a farmer and "a person who understands the ramifications of policy on our farmers, and our consumers, and what this is going to mean to the economy of Genesee County."

Stein has stood up against the act, now approved by the state Senate and Assembly and is awaiting signature by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

What it is
The county legislature chairwoman has her work cut out for her, not only going against a bill meant to protect nature’s precious wildlife, but also against a purported expert extolling the virtues of a Cornell University study to back up the move to prohibit the “sale, distribution or purchase by any person within the state of corn, soybean or wheat seeds coated or treated with pesticides with the active ingredients clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, or acetamiprid,” as of Jan. 1, 2027.

In the simplest layman’s terms, Stein’s position is for coating the seeds in the ground with chemicals to kill maggots that wreak havoc with the crops and allow farmers to continue with their current soil management practices that encourage earthworm activity. Once the crop emerges from the ground, she says, the chemical does not harm the birds and bees in the air waiting to pollinate and feed.

If they did not treat the seeds and maggots were allowed to grow, farmers would have to more aggressively till the soil, destroying the earthworms and related best soil management practices they’ve had in place, she said, and more pesticides would potentially be used in the air to save the crops.

What does all this mean for the end result — the crop and the consumer? Potentially less harvest and more expensive produce.

Stein wrote a rebuttal to the "Times Union" after it endorsed the act and urged the governor’s approval.

Why it's important for NYS and specifically Genesee County

"New York farmers have only one shot each year to grow a crop of corn or soybeans, and waiting under the soil are insects like the seed corn maggot that love to gobble up seedlings before they emerge," she said in her opinion piece. "Coating minute amounts of neonic pesticides on corn and soybean seeds is a proven practice to keep the maggots away and assure a successful crop — but legislation passed this year would take this tool out of New York farmers’ toolbox."

Things to consider with this bill: it’s being touted as a “first-in-the-nation” measure, one that hasn’t passed in any other state. Why is that? Stein believes she has at least part of the answer. And it isn’t that the other 49 other states have less knowledge about “neonics” being used on the crop seeds. The same senator who was involved with this measure on the West Coast is now leading the charge in the East. 

"It's an important topic for farmers in New York State to win because we're the only state that these neonics will be taken away from in the U.S.," she said. "And I will just say this, it's really an alluring title of this bill. You know, Saving the Birds and Bees Protection Act. Yeah. Everybody would say well, that's a great idea. Sure, a really great idea. And we believe, as farmers and as an agricultural community, that we can absolutely do that and still be able to mitigate losses of crops and do this to the seed corn maggot. And it's the same maggot that takes its bite out of soybeans as well.

"And so this is the senator who brought this forward; he represents a portion out of Manhattan. And I believe that he thinks, according to the title, I think he thinks it's a great idea. He doesn't have any committee assignments that have to do with food and agriculture. And when the  Natural Resources Defense Council tried to do the same thing in California, California got wise and they turned him down. And so he becomes this champion, even though his district doesn't grow any corn or soybeans."

Background study #1
What about that in-depth Cornell University study that showed no economic benefits to users or provided safer, effective alternatives rather than the neonic coatings (pesticides) on corn, soybean and wheat seeds?

This assessment is based on averages, Stein said, and not on individual farm risk assessments.  

"A catastrophic loss on one farm means everything to that farm business, yet statistically, it gets lost in the shuffle when averaged over all farms," she said.

She used her own dairy farm as an example of items to be assessed, and that cannot be "averaged away" with risk factors "and expect to have sufficient feed for my herd."

Those considerations include relative seed corn maggot threat level in each of her fields, the date of planting and field soil temperatures, and the market price of feed -- corn grain and silage, and soybean meal -- to replace potential loss of crops.

Who's involved
There is quite a list of advocates for the ban, including the Sierra Club, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, Environmental Advocates of New York, Clean + Healthy, the New York League of Conservation Voters, National Audubon Society, the Bee Conservancy and Physicians for Social Responsibility of New York.

New York beekeepers claim they have lost more than 40 percent of their bee colonies largely due to neonic pesticides. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Brad Holman-Sigal, represents the 47th district in Manhattan and is a staunch supporter of banning the seed pesticide use in a string of platforms he has run on and endorsed for rights pertaining to the environment, civil liberties, LGBTQ, child victims, housing, transportation, public education and seniors.

The New York Farm Bureau has led a coalition of opponents in urging lawmakers to reject the bird and bees proposal, as it is counter to New York's sustainability goals within the New York Climate Action Council and will force farmers to use less environmentally friendly means of pest control, as Stein said, including increased tillage and airborne pesticides.

Treating the seeds, however, is environmentally superior to aggressively tilling the soil -- making more trips across the field -- to destroy maggot habitats, Stein said, which requires fossil fuels and releases carbon to the atmosphere. Best soil management practices "help make soil more fertile, more robust, if you allow earthworms to do their jobs," she said.

Pollinator experts have also identified other issues impacting pollinators, she said, such as bee parasites, malnutrition, declining habitat and diseases, "that are far more significant than judicious pesticide use."

Background study #2
Stein also pointed out that there is another Cornell study that has been ignored by politicians. The first one was done "only on economics, and it used averages. The second study that was done by Elson Shields, who's an entomologist, so he's the Bug Guy ... it is the study that's actually practical in the field," she said.

That field study, related to the seed corn maggot, corn crop and economic viability of using untreated seeds, was performed in 2021.

Research data collected in controlled studies during 2021 at the Cornell Musgrave Farm located in Aurora showed that in corn production following a cover crop, seed corn maggot economically damaged 54 percent of the non-insecticide seed-treated plots ranging from 11 to 62 percent stand losses.

These losses would be economically devastating to a farmer, where the farm loses yield on 54 percent of their acreage, ranging from $40 to $400 per acre.  Since predicting which fields will be attacked by seed corn maggot prior to planting is difficult and imprecise, the prevention of yield losses ranging from $40 to $400 per acre on a third of the acreage "easily compensates and is economically justified for the $5 per acre cost of the insecticide seed treatment for all acres," the study stated.

"Given that conservation practices such as reduced tillage and planting cover crops to reduce erosion and runoff are not only encouraged but also incentivized in New York State, it is important to understand that in the absence of these seed protectants, farmers may revert to planting fewer cover crops to avoid losses to seed corn maggot," it stated.

Go HERE for the full study. 

Final word
The Batavian asked Stein if politicians -- Gov. Kathy Hochul at this point in time -- are equipped to be making this type of decision for farmers and those that depend on them.

"The (Environmental Protection Agency) allows this practice in every other state in the nation, except for the actions of New York State, and there are those that would tell you that New York State doesn't want any agriculture anymore on our lands, which doesn't make any sense, because agriculture is New York State's number one industry as far as the economy goes, and land use goes. There's a push for high-quality local affordable food. This bill takes that away from us as well," Stein said. "Do I believe that Governor Hochul is well equipped to be making this final vote? Here's what I know. The governor represented our area as a congressperson. She is well aware of what our economy in the center of the state is based on. And she knows the negative impacts of the policies of the Democratic Party and the toll that it's taken on agriculture. I find it hard to believe that she would put one more nail in our coffin."