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99-533: Severe blizzards in Nebraska in 1948-49 had resulted in deaths and serious damage to herds and crops across the state. One of the reasons cited for the massive loss of life, crops, and livestock was a lack of timely news and weather sources for farmers. More than 4,000 shares (at $ 10 each) were sold under the auspices of the Nebraska Cooperative Council, Nebraska Farm Bureau , Nebraska Farmers Union , and

198-656: A Radisson hotel ) in Scranton the following year. A new terminal was constructed on the waterfront in Buffalo in 1917. The "Lackawanna Railroad of New Jersey", chartered on February 7, 1908, to build the Lackawanna Cut-Off (a.k.a. New Jersey Cutoff or Hopatcong-Slateford Cutoff), opened on December 24, 1911. This provided a low-grade cutoff in northwestern New Jersey. The cutoff included the Delaware River Viaduct and

297-460: A climate change denier and lawyer for the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute , a largely industry-backed group that strongly opposes limits on greenhouse gases. At the meeting, delegates unanimously approved a resolution that "strongly supports any legislative action that would suspend EPA 's authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act ". Right before the meeting,

396-627: A farmers' union or a trade association for farmers in the United States; the National Farmers Union was the other such effort, outside of small co-ops. More precisely, the local and state farm bureaus formed a network of such unions or associations with a national parent organization. They were thus somewhat analogous in that respect to a federation of trade unions (such as the AFL–CIO ) – but with individual family farms being self-employed,

495-560: A Farm Bureau representative for farmers with the Chamber of Commerce of Binghamton, New York . The effort was financed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Lackawanna Railroad . The Broome County Farm Bureau was soon separated from the Chamber of Commerce. Other farm bureaus later formed in counties across the U.S., as listed with dates at " List of Farm Bureaus ". In 1914, with

594-502: A Texan, served as AFBF president from 2001 to 2016, earning a salary of $ 832,216 in his final year. Duval took over in January 2017, earning a salary of $ 648,111 in his first year. In 2020, around 500 dairy farmers and haulers received letters demanding repayment (for up to $ 50,000) for milk shipped to Dean Foods , just before the company filed for bankruptcy (it was subsequently acquired by Dairy Farmers of America ). AFBF, which called

693-419: A USDA grant program to improve soil health; a study to look for barriers to climate-smart practices in the crop insurance program; and changes to income limits so that all farmers can participate in “landscape level projects” to advance conservation and climate goals. The AFBF was heavily involved in lobbying for the 2012 farm bill, which included $ 9 billion in federal subsidies for crop insurance. In 2022,

792-671: A bigger tax deduction for businesses that donated food to charitable organizations. The Farm Bureau argued that without the tax write-off , "it is cheaper in most cases for these types of businesses to throw their food away than it is to donate the food". The Farm Bureau has lobbied for increases in federal subsidies for crop insurance, which "is a small, but significant piece of Farm Bureau insurance companies’ portfolio. In 2011, they collected over $ 300 million in crop insurance premiums", The Nation wrote in 2012. The Farm Bureau has long opposed regulation or taxation of greenhouse gases and climate policy , justifying its actions by denying

891-619: A commitment to equitable opportunities for all producers” to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, FACA and AFBF supported the Senate's passing of the Growing Climate Solutions Act. In February 2023, FACA released policy recommendations for the 2023 farm bill, calling for voluntary bipartisan climate solutions. The recommendations included incentives for farmers to plant cover crops and use precision agriculture equipment that more efficiently uses fertilizers and pesticides;

990-463: A condition of their policies. Every year, the organization holds an annual convention and adopts new policies to guide its work. The convention is attended by farmer and rancher delegates from across the United States. The Farm Bureau movement started in 1911 when John Barron, a farmer who graduated from Cornell University , worked as an extension agent in Broome County, New York . He served as

1089-554: A cost of $ 2 million, including a massive machine and erecting shop measuring 582 by 342 feet. To handle the increasing roster of coal and other freight cars, new car shops were built outside Scranton at Keyser Valley in 1904. A passenger car shop was added in Kingsland, New Jersey, nine miles from New York City, in 1906. The company built a Beaux-Arts terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey , in 1907, and another Beaux-Arts passenger station (now

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1188-491: A division of the Livonia , Avon , and Lakeville Railroad). Shorter main line remnants are Groveland -Greigsville (Genesee & Wyoming) and Lancaster - Depew (Depew, Lancaster & Western). The Richfield Springs branch was scrapped in 1998 after being out of service for years; much of the right of way was purchased in 2009 by Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley LLC of Richfield Springs, New York, which as of 2022 operates

1287-475: A large passenger traffic for the Lackawanna. All of this helped justify the railroad's expansion of its double-track mainline to three and in a few places four tracks. Changes in the region's economy undercut the railroad, however. The post- World War II boom enjoyed by many U.S. cities bypassed Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and the rest of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. Fuel oil and natural gas quickly became

