Senate Bills Propose More Resources, Market Opportunities for Farmers

Check out the story http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/senate-bills-propose-more-resources-and-market-opportunities-for-farmers-20170327 at this link.

Dairy Day Celebrated at the State Capitol

Dairy Day at the State Capitol. From left, Chip Pratt, Aileen Randolph of the New York Farm Viability Institute, Sen. Patty Ritchie, and David Grusenmeyer of the New York Farm Viability Institute

State Sen. Patty Ritchie, chair of the state Senate Agriculture Committee, welcomed dairy industry leaders to the State Capitol Wednesday for “Dairy Day,” a celebration of one of New York’s leading industries. 

The event, which is taking place during National Dairy Month, was once a tradition in Albany, and this year, Senator Ritchie, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, joined with Assemblyman Bill Magee, who chairs the Assembly Agriculture Committee, to sponsor its return.

“As Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and someone who grew up on a dairy farm, I’m proud to sponsor the return of Dairy Day at the State Capitol,” said Ritchie. “This is a great chance to spread the word to my colleagues, as well as visitors about how important dairy is to our agriculture and rural economies—especially in the rural regions I represent.”

On hand for Wednesday’s celebration were producers of dairy products — including milk, yogurt, cheese and others — from across the state, as well as representatives of various agriculture groups that help support the industry.

Established in 1937, National Dairy Month started out as “National Milk Month,” an event held to promote drinking milk.  Since that time, the observance has grown into an annual tradition that helps to celebrate our state’s 5,000 dairy farms and all the fresh, nutritious foods and drink they produce. 

State Senate Budget Includes More for Agriculture

A story on the sate Senate's budget plan, which includes more for agriculture and infrastructure.

Go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/state-senate-budget-puts-more-emphasis-on-agriculture-infrastructure-20160316 to see the story from the Watertown Daily Times.

New Program Would Tell Consumers What is "Grown in New York"

Visitors to a Central New York farmers' market

The State Senate today approved a bill to help push more locally grown food onto consumers’ plates with a marketing campaign aimed at making them aware that products are “Grown in New York.”

The bill creates the “Grown in New York” marketing program, which sets standards for producers who want to label their foods as local.

The measure is part of state Sen. Patricia Ritchie’s plan to help meet consumers’ demands for locally-grown food, support local farmers in their efforts to provide quality, fresh products, and strengthen rural communities.

The “Grown in New York” promotional campaign is designed to complement the state’s “Taste NY” and “Pride of New York” programs, by:

** Creating a specific “Grown in New York” logo to identify locally grown and produced goods, as well as to be used in marketing and social media campaigns;

** Building a “Grown in New York” website that links consumers and local producers;

** Providing educational and training programs to help consumers learn about the values and benefits of buying local;

** Finding opportunities for farmers and agribusiness owners to expand their markets; and

** Highlighting food and cultural tourism trails — like the local wine trails in Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties, and those that link New York’s 400 other wineries.

Passage of the measure builds on recent efforts to put more locally grown and produced foods on the tables of New Yorkers across the state.

Farm Bureau Weighs in on Legislative Session

Statement from NY Farm Bureau President Dean Norton on the end of the state legislative session:

“Agriculture in the state will be in an even stronger position to flourish following the success of the 2014 legislative session. In these final days, lawmakers have supported a number of key bills that will benefit every farmer in the long run.

The highlights include the passage of substantial changes to State Liquor Authority laws that will allow craft beverage makers to take advantage of new opportunities to reach customers. Also, counties will now be able to establish smaller agricultural districts of 250 acres, down from 500 acres. This will especially support new farms in more densely populated and suburban areas. Protections from things like eminent domain and nuisance lawsuits are important in communities that are seeing a growing local food network.

New York Farm Bureau is also pleased lawmakers have established a revolving loan program to assist beginning farmers.  Accessing the money needed to start up an operation is one of the greatest challenges facing new farmers. This bill will help them climb over that early hurdle.

These successes and others follow what was an especially productive state budget process for farmers. From an increased threshold in the estate tax to more funding for environmental and worker safety programs and critical commodity research, New York agriculture is primed for more growth.

New York Farm Bureau would like to thank Governor Cuomo, Senate Agriculture Chair, Patty Ritchie, and her counterpart in the Assembly, Bill Magee, and their fellow legislators for their hard work this year. Their support recognizes the value of New York’s farmers and contribution each family makes in providing local food, jobs, and economic support for their rural communities.

Moving forward, New York Farm Bureau will continue to advocate for the nearly 36,000 farms in this state, and make sure lawmakers understand the decisions they make in Albany have far reaching implications for our food system and rural economies upstate and on Long Island,” said Dean Norton, New York Farm Bureau President.

 

Bill Helps Craft Beverage Industry

A bill has been passed that will continue New York state's support of the growing craft beverage industry by cutting burdensome requirements placed on producers and rolling back restrictions regarding the marketing of craft products.

This bill would provide New York manufacturers with greater opportunities to market their products, including allowing producers to serve “by the bottle” and “by the glass” as well as permitting farm distilleries to increase the retail outlets where they can sell and offer samples of their products. In addition, this bill would reduce costs for small manufacturers by permitting them to produce more of their product at lower fees.

The legislation is a result of the state’s second Wine, Beer, Spirits, and Cider Summit, held this past April. The Summit brought the farm-based beverage sector together with agricultural producers and government officials in an effort to find ways to support the rapid growth of New York’s beverage industry.

Report: New York Is Not Ag Friendly

This is interesting.

How 'bout it, state legislators? Senate Ag Committee Chair Patty Ritchie and Assembly Ag Committee Chair Bill Magee -- what is to be made of this?

