SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE OVER $35,000 FOR ROBBINS FAMILY GRAIN COMPANY TO PURCHASE ENERGY EFFICIENT GRAIN DRYER IN JEFFERSON COUNTY

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced a federal grant worth $35,282 for the Robbins Family Grain Company, LLC. The funding is allocated through the USDA's Rural Development Rural Energy for America Grant Program and will be used to purchase and install an energy efficient grain dryer.

"Smaller farms often have difficulty affording the highcost of equipment, and that's exactly the problem this loan will help solve," said Senator Schumer. "The grain dryer Robbins Family Farm will purchase will help them save on costs and reduce their emissions.  It's a winwin for the farm and the surrounding community that will brighten the future for both."

"This is an important investment for the Robbins Family Grain Company," said Senator Gillibrand, New York's first member of the Senate Agriculture Committee in nearly four decades. "These federal resources to purchase an energy efficient grain dryer will reduce propane emissions and cut costs for the farm's operations. Investing in this kind of critical infrastructure is a common sense solution to supporting our small farmers and helping the environment."

"I am pleased that the Rural Energy for America Program is supporting our effort to reduce energy usage." Said Ron Robbins, of Robbins Family Grain, LLC. "This investment will help us to move forward with critical improvements to our energy efficiency."

The Robbins Family Grain Company will specifically use the funding to purchase and install a a new, energy efficient grain dryer that will increase energy efficiency in their operations and reduce natural gas emissions into the environment. The Rural Energy for America Program Grant allocates funds that will be used by farmers, ranchers and rural small business in developing and sustaining energy efficient modifications to their operations.