1386-866: A member of the Farm Bureau automatically, which explains why the American Farm Bureau Federation boasts 6 million members when the United States has only about 2 million farmers." Sometimes annual-dues-paying membership in a state Farm Bureau is required to purchase the insurance; sometimes the insurance companies pay the state or county Farm Bureau a fee per member to access their contact information for marketing purposes. In 2019, AFBF collected $ 28.4 million in member dues, which accounted for more than three-quarters of its total revenue of $ 37.6 million. FBL Financial Group FBL Financial Group FBL Financial Group Lackawanna Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad , also known as

1485-655: A merger agreement with the Erie Railroad , the DL&;W's longtime rival (and closest geographical competitor), forming the Erie Lackawanna Railroad . The merger was formally consummated on October 17, 1960. Shoemaker drew much criticism for it, and would even second-guess himself after he had retired from railroading. He later claimed to have had a "gentlemen's agreement" with the EL board of directors to take over as president of

1584-624: A narrow-gauge tourist railway Richfield Springs Scenic Railway on a portion of the line and a walking trail on another section. The Cortland- Cincinnatus Branch, abandoned by Erie Lackawanna in 1960, was partially-rebuilt for an industrial spur about 1999. As of 2018, the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern operates the former Keyser Valley branch from Scranton to Taylor, as well as the former Bloomsburg branch from Taylor to Coxton Yard in Duryea . The Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway operates

1683-605: A short segment of the Boonton Branch by Garret Mountain in Paterson, New Jersey , was sold off to the state of New Jersey to build Interstate 80 . Ultimately, the west end of the Boonton Branch was combined with the Erie's Greenwood Lake Branch, while the eastern end was combined with the Erie's main line, which was abandoned through Passaic, New Jersey . Sacrificed was the Boonton Branch, a high-speed freight line thought to be redundant with

1782-505: A tremendous financial drain on the Lackawanna and other railroads that ran through the state: a situation that would not be remedied for another two decades. To save his company, Lackawanna president Perry Shoemaker sought a merger with the Nickel Plate Road , a deal that would have created a railroad stretching more than 1,100 miles (1,800 km) from St. Louis, Missouri and Chicago, Illinois to New York City and would have allowed

1881-513: A “longtime, powerful foe of federal action on climate." In 2020, the Farm Bureau became one of four co-founders of the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA), a coalition of groups advocating for voluntary, incentive-based and market-oriented programs in the food and agriculture sector to respond to climate change. The coalition's website says its 80-plus member organizations represent "farmers, ranchers, forest owners, agribusinesses, manufacturers,

1980-430: Is "a multi-billion dollar network of for-profit insurance companies" and the third-largest insurance group in the United States, The Nation wrote in 2012. Although AFBF itself does not sell insurance, all but a handful of its non-profit state affiliates have affiliated for-profit insurance companies. Most of these companies were founded by the state Farm Bureaus and retain "Farm Bureau" in their corporate names; some use

2079-512: Is a reinsurer primarily assuming business from Farm Bureau insurance companies. The company’s bylaws require its board of directors to include the president of the Federation and designated shareholders that are “affiliated with a state Farm Bureau organization that is a member of AFBF.” Similarly, AFBF president Zippy Duval simultaneously serves as president and chairman of the board of American Agricultural Insurance Company, whose directors are

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2178-495: Is our duty in creating this organization to avoid any policy that will align organized farmers with the radicals of other organizations. The policy should be thoroughly American in every respect – a constructive organization instead of a destructive organization." Wrote Brian Campbell, now a professor at Berry College : "Farm Bureau began as a counter-move to various farm organizations that represented small farmers." The initial organization papers said: The purpose of Farm Bureau

2277-423: Is to make the business of farming more profitable, and the community a better place to live. Farm Bureau should provide an organization in which members may secure the benefits of unified efforts in a way that could never be accomplished through individual effort. The initial local and state farm bureaus (1910s–1940s) had a social and educational function furthering the extension service efforts, and they also pursued

2376-576: The American Farm Bureau ( AFB ) or simply the Farm Bureau , is a United States –based 501(c)(5) tax-exempt agricultural organization and lobbying group . Headquartered in Washington, D.C. , the Farm Bureau has affiliates in all 50 states and Puerto Rico . Each affiliate is a (state or county) Farm Bureau, and the parent organization is also often called simply the Farm Bureau. Founded in 1919,

2475-687: The Central Railroad of New Jersey abandoned all its operations in Pennsylvania (which by that time were freight-only), causing additional through freights to be run daily between Elizabeth, NJ on the CNJ and Scranton on the EL. The trains, designated as the eastbound SE-98 and the westbound ES-99, travelled via the Lackawanna Cut-Off and were routed via the CNJ 's High Bridge Branch . This arrangement ended with

