Sen. Gillibrand secures seat on agriculture panel

WASHINGTON — The last time a New Yorker won a seat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand probably wasn't walking.

And he left before she was in first grade.

Mrs. Gillibrand carved out a rare role for herself in asking for, and receiving, a slot on the Agriculture Committee, where she will find herself surrounded by people without much interest in New York dairy farmers — but whose interest she will surely seek. Only four other New Yorkers have served on the panel since it was created in 1825, according to the Office of the Senate Historian.

The most recent was Sen. Charles E. Goodell, a Republican from Jamestown, appointed by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller to replace Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. His tenure was short; he lost to James L. Buckley in a general election two years later.

"I hope that's not a precedent," said Julie Suarez, a lobbyist for New York Farm Bureau. The group enthusiastically supported Mrs. Gillibrand as Gov. David A. Paterson's choice for the seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Before Mr. Goodell, the previous New York voice was that of James W. Wadsworth Jr., a Republican from Geneseo, on the committee from 1915 to 1921.

Perhaps the most illustrious was Warner Miller, a native of Oswego County and a Republican, who chaired the committee from 1883 to 1887. He lost a bid for re-election, then ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York in 1888.

Prior to him, Silas Wright Jr., a Jacksonian and later a Democrat, from Canton, was on the committee from 1833 to 1836. Mr. Wright is buried in Canton.

Mr. Goodell, the only New York member in modern times, stood for reducing farm subsidies paid to farmers.

Mrs. Gillibrand is no stranger to farm policy or to the uphill climb New Yorkers face on such committees. She served on the House Agriculture Committee during her one full term there and steered provisions through the farm bill that will help dairy farmers and specialty crop growers.

The committee's chairman, Rep. Collin C. Peterson, D-Minn., credited her at the time for her persistence.

Ms. Suarez said Mrs. Gillibrand could be a key ally in overseeing the U.S. Department of Agriculture's implementation of those and other provisions.

And while Mrs. Gillibrand came into Congress without direct experience in farming — she is a lawyer from a political family in Albany — she seems to be a sincere advocate for farmers, said Ms. Suarez, who recalled the lawmaker talking at a meeting of environmentalists a few years ago, not a place one would expect to hear pro-farm talk.

She talked about farmers as protectors of the environment and the importance of helping them in the farm bill, Ms. Suarez said. "That's tremendous for us."