New York Farmland Legislation

By: Agrarian Trust
July 20, 2014
12:45 pm

From American Farmland Trust Dear Friend, One of the biggest challenges young farmers face is access to affordable farmland. At the same time, farms being passed from one generation to the next are vulnerable to being lost to development as families grapple with the challenges of successfully transferring their land and businesses.
Contact Governor Cuomo and ask him to support the next generation of farmers!
Tragically, New York has lost 450,000 acres of farmland to real estate development since the 1980s. And, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, over 30 percent of the state’s remaining farmland is managed by farmers over age 65, while farmers under the age of 35 manage only 4 percent of New York’s farmland.
Bill A.7002/S.5377, sponsored by Assemblyman Bill Magee and Senator Patty Ritchie, would improve access to affordable farmland. This bill would require state agencies to inventory state-owned farmland that could be leased to farmers and take steps to enhance farmers’ access to this land, with an emphasis on beginning farmers. It would also reduce the likelihood that state-owned farmland would be developed, if it was sold by the state, and require the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and Advisory Council on Agriculture to report to the Governor and State Legislature about programs and policies that the State of New York could enact to facilitate farm transfers and access to land for next generation farmers.
This bill has been passed by both houses of the State Legislature. Now it is up to the Governor to sign it into law.
You can help by sending an email to Governor Cuomo to help make affordable farmland accessible to the next generation of New York farmers by signing A.7002/S.5377 into law!
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely, David Haight New York State Director American Farmland Trust