2574-1025: The DL&;W or Lackawanna Railroad , was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York , and Hoboken, New Jersey , and by ferry with New York City , a distance of 395 miles (636 km). The railroad was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1853, and created primarily to provide a means of transport of anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Northeast Pennsylvania to large coal markets in New York City . The railroad gradually expanded both east and west, and eventually linked Buffalo with New York City. Like most coal-focused railroads in Northeastern Pennsylvania, including Lehigh Valley Railroad , New York, Ontario and Western Railroad , and

2673-610: The Erie Lackawanna Railroad that would be taken over by Conrail in 1976. Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad was first incorporated as Leggett's Gap Railroad on April 7, 1832, though it was dormant for several years following its incorporation. The company was chartered on March 14, 1849, and organized on January 2, 1850. On April 14, 1851, its name was changed to Lackawanna and Western Railroad . The line opened on December 20, 1851, and ran north from Scranton, Pennsylvania , to Great Bend, Pennsylvania , just south of Pennsylvania 's border with New York state . From Great Bend,

2772-531: The Iowa chapter of the Farm Bureau. Through expansion and mergers, FBL has grown to operate in 14 states, generally selling to consumers under the name Farm Bureau Financial Services. In 2022, it had profits of $ 72.51 million on revenues of $ 732.3 million. Its parent, the Iowa Farm Bureau, reported 2020 revenue of about $ 100 million and an investment portfolio worth more than $ 1 billion, while executive compensation

2871-577: The Kearny Connection , opened in 1996. This facilitates part of NJ Transit's popular Midtown Direct service. Formerly, the line ran solely to the DL&W's historic terminal in Hoboken and a transfer to underground rapid transit was required to pass under the Hudson river into Manhattan, or a ferry. This is the only section of former Lackawanna trackage that has more through tracks now than ever before. Since

2970-528: The Lehigh & New England Railroad , the DL&W was profitable during the first half of the 20th century, but its margins were gradually hurt by declining Pennsylvania coal traffic, especially following the 1959 Knox Mine Disaster and competition from trucks following the expansion of the Interstate Highway System in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1960, the DL&W merged with rival Erie Railroad to form

3069-546: The North Jersey suburbs to Hoboken on the Boonton , Gladstone , Montclair and Morristown Lines. Early publicity for the passenger service featured a young woman, Phoebe Snow , who always wore white and kept her clothing clean while riding the "Road of Anthracite", powered by the clean-burning coal known as anthracite . The most profitable commodity shipped by the railroad was anthracite coal . In 1890 and during 1920–1940,

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3168-652: The Paulinskill Viaduct , as well as three concrete towers at Port Morris and Greendell in New Jersey and Slateford Junction in Pennsylvania. From 1912 to 1915, the Summit-Hallstead Cutoff (a.k.a. Pennsylvania Cutoff or Nicholson Cutoff ) was built to revamp a winding and hilly system between Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania , and Hallstead, Pennsylvania . This rerouting provided another quicker low-grade line between Scranton and Binghamton. The Summit Cutoff included

3267-591: The Union of Concerned Scientists sent the group a letter pointing out that its climate change position runs counter to that of every major scientific organization and urged it to support action on climate change. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said that farmers have more to gain from cap and trade than they stand to lose. By 2019, the Farm Bureau had ceased to publicly deny climate change, but remained opposed to non-market-based solutions, including opposing taxes on carbon uses or emissions . Politico called it

3366-403: The crop insurance sold by affiliate companies. Until 2019, it denied that climate change was real. AFBF itself does not sell insurance, but all but a handful of its non-profit state affiliates have affiliated for-profit insurance companies. Most of AFBF's revenue comes from dues paid by its nearly 5.9 million members, most of whom are not farmers but insurance customers who pay the dues as

3465-581: The "Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad", on March 11, 1853. On the New Jersey side of the Delaware River, the Warren Railroad was chartered on February 12, 1851, to continue from the bridge over the river southeast to Hampton , on the Central Railroad of New Jersey . That section got its name from Warren County , the county through which it would primarily run. The rest of the line, now known as

3564-640: The 1999 breakup of Conrail, the former DL&W main line from Scranton south-east to Slateford in Monroe County has been owned by the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority (PNRRA). The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad and Steamtown National Historic Site operates freight trains and tourist trains on this stretch of track, dubbed the Pocono Mainline (or Pocono Main). Under a haulage agreement with Norfolk Southern,

3663-486: The AFBF represents the 2 million farms in the United States, and is among the agriculture industry's largest lobby groups. Some observers contend that its federal lobbying efforts, which began in the 1930s, helped drive the subsequent three-decade shift to larger farms. In 2022, the AFBF spent $ 2,120,000 on lobbying, including for policies benefitting the for-profit activities of state farm bureaus, such as federal subsidies for

