NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7020A Revised 5/2/24
SPONSOR: Lupardo TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the
beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
To simplify, diversify, rename, and improve the young farmer board.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill renames the young farmer advisory board to be the
beginning farmer advisory board.
Section 2 of the bill expands the membership of the board and designates
appointments to the board by the commissioner and by the senate and
assembly. Current provisions of AML S 309-a also require board members
to be under the age of forty-five years old and derive at least fifty
percent of the member's personal income from farming or agricultural
activities in the state. This restrictive requirement is removed.
Current law also requires the board to meet quarterly, this proposal
would change that to twice a year. The bill also names the commissioner
or their designee as the chair and the Department is to provide support
services for the board.
Section 3 of the bill continues with the renaming of the board from the
young farmer advisory board to the beginning farmer advisory board. The
provision to annually elect a chair, vice chair, and secretary is
removed.
The section also changes the requirement for an annual report to a bien-
nial report to the Governor and legislature that prioritizes policy
issues which affect young and aspiring farmers.
The final section creates an effective date of immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
With the average age of New York State's farmers approaching 57 years,
up from 55 years, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, identify-
ing the next generation to work on our farms and assuring their success
should be a concern of New York state. Once an individual makes a
commitment to start farming, a complex set of business issues must be
tackled. It can be overwhelming and discouraging to try to navigate
programs and resources in matters related to farming.
By creating a board that meets regularly, the state can address these
concerns and implement a plan that moves forward our efforts to bring
our younger generation and new entrants to the farm.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A10195 (Passed Assembly)
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7020--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 10, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LUPARDO, SANTABARBARA -- (at request of the
Department of Agriculture and Markets) -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Agriculture -- recommitted to the Committee on Agri-
culture in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the
beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 309-a of the agriculture and markets law, as added
2 by chapter 129 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 309-a. [Young] Beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture. 1.
4 There shall be established within the department the [young] beginning
5 farmer advisory board on agriculture, to advise and make recommendations
6 to the state agencies on state government plans, policies and programs
7 affecting agriculture, as outlined below, and in such areas as its expe-
8 rience and studies may indicate to be appropriate. [The department shall
9 provide necessary secretariat and support services to the board.]
10 2. The [young] beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture shall
11 consist of [twenty] twenty-five members[, ten to be appointed by the
12 governor, with the advice and consent of the senate and assembly,]
13 selected for their experience and expertise related to areas of board
14 responsibility[. The board shall be] and comprised of diverse members of
15 the agriculture industry, including the commissioner, or the commission-
16 er's designee, with the remaining members selected as follows:
17 (a) [Of] The commissioner shall appoint the [twenty] following eleven
18 board members [appointed to the board]:
19 (1) one [shall be] representative from the [department;
20 (2) one shall be from the] empire state development corporation;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05979-02-4
A. 7020--A 2
1 [(3)] (2) one [shall be an] officer of the Future Farmers of America
2 (FFA);
3 [(4)] (3) one representative from the department of labor;
4 (4) one [shall be an] urban farmer;
5 (5) one [shall be] representative from the New York Farm Bureau;[ and
6 (6) fifteen shall be from the general public appointed as follows:
7 five to be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, five to
8 be appointed by the speaker of the assembly, and five to be appointed by
9 the governor.]
10 (6) one participant from the Cornell small farms program;
11 (7) one representative from the United States department of agricul-
12 ture;
13 (8) one organic farmer;
14 (9) one veteran farmer;
15 (10) one representative from the Young Farmers coalition;
16 (11) one member of a group identified in the most recent United States
17 department of agriculture census of agriculture that is currently under-
18 represented in farm ownership; and
19 (b) The remaining thirteen board members shall be from entry level
20 farmers or novice farmers, agriculture service providers, financial and
21 legal service providers to farm operators, Cornell Cooperative Extension
22 representatives, advocacy organization representatives, academics, agri-
23 cultural leaders, and/or others who can contribute to the work of the
24 advisory board on issues, including, among others: access to land and
25 capital, grants, business planning, farm processes and government
26 programs selected as follows: seven appointed by the commissioner; two
27 appointed by the temporary president of the senate; two appointed by the
28 speaker of the assembly; one appointed by the minority leader of the
29 senate; and one appointed by the minority leader of the assembly.
30 [(b)](c) Each member shall:
31 (1) be interested in the preservation and development of agriculture
32 and preservation of the agricultural way of life in New York;
33 (2) be [under the age of forty-five years old at the beginning of the
34 member's term] actively involved in farming, agricultural activities,
35 agricultural research and/or providing services to the agricultural
36 community in the state;
37 (3) [derive at least fifty percent of the member's personal income
38 from farming or agricultural activities in the state;
39 (4)] be a resident of the state; and
40 [(5)] (4) be appointed for a term of three years and may serve until
41 their successors are chosen; provided, however, that of the members
42 first appointed, [six] eight shall serve for a term of one year, [six]
43 eight shall serve for a term of two years and [eight] nine shall serve
44 for a term of three years.
45 [(c)] (d) Members shall serve without salary but shall be entitled to
46 reimbursement of their ordinary and necessary travel expenses.
47 [(d)] (e) The members of the board shall meet [quarterly] twice a
48 year.
49 (f) The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, shall chair the
50 board and the department shall provide the necessary secretariat and
51 support services to the board.
52 3. The duties and responsibilities of the [young] beginning farmer
53 advisory board on agriculture shall include, but not be limited to:
54 (a) [annually electing from its members a chairperson, a vice chair-
55 person, and a secretary of the advisory board at the advisory board's
56 first meeting of the calendar year;
A. 7020--A 3
1 (b)] communicating to the [general] public, the federal government,
2 and the state government the importance of [young and] beginning farmers
3 to agriculture in the state;
4 [(c) identify] (b) identifying issues relating to [young and] begin-
5 ning farmers in the state and provide timely advice to the commissioner,
6 the governor and the relevant state agencies, with regard to the
7 promotion of agriculture as a career path and the economic development
8 of [young and aspiring] beginning farmers;
9 [(d) produce an annual](c) producing a biennial report and provide
10 such report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and
11 the speaker of the assembly on or before the end of each calendar year.
12 Such report shall identify and prioritize policy issues which affect
13 [young and aspiring] beginning farmers; and
14 [(e) establish](d) establishing committees, as necessary, to develop
15 projects relating to the aspects of life for [young and] beginning farm-
16 ers in the state.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
