NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1528A
SPONSOR: Woerner (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to establish a youth development agriculture technology challenge
PURPOSE:
To establish an agriculture technology competition for students and 4-H
program participants.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: establishes a youth development agriculture technology chal-
lenge, which will be a competition for students from elementary through
higher education, administered by the Department of Agriculture and
Markets as part of the State fair and in conjunction with local Cornell
Cooperative Extension Associations including 4-H, school districts,
higher education, and other similar Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) competitions, such as robotics programs. The Depart-
ment would be authorized to use special accounts for the State Fair to
support the Challenge, including subject to available funding, financial
awards.
The goal of the challenge is to engage students to develop solutions to
relevant technological problems faced by farmers and food producers such
as increasing food production, increasing energy efficiency, and
decreasing the cost of farming and food production, addressing the
impact of farming on the environment and the impact of environmental
changes such as climate change or pollinator loss on farming. The
department and its partners would identify resources including training
or coaching that will assist students in underserved rural and urban
communities to participate in the challenge, and develop guidelines for
education level categories, and criteria for judging the projects.
Section 2: establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation seeks to bring together young people familiar with
challenges in agriculture, with young people who are interested in tech-
nology and science, to develop the next great "agricultural robot" or
other technological solutions to problems facing agriculture and food
production. Technological advancements in farming have already dras-
tically changed the agricultural industry and will likely continue to do
so. This challenge seeks to spur interest and curiosity from young inno-
vators and inventors into the challenges of the agricultural industry.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.1363 of 2022: Referred to Ways and Means.
S.1744A of 2022:Reported and committed to Finance.
A.8788 of 2020: Referred to Agriculture.
S.7014 of 2020: Reported and committed to Finance.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