3762-670: The D-L runs unit Canadian grain trains between Scranton and the Harvest States Grain Mill at Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania and wood deliveries to Bestway Enterprises in Cresco . Other commercial customers include Keystone Propane in Tobyhanna. Excursion trains, hauled by visiting Nickel Plate 765 and other locomotives, run from Steamtown to Moscow and Tobyhanna (with infrequent extensions to East Stroudsburg or Delaware Water Gap Station, both on

3861-641: The DL&W main line portion between Scranton and Binghamton (which includes the Nicholson Cutoff ) bought by the Delaware and Hudson Railway . The D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1991. CPR continued to run this portion of the DL&W main line until 2014, when it sold it to the Norfolk Southern . The Syracuse and Utica branches north of Binghamton were sold by Conrail to

3960-472: The DL&W shipped upwards of 14% of the state of Pennsylvania's anthracite production. Other profitable freight included dairy products, cattle, lumber, cement, steel and grain. The Pocono Mountains region was one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country—especially among New Yorkers—and several large hotels sat along the line in Northeastern Pennsylvania , generating

4059-619: The DL&W, which owned a substantial block of Nickel Plate stock, to place one of its directors on the Nickel Plate board . (The Nickel Plate would later merge with the Norfolk and Western Railroad .) Shoemaker next turned, in 1956, to aggressive but unsuccessful efforts to obtain joint operating agreements and even potential mergers with the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Delaware and Hudson Railway . Finally, Shoemaker sought and won

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4158-666: The Delaware Otsego Corp., which operates them as the northern division of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway . In 1997, Conrail accepted an offer of purchase from CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway . On June 1, 1999, Norfolk Southern took over many of the Conrail lines in New Jersey, including most of the former DL&W. It also purchased the remnants of the former Bangor & Portland branch in Pennsylvania. Norfolk Southern continues to operate local freights on

4257-520: The EL's decline. By 1976, it was apparent that the EL was at the end of its tether, and it petitioned to join Conrail : a new regional railroad that was created on April 1, 1976, out of the remnants of seven bankrupt freight railroads in the northeastern U.S. The EL's rail property was legally conveyed into Conrail on April 1, 1976. Labor contracts limited immediate changes to the freight schedule, but in early 1979, Conrail suspended through freight service on

4356-466: The Erie's main line, was abandoned in favor of joint operations, while the Lackawanna Cut-Off in New Jersey was single-tracked in anticipation of the upcoming merger. On the other hand, the Erie's Buffalo, New York and Erie Railroad was dropped from Corning to Livonia in favor of the DL&W's main line. Most passenger service was routed onto the DL&W east of Binghamton, with the DL&W's Hoboken Terminal serving all EL passenger trains. In addition,

4455-477: The Erie's mainline. This would haunt EL management less than a decade later (and Conrail management a decade after that). Soon after the merger, the new EL management shifted most freight trains to the "Erie side", the former Erie Railroad lines, leaving only a couple of daily freight trains traveling over the Lackawanna side. Passenger train traffic would not be affected, at least not immediately. This traffic pattern would remain in effect for more than ten years—past

4554-607: The Farm Bureau joined the National Pork Producers Council in petitioning the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn California's Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross . In 2023, AFBF was one of several organizations to legally challenge the new Waters of the United States rule. In addition to its political lobbying, the Farm Bureau

4653-485: The Illinois Agricultural Association, said at the meeting. "The United States is at present experiencing the greatest period of industrial unrest in its entire history. It is now just one year since the signing of the armistice . During this interval more than 3,000 strikes have been inaugurated in this country. Is it any wonder that production has dwindled and cost of living has so greatly increased? It

4752-576: The Illinois Farm Bureau in 1925, served clients in 17 states as of 2017. "The Farm Bureau has many for-profit interests outside of traditional farming," 60 Minutes ' Mike Wallace reported in 2000. "Its Iowa chapter alone owns and operates a $ 3.5 billion insurance and financial services company that is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. That company, FBL Financial Group , gave thousands of stock options to its directors, including

4851-524: The Lackawanna side. Indeed, as very little on-line freight originated on the Erie side (a route that was more than 20 miles longer than the DL&W route to Binghamton), once the Gateway was closed (eliminating the original justification for shifting traffic to the Erie side) virtually all the EL's freight trains were shifted back to the Lackawanna side. After the New England Gateway closed, EL's management

4950-577: The Lackawanna side. The railroad removed freight traffic from the Hoboken-Binghamton mainline and consolidated the service within its other operating routes. Railroad officials said the primary reasons were the EL's early-1960s severing of the Boonton Branch near Paterson, New Jersey , and the grades over the Pocono Mountains. The Morristown Line is the only piece of multi-track railroad on

5049-494: The Lackawanna to retain the 200 miles (320 km) of double-track mainline between Buffalo and Binghamton, New York . The idea had been studied as early as 1920, when William Z. Ripley , a professor of political economics at Harvard University , reported that a merger would have benefited both railroads. Forty years later, however, the Lackawanna was a shadow of its former financial self. Seeing no advantage in an end-to-end merger, Nickel Plate officials also rebuffed attempts by

