File photo by Tom Rivers – This photo was taken in 2013 in an Albion orchard on Zig-Zag Road.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressmen Chris Collins (R-Clarence) says will he try again to get legislation passed in Congress to promote the cider industry.

Collins and Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon, are reintroducing the bipartisan Cider Industry Deserves Equal Regulation (CIDER) Act. The Act, HR 600, would amend the section of the tax code that deals with wine and related beverages, 26 USC § 5041, to support the growing number of craft and entrepreneurial cider makers, and tailor IRS rules to reflect variations in craft ciders across the country.

“I am proud to introduce legislation that will support our nation’s apple growers and cider makers,” Collins said. “The CIDER Act will help spur growth in these industries by restructuring taxes to fairer rates that take into account the natural variations in the cider making process.”

During the fermentation process, a variety of factors can lead to small changes in the composition of a cider’s alcohol content and carbonation. Because of the narrow way that hard cider is currently defined in the tax code, these small variations can lead to cider being taxed at a rate fifteen times higher than what the statute clearly intended.

The Collins-Blumenauer bill would update the tax definitions to greatly reduce the chance that improper taxation could occur. The bill would also broaden the definition to include both pear and apple ciders.

The changes proposed by Blumenauer and Collins will update the existing federal definition of cider to better reflect the industry and keep American cider competitive in the international marketplace, Collins said.

Production nationally has been robust, more than tripling from 9.4 million gallons in 2011 to 32 million gallons in 2013. Cider revenues in the U.S. have been just as impressive, tripling from $178 million in 2007 to $601 million in 2012.

“Cider making is sometimes closer to an art than a science,” Blumenauer said. “As the American apple and pear hard cider industry becomes more prominent on the world stage, and cider becomes a beverage choice for more Americans’ developing palettes, we need to ensure that cideries have every opportunity to expand and meet the needs of this growing market without an unfair tax burden.”

Collins previously introduced CIDER legislation in 2013. He held a news conference in September 2013 at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina, trying to promote and highlight the legislation.

Wendy Wilson, the winery’s president, said then that a change in the tax code, taxing hard cider at a reduced rate, would save the winery about $8,000 annually in taxes. That money could be used for more marketing to draw more people to the area, she said.

Failing bridges and infrastructure also a challenge for agriculture industry

File photo by Tom Rivers – SweeTango apples head down the packing line at Lake Ontario Fruit in Gaines in this photo taken in September. Lake Ontario Fruit packs about 1.1 million bushels of apples each year for the fresh market.

Press Release, NY Farm Bureau

New York Farm Bureau outlined its 2015 state priorities for creating a stronger economic climate for every farmer in the state. Farm Bureau President Dean Norton of Elba presented the legislative agenda with NYFB’s Public Policy Director Jeff Williams during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.

“Investing in agriculture is investing in New York,” Norton said. “Our farms make large contributions to their rural economies and the character of their communities both upstate and on Long Island.”

Norton highlighted a couple of initiatives that look to drive the farm economy including support for a refundable investment tax credit. This would encourage greater investment into equipment and also be helpful for younger farmers who may be in greater need of capital to handle the startup costs of owning a farm. That money typically stays right in their communities. Purchasing construction supplies, machinery, or new technology has a multiplier effect supporting additional local businesses and jobs.

In addition, Norton called for reforming New York’s inherent risk law for equine operations. Many horse farms across the state are increasingly concerned about the rising costs of insurance for horse boarding operations and riding stables. Many 4-H clubs no longer can house horses because of the insurance liability. Forty-six states recognize this concern and it is time for New York to join their ranks. Without reform, running a horse-related business that also supports tourism and the joy of riding is becoming more difficult.

A number of NYFB priorities for this year look to expand access to local food. This includes support for regional food hubs and requiring the NYS Office of General Services to provide OGS warehouse space to house local food product for transport to state institutions and schools. A stronger food distribution system will help connect farms with more consumers, especially in urban areas.

To encourage even greater farmer participation in donation programs and to get more food to low-income New Yorkers who need it, NYFB is advocating for a tax credit for locally grown donations by farmers to food banks. This will help offset some of the production costs while also supporting some of New York’s neediest families who are looking to put healthy food on their dinner tables.

NYFB has long been a supporter of the State’s Environmental Protection Fund. This money provides for the cost-sharing of a number of critical programs farmers use to protect water quality. It is also earmarked for Soil and Water Conservation Districts, farmland preservation, and efforts to combat invasive species.

NYFB is encouraged by the funding increase in Governor Cuomo’s budget and will work with the State Legislature to secure even more money for these necessary programs. The same goes for additional dollars to fund research and promotion programs for many different commodities including wine and grapes, apples, maple, bees, turf grass and Christmas trees.

