New York State Assembly

 
•  Summary 
 
•  Actions 
 
•  Floor Votes 
 
•  Memo 
 
•  Text 

S06543 Summary:

S06543 Actions:

S06543 Floor Votes:

S06543 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         6543--B
            Cal. No. 805
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 4, 2014
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  YOUNG  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to  said  committee -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered
          to first report, amended on first report, ordered to a  second  report

          and  ordered  reprinted,  retaining  its  place in the order of second
          report
 
        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;
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13821-04-4
        S. 6543--B                          2
 
     1    (f) environmental impacts of precision agriculture;
     2    (g)  cost  analyses  of  the  use  of precision agriculture, including
     3  start-up costs and affordability;
     4    (h) recommendations regarding technology support  including,  but  not
     5  limited  to,  technological  delivery and broadband access to remote and
     6  underrepresented geographic areas;
     7    (i) recommendations for  regulatory  review  pertaining  to  precision
     8  agriculture and the encouragement for the use thereof;

     9    (j) addressing barriers to the implementation of precision agriculture
    10  systems in the state; and
    11    (k) recommendations related to farmer privacy and the sharing of elec-
    12  tronic information.
    13    §  3.  The  commissioner  of agriculture and markets shall submit such
    14  report on or before November 1, 2014  to  the  governor,  the  temporary
    15  president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly.
    16    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.