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5148-544: The Lackawanna, however, were dealt by Mother Nature . In August, 1955, flooding from Hurricane Diane devastated the Pocono Mountains region, killing 80 people. The floods cut the Lackawanna Railroad in 88 places, destroying 60 miles (97 km) of track, stranding several trains (with a number of passengers aboard) and shutting down the railroad for nearly a month (with temporary speed restrictions prevailing on

5247-637: The M&;E lease came several branch lines in New Jersey, including the Boonton Line , which opened in 1870 and bypassed Newark for through freight. The railroad acquired the Syracuse, Binghamton and New York Railroad in 1869 and leased the Oswego and Syracuse Railroad on February 13, 1869. This gave it a branch from Binghamton north and northwest via Syracuse to Oswego , a port on Lake Ontario . The "Greene Railroad"

5346-434: The NFBF logo. "In many states, Missouri among them, members of the Farm Bureau board and the board of its affiliated insurance company are one and the same, sharing office buildings and support staff," The Nation wrote. In many states, the non-profit state Farm Bureau owns the affiliated for-profit insurance company. FBL Financial Group , for example, was established in 1939 as Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company by

5445-424: The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority to accelerate the resumption of passenger train service between New York City and Scranton. Most of the main line west of Binghamton in New York State has been abandoned, in favor of the Erie's Buffalo line via Hornell . The longest remaining main line sector is Painted Post -Wayland, with shortline service provided by B&H Railroad ( Bath & Hammondsport ,

5544-438: The Pocono Mainline). The D-L also runs Lackawanna County 's tourist trolleys from the Electric City Trolley Museum , under overhead electrified wiring installed on original sections of the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad that was also purchased by Lackawanna County. It also runs trains on a remnant of the DL&W Diamond branch in Scranton. In 2006, the Monroe County and Lackawanna County Railroad Authorities formed

5643-401: The Southern Division, opened on May 27, 1856, including the Warren Railroad in New Jersey . A third rail was added to the standard gauge Central Railroad of New Jersey east of Hampton to allow the railroad to run east to Elizabeth via trackage rights (the CNJ was extended in 1864 to Jersey City ). On December 10, 1868, the company acquired the Morris and Essex Railroad unit 1945 it

5742-468: The agricultural community. ' " In 2010, the Farm Bureau's official position was that "there is no generally agreed upon scientific assessment of the exact impact or extent of carbon emissions from human activities, their impact on past decades of warming or how they will affect future climate changes". The climate change session at the Farm Bureau's national meeting that year was entitled " Global Warming : A Red Hot Lie?" It featured Christopher C. Horner ,

5841-504: The best interest of the nonprofit, not themselves. But, by not taking salaries and having their income tied to FBL’s performance, the [Iowa] Farm Bureau’s executives open themselves up to questions," wrote Investigate Midwest, an independent, nonprofit newsroom. The AFBF and its affiliated insurance companies are entwined in other ways as well. Most of the people it claims as "members" are not farmers but insurance customers: "In many states, anyone who signs up for Farm Bureau insurance becomes

5940-534: The commitments made in the MOU and refrain from promoting “right to repair” legislation at the state or federal level”. In January, MOUs were signed with John Deere and in March, with CNH Industrial , Case IH and New Holland Agriculture . A 2012 investigation by The Nation detailed the large-scale federal and state political operations of the Farm Bureau, and alleged the Bureau recruited political candidates (mostly Republicans) to affect legislative elections and appointments to state committees. As of 2012,

6039-508: The company began operating the Erie and Central New York Railroad , a branch of the Oswego line from Cortland Junction east to Cincinnatus . That same year, it also began to control the Bangor and Portland Railway . By 1909, the company controlled the Bangor and Portland Railway . This line branched from the main line at Portland , southwest to Nazareth , with a branch to Martins Creek . The primary locomotive and car shops were located in Scranton . In 1910 they were enlarged and upgraded at

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6138-401: The cost of new trainsets. A 7.3-mile section of the Cut-Off between Port Morris and Andover, New Jersey , which was under construction, was delayed until 2021 due to environmental issues on the Andover station site ; the Cut-Off between Port Morris and Andover is slated to re-open for rail passenger service no earlier than 2025. In 1979, Conrail sold most of the DL&W in Pennsylvania, with

6237-412: The creation of Conrail on April 1, 1976. During its time, the EL diversified its shipments from the growing Lehigh Valley and also procured a lucrative contract with Chrysler to ship auto components from Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania . The EL also aggressively sought other contracts with suppliers in the area, pioneering what came to be known as intermodal shipping. None of this could compensate for

6336-423: The damaged sections of railroad for months), causing a total of $ 8.1 million in damages (equal to $ 92,128,696 today) and lost revenue. One section, the Old River line (former Warren Railroad), was damaged beyond repair and had to be abandoned altogether. Until the mainline in Pennsylvania reopened, all trains were canceled or rerouted over other railroads. The Lackawanna would never fully recover. In January, 1959,

