Goshen farmer thanks Sen. Gillibrand; says Inflation Reduction Act will help eliminate debt

Pawelski Farm's Chris Pawelski welcomed Sen. Kristen Gillibrand to his farm Monday in appreciation for the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act.

News 12 Staff

Aug 29, 2022, 9:49 PM

Updated 835 days ago

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One Goshen farmer is feeling thankful now that he and his fellow farmers will be getting the government relief they've been desperate for.
Pawelski Farm's Chris Pawelski welcomed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to his farm Monday in appreciation for the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The act includes $3.1 billion to help pay off independent farmers' debts.
"Right now, I'm in a huge amount of debt, the kind of debt where you can't sleep at night,” said Goshen farm owner Chris Pawelski.
Pawelski helped write the new law during his several visits to Washington in the last three years. He told News 12 that recent trade policies, floods, hurricanes and the current drought have put him and other local vegetable farmers way behind for years.
"It was getting extremely difficult,” he added. “I'm looking at the bulk of what I would earn this year would go toward my loan payments basically. This is going to take that edge off a little bit."
Pawelski hopes to benefit from the program in two ways: getting more than $200,000 in debt paid off and modernizing the farm by investing more in a protective, bio-degradable plastic which would reduce tractor-use and man-hours.