I've been following with interest the recent articles concerning the proposed 84,000-cattle Bion energy project.

Several years ago I had the opportunity to meet with Bion leaders, to discuss the proposal which at that time was a planned 100,000-cow dairy facility in the north country. As I understand it now, the proposal has been switched to include the importation of beef cattle and corn, in order to develop a renewable energy source.

I am writing to clarify New York Farm Bureau's position regarding this proposal. As a statewide organization, our members set our policy on a wide range of topics. While the organization has strong policy supporting renewable energy and alternative fuel sources, and agricultural economic development, as well as encouraging the use of methane digester technology on dairy farms, our members have not taken a specific position on an individual project like the one proposed by Bion.

NYFB is very much a grass-roots-based organization that relies on our farmer leaders involved in all aspects of agricultural production and in all sizes of farms.

St. Lawrence County Farm Bureau has developed a position on the proposed project - one not to oppose it but simply to state that significant questions have been raised about the impact of the proposal on agricultural development - and taxpayer funds are not appropriate at this point. St. Lawrence County Farm Bureau followed the appropriate procedures to develop this policy at the local level, and was entirely within the normal policy process for a county FB to follow.

This is not a large-farm-versus-a-small-farm issue, and I am disappointed that Bion is characterizing it as such.

Julie C. Suarez

Albany

The writer is director of public policy at the New York Farm Bureau.