6435-461: The decline in coal shipments, however, and, as labor costs and taxes rose, the railroad's financial position became increasingly precarious although it was stronger than some railroads in the eastern U.S. The opening of Interstates I-80 , I-380 , and I-81 during the early 1970s, which in effect paralleled much of the former Lackawanna mainline east of Binghamton, New York , caused more traffic to be diverted to trucks. This only helped to accelerate

6534-528: The demands a "predatory shakedown", was one of several groups that provided legal assistance to the farmers and haulers. In 2023, AFBF announced several memorandums of understanding with equipment manufacturers, establishing repair agreements that make manufacturers' tools, software, and manuals available to farmers under "fair and reasonable" terms so farmers can make needed repairs. Under these, AFBF also agrees not to lobby on right to repair legislation, and to “encourage state-level Farm Bureaus to recognize

6633-436: The discontinuation of passenger service on January 6, 1970—and was completely dependent on the lucrative interchange with the New Haven Railroad at Maybrook, New York . The January 1, 1969 merger of the New Haven Railroad into the Penn Central Railroad changed all this: the New England Gateway was downgraded, and closed on May 8, 1974 by fire damage to the New Haven's Poughkeepsie Bridge, causing dramatic traffic changes for

6732-451: The entire 900-mile Lackawanna system that has not been reduced to fewer tracks over the years. It was triple-tracked nearly a century prior , and remains so today. The Lackawanna Cut-Off was abandoned in 1979 and its rails were removed in 1984. The line between Slateford Junction and Scranton remained in legal limbo for nearly a decade, but was eventually purchased, with a single track left in place. The Lackawanna Cut-Off's right-of-way, on

6831-438: The final nail was driven in the Lackawanna's coffin by the Knox Mine Disaster , which flooded the mines along the Susquehanna River and all but obliterated what was left of the region's anthracite industry. The Lackawanna Railroad's financial problems were not unique. Rail traffic in the U.S. in general declined after World War II as trucks and automobiles took freight and passenger traffic. Declining freight traffic put

6930-436: The first statewide Farm Bureau. In 1919, a group of farmers from 30 states gathered in Chicago. They founded the American Farm Bureau Federation with the goal of "speaking for themselves through their own national organization". But they also sought to forestall populist organization of small farmers. "The inception of this national farm bureau association is taking place at a most opportune time," Harvey J. Sconce, president of

7029-607: The food and innovation sector, state governments, sportsmen, and environmental advocates", who cooperate to "develop and promote shared climate policy priorities across the entire agriculture, food and forestry value chains. While The New Republic reported in 2022 that the organization "wants guarantees that farmers will get paid for soil sequestration without anything else in agricultural business-as-usual changing", FACA has called for “a comprehensive effort involving financial and technical assistance, research investments, proactive response to innovation, public-private partnerships, and

7128-677: The former Morris & Essex Railroad to Gladstone and Hackettstown. In 2002, the transit agency consolidated the Montclair Branch and Boonton Line to create the Montclair-Boonton Line . NJ Transit also operates on the remaining portion (south of Paterson) of the original Boonton Line known as the Main Line . NJ Transit's hub is at Hoboken Terminal. Trains on the Morristown Line run directly into New York's Pennsylvania Station via

7227-643: The functions of pooled negotiating power for purchasing of supplies such as seed and equipment (comparable in that respect to farm co-operatives , but with potential for larger/wider unification). The bureaus also pooled capability to provide fire insurance and vehicle insurance for their farms, via both negotiating power (in group purchasing of insurance) and self-insuring capability (in forming new insurance companies of their own); they were comparable in that respect to mutual insurance companies (and indeed founded various such companies). In all of these functions, local and state farm bureaus thus became an analogue of

7326-532: The lines. In 2014, it purchased the former DL&W main from Taylor, PA to Binghamton, NY from the Canadian Pacific Railway, which it continues to operate to this day. NJ Transit Rail Operations took over passenger operations in 1983. The State of New Jersey had subsidized the routes operated by the Erie Lackawanna, and later Conrail . NJ Transit operates over former DL&W trackage on much of

7425-438: The massive Tunkhannock Viaduct and Martins Creek Viaduct . The Lackawanna's cutoffs had no at-grade crossings with roads or highways, allowing high-speed service. The railroad ran trains from its Hoboken Terminal , its gateway to New York City , to its Scranton , Binghamton, Syracuse , Oswego, and Buffalo stations and to Utica Union Station . Noteworthy among these were: The railroad also ran commuter operations from

7524-495: The nearby New York, Ontario and Western Railroad and Lehigh & New England Railroad out of business in 1957 and 1961, respectively. Over the next three decades, nearly every major railroad in the Northeastern US would go bankrupt . In the wake of Hurricane Diane in 1955, all signs pointed to continued financial decline and eventual bankruptcy for the DL&W. Among other factors, property taxes in New Jersey were