Check out http://www.hoards.com/intel/140527_art1?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=140527-39&utm_content=140527-39+CID_57b12543e818568b228927c814788d64&utm_source=Intel&utm_term=Read+More this story from Hoard's Dairyman.

Agriculture Forum Being Held Today in Watertown

This news comes from state Sen. Patricia Ritchie:

Agriculture leaders from across New York State will share insights on regulations and mandates affecting their industry at a public forum being held today (Thursday) in Watertown. 

The event is one of a series of industry-specific public forums on regulatory reform, being held in a bipartisan effort to identify and eliminate costly government regulations. 

Those in attendance will share their opinions with Ritchie, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, as well as Sens. Patrick Gallivan, David Valesky and Kathleen Marchione.

“There are so many businesses—including many in the agriculture industry—who are finding it difficult to succeed due to costly regulations and bureaucratic red tape,” said Senator Ritchie. 

“This forum will provide excellent opportunity for agriculture leaders to offer their opinions on what changes can be made that will enable this industry to grow, create jobs and boost our state’s economy as a whole.”

The forum will be place from 1 to 3 p.m. in the 11^th floor conference room of the Dulles State Office Building, located at 317 Washington St. in Watertown.

In total, 10 regulatory reform hearings will be held across the state, with a goal of helping identify 1,000 specific, job-killing regulations that can be eliminated.  A link to video of the first hearing, which focused on medical technology and health can be found at www.ritchie.nysenate.gov. 

NYS Assembly Passes Agricultural Land Assessment Cap Bill

Dean Norton

News from New York Farm Bureau:

Farmers in this state just received a big boost to help contain rising property taxes, with the state Assembly's unanimous passage of a bill that will cap agricultural land assessment increases at 2 percent a year.

The state Senate already has passed the legislation. The bill now goes to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his signature.

This bill has been a top priority for New York Farm Bureau this legislative session.There has been great concern among our farmer members who have seen rising land values push up property tax bills for farmland in recent years, essentially doubling since 2006.

Agricultural land assessments are dictated by a complicated formula that takes into account national production value statistics and soil type.Currently, New York farmers pay $38.41 per acre in property taxes, according to Farm Credit East. That is the second highest rate in the country and eats up 15 percent of a farm’s net income.  This puts farmers in this state at a clear competitive disadvantage.

“The passage of the 2 percent cap on agricultural assessments is welcomed news on farms all across New York," said New York Farm Bureau President Dean Norton. "Not one has been immune to the skyrocketing property taxes that make it more difficult to provide local food and products to their communities. ... We are hopeful Governor Cuomo will sign off on the legislation that will go a long way to keep New York families on their farms.”

While the legislation will address the immediate needs of farmers, New York Farm Bureau also is advocating for the establishment of a working group comprised of stakeholders and experts to address the long term problem of agricultural assessment valuation.

 

Freedom of Information Law Pertaining to Farms Passes State Senate

The New York State Senate passed a bill Wednesday to amend the Ag and Markets law concerning freedom of information requests filed about farm operations.

The bill would required notification to the owners and/or operators of a farm operation when information about their farm has been requested via the Freedom of Information Law from a state agency or entity.

Read the bill  http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S4904-2013 by going to this link.

The bill was delivered to the State Assembly Wednesday.

New York Farm Bureau Calls for Ag Land Assessment Cap

Here is a release from New York Farm Bureau:

Farm Bureau officials Tuesday called on state Assembly members to cap agricultural land assessments at 2 percent.

Rising land assessments dictated by a complicated formula that takes into account national production value statistics and soil type is forcing up the overall tax bill on farmland. Currently, New York farmers pay $38.41 per acre in property taxes, according to Farm Credit East.  That is the second highest rate in the country and eats up 15 percent of a farm’s net income. This puts farmers in this state at a clear competitive disadvantage.

The skyrocketing tax bills show no sign of slowing down, which could ultimately force farmers off their land. In the past 10 years, property taxes have essentially doubled for New York’s farms.

This added expense comes at a time when additional farm costs are also rising including those for fuel, feed, labor and health care. All of these weigh heavily on a farm’s bottom line, and also dissuades new farmers who are unable to afford purchasing land from taking part in the state’s long tradition of providing food, fuel and fiber.

This bill has already passed unanimously in a strong bipartisan show of support in the State Senate, and New York Farm Bureau is hoping lawmakers in the Assembly will support the state’s hard working farmers in these final weeks of the legislative session. 

While this will address the immediate needs of our farmer members, New York Farm Bureau is also advocating for the establishment of a working group comprised of stakeholders and experts to address the long term problem of agricultural assessment valuation.

“If we are going to have a healthy agricultural economy in this state, it is time we take the necessary step to implement a 2 percent cap on agricultural land assessments," said New York Farm Bureau President Dean Norton. "New York farmers deserve a fair shot when it comes to selling their quality products in a competitive marketplace."

“From 1990 to 2006, the average ag assessment value was $550 for a particular soil class. For 2013, the ag assessment value for this same soil class is $1,000,” said Barry Flansberg, town assessor for Oakfield, Elba and Byron in Genesee County and Barre in Orleans County.

“From my professional perspective in an area that has a strong agricultural presence, farming has evolved and modernized since the 1970s, but the ag assessment system has not," Flansberg said. "It is not reflective of what’s happening in the fields today and no longer is a reasonable and consistent system.”

Bills to Cap Agricultural Land Assessments Receiving Attention

Go to the http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20130528/NEWS03/705289943 link here to read the story.

NY State Senate Ag Committee Meeting from March 5, 2013

Here is a video of the state Senate Agriculture Committee meeting from March 5. Testimony from New York Farm Bureau President Dean Norton begins at about the 7 minute mark and testimony from Amanda Rhodes, president of the state FFA, begins at about 14 minutes and 33 seconds.