N.Y. Agric. & Mkts. Law § 309-a
Beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture
Redline — January 1, 2018 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2025
As of January 1, 2018
§ 309-a. Young farmer advisory board on agriculture. 1. There shall be\nestablished within the department the young farmer advisory board on\nagriculture, to advise and make recommendations to the state agencies on\nstate government plans, policies and programs affecting agriculture, as\noutlined below, and in such areas as its experience and studies may\nindicate to be appropriate. The department shall provide necessary\nsecretariat and support services to the board.\n 2. The young farmer advisory board on agriculture shall consist of\ntwenty members, ten to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and\nconsent of the senate and assembly, selected for their experience and\nexpertise related to areas of board responsibility. The board shall be\ncomprised of diverse members of the agriculture industry as follows:\n (a) Of the twenty members appointed to the board:\n (1) one shall be from the department;\n (2) one shall be from the empire state development corporation;\n (3) one shall be an officer of the Future Farmers of America (FFA);\n (4) one shall be an urban farmer;\n (5) one shall be from the New York Farm Bureau; and\n (6) fifteen shall be from the general public appointed as follows:\nfive to be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, five to\nbe appointed by the speaker of the assembly, and five to be appointed by\nthe governor.\n (b) Each member shall:\n (1) be interested in the preservation and development of agriculture\nand preservation of the agricultural way of life in New York;\n (2) be under the age of forty-five years old at the beginning of the\nmember's term;\n (3) derive at least fifty percent of the member's personal income from\nfarming or agricultural activities in the state;\n (4) be a resident of the state; and\n (5) be appointed for a term of three years and may serve until their\nsuccessors are chosen; provided, however, that of the members first\nappointed, six shall serve for a term of one year, six shall serve for a\nterm of two years and eight shall serve for a term of three years.\n (c) Members shall serve without salary but shall be entitled to\nreimbursement of their ordinary and necessary travel expenses.\n (d) The members of the board shall meet quarterly.\n 3. The duties and responsibilities of the young farmer advisory board\non agriculture shall include, but not be limited to:\n (a) annually electing from its members a chairperson, a vice\nchairperson, and a secretary of the advisory board at the advisory\nboard's first meeting of the calendar year;\n (b) communicating to the general public, the federal government, and\nthe state government the importance of young and beginning farmers to\nagriculture in the state;\n (c) identify issues relating to young and beginning farmers in the\nstate and provide timely advice to the commissioner, the governor and\nthe relevant state agencies, with regard to the promotion of agriculture\nas a career path and the economic development of young and aspiring\nfarmers;\n (d) produce an annual report and provide such report to the governor,\nthe temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly on\nor before the end of each calendar year. Such report shall identify and\nprioritize policy issues which affect young and aspiring farmers; and\n (e) establish committees, as necessary, to develop projects relating\nto the aspects of life for young and beginning farmers in the state.\n
§ 309-a. Beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture. 1. There\nshall be established within the department the beginning farmer advisory\nboard on agriculture, to advise and make recommendations to the state\nagencies on state government plans, policies and programs affecting\nagriculture, as outlined below, and in such areas as its experience and\nstudies may indicate to be appropriate.\n 2. The beginning farmer advisory board on agriculture shall consist of\ntwenty-five members selected for their experience and expertise related\nto areas of board responsibility and comprised of diverse members of the\nagriculture industry, including the commissioner, or the commissioner's\ndesignee, with the remaining members selected as follows:\n (a) The commissioner shall appoint the following eleven board members:\n (1) one representative from the empire state development corporation;\n (2) one officer of the Future Farmers of America (FFA);\n (3) one representative from the department of labor;\n (4) one urban farmer;\n (5) one representative from the New York Farm Bureau;\n (6) one participant from the Cornell small farms program;\n (7) one representative from the United States department of\nagriculture;\n (8) one organic farmer;\n (9) one veteran farmer;\n (10) one representative from the Young Farmers coalition;\n (11) one member of a group identified in the most recent United States\ndepartment of agriculture census of agriculture that is currently\nunderrepresented in farm ownership; and\n (b) The remaining thirteen board members shall be from entry level\nfarmers or novice farmers, agriculture service providers, financial and\nlegal service providers to farm operators, Cornell Cooperative Extension\nrepresentatives, advocacy organization representatives, academics,\nagricultural leaders, and/or others who can contribute to the work of\nthe advisory board on issues, including, among others: access to land\nand capital, grants, business planning, farm processes and government\nprograms selected as follows: seven appointed by the commissioner; two\nappointed by the temporary president of the senate; two appointed by the\nspeaker of the assembly; one appointed by the minority leader of the\nsenate; and one appointed by the minority leader of the assembly.\n (c) Each member shall:\n (1) be interested in the preservation and development of agriculture\nand preservation of the agricultural way of life in New York;\n (2) be actively involved in farming, agricultural activities,\nagricultural research and/or providing services to the agricultural\ncommunity in the state;\n (3) be a resident of the state; and\n (4) be appointed for a term of three years and may serve until their\nsuccessors are chosen; provided, however, that of the members first\nappointed, eight shall serve for a term of one year, eight shall serve\nfor a term of two years and nine shall serve for a term of three years.\n (d) Members shall serve without salary but shall be entitled to\nreimbursement of their ordinary and necessary travel expenses.\n (e) The members of the board shall meet twice a year.\n (f) The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, shall chair the\nboard and the department shall provide the necessary secretariat and\nsupport services to the board.\n 3. The duties and responsibilities of the beginning farmer advisory\nboard on agriculture shall include, but not be limited to:\n (a) communicating to the public, the federal government, and the state\ngovernment the importance of beginning farmers to agriculture in the\nstate;\n (b) identifying issues relating to beginning farmers in the state and\nprovide timely advice to the commissioner, the governor and the relevant\nstate agencies, with regard to the promotion of agriculture as a career\npath and the economic development of beginning farmers;\n (c) producing a biennial report and provide such report to the\ngovernor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the\nassembly on or before the end of each calendar year. Such report shall\nidentify and prioritize policy issues which affect beginning farmers;\nand\n (d) establishing committees, as necessary, to develop projects\nrelating to the aspects of life for beginning farmers in the state.\n
Official source: NYS Open Legislation (New York State Senate). Reproduced from public-domain New York statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.