7623-749: The network now owns 15 stations across the state, as well as four additional affiliates. Cozad, Nebraska Lexington, Nebraska Scottsbluff, Nebraska West Point, Nebraska York, Nebraska Holdrege, Nebraska Broken Bow, Nebraska Chadron, Nebraska - owned by Chadrad Communications Nebraska City, Nebraska - owned by Mike Flood through licensee Flood Broadcasting, Inc. Beatrice, Nebraska - owned by Mike Flood through licensee Flood Communications of Beatrice, LLC Fairbury, Nebraska - same as Beatrice Sidney, Nebraska - owned by Mike Flood and Andy Ruback through licensee Flood Communications West, LLC Farm Bureau The American Farm Bureau Federation ( AFBF ), more informally called

7722-465: The new railroad. After he was pushed aside in favor of Erie managers, however, he left in disillusionment and became the president of the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1962. Even before the formal merger, growing ties between the Erie and Lackawanna led to the partial abandonment of the Lackawanna's mainline trackage between Binghamton and Buffalo. In 1958, the main line of the DL&W from Binghamton west to near Corning , which closely paralleled

7821-489: The organization retains 22 registered lobbyists. From 2002 to 2012, the Farm Bureau spent $ 16 million, which was 45% of the total amount spent by the 10 largest agribusiness interests in the U.S. The Farm Bureau supported the Fighting Hunger Incentive Act of 2014 (H.R. 4719; 113th Congress), a bill that would amend the federal tax laws to permanently extend and expand certain expired provisions that provided

7920-443: The organization was "the most influential representative of large farmers." In a study of the organization's New Deal period during the 1930s, Christian McFayden Cambell concluded that it was "...largely controlled from the top. Its leadership is self-perpetuating, and its policy, although nursed through an elaborate procedural labyrinth, is rarely permitted to wander very far afield. 'The Farm Bureau's cherished belief that its policy

8019-452: The other hand, was purchased by the state of New Jersey in 2001 from funds approved within a $ 40 million bond issue in 1989. (A court later set the final price at $ 21 million, paid to owners Jerry Turco of Kearny, New Jersey and Burton Goldmeier of Hopatcong, New Jersey.) NJ Transit has estimated that it would cost $ 551 million to restore service to Scranton over the Cut-Off: a price which includes

8118-594: The parallel with trade associations is the more relevant analogy. In the 1930s, the American Farm Bureau Federation developed a lobbying presence in Washington, D.C., where it pushed for changes in New Deal programs to favor large farms with many employees over family farms. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party (FLP), a political party which represented small operators and favored radical programs,

8217-543: The passage of the Smith–Lever Act of 1914 , Congress agreed to share with the states the cost of programs for providing "county agents", who supplied information to farmers on improved methods of animal husbandry and crop production developed by agricultural colleges and experiment stations, which has evolved into the modern-day Cooperative Extension Service . In 1915, farmers meeting in Saline County, Missouri , formed

8316-465: The preferred energy sources. Silk and other textile industries shrank as jobs moved to the southern U.S. or overseas. The advent of mechanical refrigeration squeezed the business from ice ponds on top of the Poconos . Even the dairy industry changed. The Lackawanna had long enjoyed revenues from milk shipments; many stations had a creamery next to the tracks. Perhaps the most catastrophic blows to

8415-409: The presidents of 14 state Farm Bureaus." Ed Wiederstein, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau and chairman of FBL Financial, cashed in a "couple of hundred thousand bucks from stock options" in 1998. The American Agricultural Insurance Company was formed in 1948 as a capital stock company. It is owned by the “insurance company affiliates of various state Farm Bureau insurance companies and by AFBF.”It

8514-579: The presidents of 16 of the state Farm Bureaus. Its common stock is held by AFBF (443 shares in 2018) and various state Farm Bureau insurance companies (a total of 265,830 shares in 2018); it is unclear who owns its premium stock, which has a par value ten times that of the common stock. In 2021, AAIC reported total assets of $ 1.8 billion (up from $ 1.35 billion in 2018 ), premiums of $ 464 million (up from $ 328 million in 2018 ), and cash on hand of $ 120 million. These kinds of ties can create conflicts of interest. "Nonprofit executives are supposed to operate in

8613-499: The railroad obtained trackage rights north and west over the New York and Erie Rail Road to Owego, New York , where it leased the Cayuga and Susquehanna Railroad to Ithaca on Cayuga Lake on April 21, 1855. The C&S was the reorganized and partially rebuilt Ithaca and Owego Railroad , which had opened on April 1, 1834, and was the oldest part of its system. The whole system was built to 6 ft ( 1,829 mm ) broad gauge ,

