ALBANY – The New York Farm Bureau is putting itself in the middle of a lawsuit that would give collective bargaining rights to farmworkers.

The organization is currently awaiting word from the state Supreme Court on whether or not it will be allowed to intervene in a farm labor lawsuit that’s been filed against the State of New York and Gov. Andrew Cuomo by the New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation.

According to the New York Farm Bureau, collective bargaining rights – combined with high taxes, stiff state regulations, and a minimum wage increase – would “make the continued operation of many family farms untenable.”

The NYFB, representing more than 60,000 farmers statewide, petitioned the court back in June with hopes of ultimately having the lawsuit dismissed.

In a statement opposing the lawsuit, the NYFB, which is backed by local members of the Chenango County Farm Bureau, said their aim is to defend farmers “who feel they have been abandoned by the governor and the New York attorney general.”