STATE OF NEW YORK
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3921
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 30, 2017
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Introduced by Sens. RITCHIE, O'MARA -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to agricul-
tural custom operators
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 11 of section 301 of the agriculture and
2 markets law, as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2016, is amended
3 and a new subdivision 19 is added to read as follows:
4 11. "Farm operation" means the land and on-farm buildings, equipment,
5 manure processing and handling facilities, and practices which contrib-
6 ute to the production, preparation and marketing of crops, livestock and
7 livestock products as a commercial enterprise, including a "commercial
8 horse boarding operation" as defined in subdivision thirteen of this
9 section, a "timber operation" as defined in subdivision fourteen of this
10 section, "compost, mulch or other biomass crops" as defined in subdivi-
11 sion seventeen of this section [and], "commercial equine operation" as
12 defined in subdivision eighteen of this section and an "agricultural
13 custom operator" as defined in subdivision nineteen of this section.
14 Such farm operation may consist of one or more parcels of owned or rent-
15 ed land, which parcels may be contiguous or noncontiguous to each other.
16 19. "Agricultural custom operator" means an operator whose services
17 are hired by a farm operation to undertake an activity on the farm oper-
18 ation that is an essential activity of the farm operation. An agricul-
19 tural custom operator's functions shall include, but not be limited to,
20 the following: planting or harvesting crops, spreading manure, and
21 applying pesticides or fertilizers.
22 § 2. Paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 305-a of the agriculture
23 and markets law, as added by chapter 497 of the laws of 2011, is amended
24 to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09366-01-7
S. 3921 2
1 b. Upon the request of any municipality, farm owner or operator, or
2 agricultural custom operator, the commissioner shall render an opinion
3 to the appropriate local government officials, as to whether farm oper-
4 ations would be unreasonably restricted or regulated by proposed changes
5 in local land use regulations, ordinances or local laws pertaining to
6 agricultural practices and to the appropriate local land use enforcement
7 officials administering local land use regulations, ordinances, or local
8 laws or reviewing a permit pertaining to agricultural practices.
9 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