8712-699: The same as the New York and Erie, although the original I&O was built to standard gauge and converted to wide gauge when rebuilt as the C&;S. The "Delaware and Cobb's Gap Railroad" was chartered December 4, 1850, to build a line from Scranton east to the Delaware River . Before it opened, the Delaware and Cobb's Gap and Lackawanna and Western were consolidated by the Lackawanna Steel Company into one company,

8811-561: The scientific consensus on climate change . "For decades, the Farm Bureau has derailed climate action, deploying its political apparatus and 6 million members in a forceful alliance with conservative groups and the fossil fuel industry," Inside Climate News wrote in 2018. In 2003, Farm Bureau economists joined the Heartland and Hudson Institutes in publishing a paper that "called state or federal regulation of greenhouse gases 'unnecessary, enormously expensive, and particularly injurious to

8910-622: The state Grange . The network is still owned and operated by a cooperative of farmers and ranchers. Founder Max Brown ran the network until 1979 and was succeeded by his son Eric Brown, who served until 2012. In November 2019, the association purchased a group of stations -- six in Scottsbluff and one in Holdrege -- from Legacy Communications. It then resold one of the Scottsbluff stations, KETT , to VSS Catholic Communications. With that purchase,

9009-492: The whole system was re-gauged to standard gauge in one day. The New York, Lackawanna and Western Railroad was chartered on August 26, 1880, and opened on September 17, 1882, to continue the railroad from Binghamton west and northwest to Buffalo. The main line ran to the International Bridge to Ontario , and a branch served downtown Buffalo. A spur from Wayland served Hornellsville (Hornell). On December 1, 1903,

9108-499: Was forced to downgrade the Erie side, and even considered its abandonment west of Port Jervis. In the meantime, the EL was forced to run its long freights over the reconfigured Boonton Line, which east of Mountain View in Wayne, NJ meant running over the Erie's Greenwood Lake Branch, a line that was never intended to carry the level of freight traffic to which the EL would subject it. In 1972,

9207-572: Was fully merged into the DL&W. This line ran east–west across northern New Jersey, crossing the Warren Railroad at Washington and providing access to Jersey City without depending on the CNJ. The M&E tunnel under Bergen Hill opened in 1876, relieving the Morris and Essex Railroad and its owners, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, from having to use the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railway 's tunnel to reach Jersey City. Along with

9306-499: Was in the high six figures." Similarly, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company began as an insurance company for members of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and today serves as an insurance provider to Farm Bureaus in nine states. Farm Family Insurance , founded in 1955 by Farm Bureaus of several northeastern states, had 2000 revenues of $ 313 million and assets of more than $ 1.3 billion. Country Financial , founded by

9405-557: Was left without power by the New Deal policies, and so in the 1940s the FLP and similar groups in the upper Midwest died or were merged into the Democratic or Republican parties. Along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Farm Bureau and other "advocates of a mechanized, highly commercialized agriculture helped initiate an abrupt two-decade shift to machines and wage labor." By World War II,

9504-900: Was made at the grass roots and adopted by democratic process turned out to be partly illusion,' concluded Christiana McFayden Cambell in her study of the organization's New Deal period. There appears to be no reason to change that assessment today," Samuel R. Berger wrote in Dollar Harvest (2nd ed., 1978) . By the 21st century, the AFBF, through its state and local affiliates, was entwined financially with large agribusiness corporations. "In recent years, its insurance affiliates have bought stock in companies like Cargill , ConAgra , Dow Chemical , DuPont , Tyson and Archer Daniels Midland , all major food industry players. The Southern Farm Bureau Annuity Insurance Co. [co-owned by 10 state Farm Bureaus ] once owned more than 18,000 shares of Premium Standard stock," The Nation wrote in 2012. Bob Stallman,

9603-559: Was organized March 3, 1869, to connect the end of the original line at Great Bend, Pennsylvania , to Binghamton, New York , avoiding reliance on the Erie. The new line opened on October 1, 1871. By 1873, the company controlled the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad , a branch from Scranton southwest to Northumberland with trackage rights over the Pennsylvania Railroad 's Northern Central Railway to Sunbury . On March 15, 1876,

9702-496: Was organized in 1869, opened in 1870, and was immediately leased to the company, providing a short branch off the Oswego line from Chenango Forks to Greene . Also in 1870, the company leased the Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley Railway , continuing this branch north to Utica , with a branch from Richfield Junction to Richfield Springs (fully opened in 1872). The "Valley Railroad"

9801-524: Was reincorporated in 1954, and became a mutual carrier under the name American Agricultural Mutual Insurance Company, and then was reincorporated again in 1968 as a capital stock company under its current name. The Farm Bureau also owns crop insurer American Farm Bureau Insurance Services, formed in 1995. AAIC began selling crop insurance in 1997. In 1999, the AAIC purchased Nationwide-Re as part of its plan to expand into Non-Farm Bureau premium writings. The AAIC

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