Directs the commissioner of agriculture and markets to assess and report on the use and development of precision agriculture, and the use of broadband by farmers.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9961
IN ASSEMBLY
June 3, 2014
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Magee) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT to direct the commissioner of agriculture and markets to issue a
report assessing the use and development of precision agriculture in
the state with recommendations pertaining to rural broadband accessi-
bility, use and support for the farmers, as well as cost savings and
higher crop yield
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby enacts this act
2 to evaluate the practicality, costs and benefits of precision agricul-
3 ture for the state's farmers, as well as the accessibility of broadband
4 to farmers to facilitate data analysis, and increase the efficiency and
5 productivity of farms throughout the state.
6 § 2. The commissioner of agriculture and markets, in consultation with
7 the New York state broadband program office of the empire state develop-
8 ment corporation, shall compile and issue a report to assess the use and
9 development of precision agriculture in the state and make recommenda-
10 tions pertaining to any necessary technical support, accessibility of
11 broadband with particular focus in rural areas of the state, and a cost
12 benefit analysis of precision agriculture. The report of the commission-
13 er shall include, but not be limited to:
14 (a) definitions of precision agriculture and site-specific farming;
15 (b) statistics of use by farmers in the state;
16 (c) statistics of crop yields with the use of precision agriculture as
17 compared to traditional methods;
18 (d) statistics of rural broadband availability, with particular empha-
19 sis on agricultural land;
20 (e) availability of suitable global positioning services;
21 (f) environmental impacts of precision agriculture;
22 (g) cost analyses of the use of precision agriculture, including
23 start-up costs and affordability;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13821-05-4
A. 9961 2
1 (h) recommendations regarding technology support including, but not
2 limited to, technological delivery and broadband access to remote and
3 underrepresented geographic areas;
4 (i) recommendations for regulatory review pertaining to precision
5 agriculture and the encouragement for the use thereof;
6 (j) addressing barriers to the implementation of precision agriculture
7 systems in the state; and
8 (k) recommendations related to farmer privacy and the sharing of elec-
9 tronic information.
10 § 3. The commissioner of agriculture and markets shall submit such
11 report on or before November 1, 2014 to the governor, the temporary
12 president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly.
13 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