NYFB also is asking the Legislature to re-establish funding in the state budget for Quality Assurance and Quality Control programs for CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) planners across New York. These are the people who design and implement certified nutrient management plans on farms to help safeguard the environment and public health. It is essential that we invest in the planners so they can all perform at the same high standards. In addition, this would support continued conservation efforts on dairy farms across the state.

Finally, growing locally produced food means nothing if farmers cannot get the goods to market. That is why NYFB is encouraging additional funding for infrastructure improvements. Some municipalities have had to lower weight limits on bridges instead of addressing real structural issues. This causes large farm equipment and transport trucks to go miles out of their way, wasting fuel and driving up transportation costs.

On a similar note, NYFB would like to see the creation of a “Farm E-Z Pass” that would provide a discount to farmers hauling product along the Thruway. This would again reduce road and bridge tolls for farms delivering food to places like New York City, making the trip, and ultimately the food, more affordable for farmers and consumers alike.

“We are the largest industry in upstate New York and we can help a lot of local communities with their job growth and tax base by investing into food and farming programs,” said Jeff Williams, NYFB Public Policy director.

Wilbert Rhinehart, 85, had ‘gift of gab’

Provided photos – Wilbert Rhinehart is pictured with bales of straw in this photo from 2010.

MIDDLEPORT – The Western New York agricultural community is mourning the loss of Wilbert H. Rhinehart, a popular owner of a feed, fertilizer and farm store in Middleport.

Rhinehart, 85, was killed on Saturday in Royalton on Akron Road when a southbound vehicle, driven by 39-year-old James Zak of Royalton, slid into his vehicle, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department reported.

Mr. Rhinehart is a former hog and chicken farmer who built up a feed and fertilizer business that survived and grew amidst intense competition from corporate giants.

“He was popular and well respected,” said Mike Zelazny, a grain farmer in Medina. “He always took the time to talk to farmers.”

Zelazny’s father Walter started the farm a half century ago. He was a Rhinehart customer, and a big fan.

Wilbert Rhinehart is pictured around 1960.

Rhinehart did more than offer customers a good price, Mike Zelazny said. Rhinehart enjoyed dispensing advice about planting techniques, fertilizer applications, seed depths and populations, and he had lots of ideas for marketing corn, wheat and soybeans.

Zelazny said his father would often go to deliver a load of grain. When trucks were backed up at a mill, Rhinehart was often the center of attention, telling stories and giving tips. Farmers would gather around Rhinehart while waiting for their turn to unload their crop.

Rhinehart was always industrious, his son Butch said. “Wil” grew up in the Great Depression in the City of Lockport. Rhinehart as a kid had chickens and sold their eggs to make a little money. He had friends who lived on farms, and Rhinehart preferred life in the country.

He had chickens and hogs, and sold fertilizer and lime on the side. He would receive 50-pound bags of fertilizer from railroad cars and bring the product home. He would sell it over the winter and spring. He also had a spreader for lime.

At one point, Rhinehart has 10,000 chickens and about 500 pigs. Butch, now 60, would get up at 5 a.m. as a kid to collect the eggs.

Rhinehart would shift the base of the fertilizer business from the family homestead in 1957, when W.H. Rhinehart began in Middleport. The family added a new location about a decade ago with the expanded W.H. Rhinehart store, a warehouse and fertilizer plant on Carmen Road.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Brett Rhinehart and his father Butch said they are proud of the legacy left by Wilbert Rhinehart.

Butch and his son Brett, 34, work at the site with six other employees. Wilbert Rhinehart was a daily fixture at the business seven days a week. He worked Saturday morning before the car accident.

His grandson marveled at Rhinehart’s memory, and his close friendships with so many customers.

“He loved wheeling and dealing,” Brett said on Wednesday at the Rhinehart store. “He had the gift of gab.”

His grandfather detested the Thruway and the main roads. He preferred driving on the country lanes to see what the farmers were doing.

“He knew every back road from here to Ohio and Pennsylvania,” Butch said. “He could remember roads he hadn’t been on in 20 years. He had a photographic memory.”

Rhinehart worked in the business for 40 years with his wife Joan. They would drive together in the morning and ride back together after the work day. The couple purchased the Resseguie’s Feed Mill on Orchard Street in Middleport in 1973. Mrs. Rhinehart passed away on Sept. 10, 2010.

Joan and Wilbert Rhinehart, pictured in about 1965, had four children and built a business together.

Butch said his father tried to keep prices low for farmers. If it was a bad year for a crop and farmers couldn’t pay their bill, Rhinehart would give them another year to pay when prices had rebounded.

His background as a farmer won him respect among his customers.

“Because he was a farmer at one time, they viewed him different as being from Corporate America,” Brett said.

Rhinehart was slow to embrace credit cards for the business, and he didn’t like computers. But he didn’t stand in the way when Butch and Brett pushed to modernize the operation.

“For 50 years he never advertised,” Butch said. “It was just word of mouth and it kept growing. We kept the prices low and farmers talk when the prices are low.”