Dan Freedman is reporting for the Times Union U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado June 25, put forward legislation that would lift the debt ceiling for farmers seeking Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection. The Rhinebeck Democrat proffered the measure as a tool for allowing farmers to rebuild their finances in what he called "a down farm economy." The Family Farmer Relief Act would raise the debt ceiling from $3.2 million to $10 million, thereby allowing farmers to retain assets and continue operations. “This story is not unique to NY-19, or upstate New York. This is an urgent, national issue for our farmers,” Delgado said in testimony before the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee. The first-term Congressman has made support of family farms a centerpiece of his legislative agenda. During his testimony, Delgado quoted a 2018 study as saying that “net farm income is expected to remain flat over the next 10 years and, when accounting for inflation, to fall in real terms.” The USDA found that the number of farms in New York dropped by 2,100, or 6 percent, between 2012 and 2017. The Family Farmer Relief Act has the support of the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union; it is opposed by the American Bankers Association. The 19th Congressional District is the eighth most rural in the nation and the third most rural represented by a Democrat, with more than 5,000 farms and 8,000 farm operators. Read the full story in the Times Union.