COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (WHCU) – An organization charged with the health and safety of New York farmworkers is asking for more funds.

Representatives from the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) were joined by a coalition of major agricultural groups and farmers Tuesday in calling on the state to double their budget of $1 million. NYCAMH has received flat funding for more than 14 years. Started in 1988 to address disproportionate numbers of farm deaths, injuries and illnesses, NYCAMH provides critical training programs and health services in English and Spanish that risk being cut if funding isn’t adjusted for inflation.

NYCAMH would regularly travel to farms and other places under the agricultural umbrella to train in over 60 topics officials say are essential to everyday farm life.  Deputy Director Erika Scott says the organization has stretched its funding as far as it can go. Some services have already been cut under the current budget, including on-site training.

“When we think about agriculture, we need to be thinking broadly,” said Scott. “We’re serving aquaculture operations; we’re serving all types of commodities across the state, including forestry and logging.”

Scott said it’s been difficult to cut services when most farms are asking for more.

“We’ve had farms come to us and say ‘we need on-farm health services for our farm workers,'” said Scott. “It’s not easy for workers to leave the farm to get health services. We have the professional staff that can do that, but we don’t have the funding.”