Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara (D-Rotterdam) announced that three pieces of legislation he sponsored to cut costs for farmers and promote agricultural products produced in New York State moved through the Assembly Agriculture Committee.

“The agriculture industry is a vital part of our local economy,” Assemblyman Santabarbara said. “We must do more to help struggling farmers, by cutting costs and opening up new avenues of business they can reach more customers, increase productivity and create good-paying jobs for our hardworking families.”

The first bill sponsored by Assemblyman Santabarbara would create a refundable investment tax credit to reduce taxes specifically for farmers who wish to reinvest their profits to improve facilities (A.6024). The legislation would also exempt wineries from sales tax reporting requirements, reduce corporate filing fees and reduce taxes on farm vehicles.

Additional legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Santabarbara would create a “Grow: Pride of NY” designation to expand upon the successes of the Pride of NY initiative (A.5564). The new program would add horticulture products such as flowers, shrubs, bushes, Christmas trees and sod to the already successful list of Pride of NY goods.

A third bill sponsored by Assemblyman Santabarbara would bring together representatives from farms, processors, wholesalers, distributors, retail food establishments, the food service industry, academic experts and other state institutions to help grow the state’s agriculture industry and foster a more businesses-friendly environment (A.2701). Among other initiatives, the council would identify new profitable products for New York farms to pursue and secure any relevant federal and state assistance.

“We’ve seen such growth in the yogurt industry and it’s helped boost the overall economy,” Assemblyman Santabarbara said. “This council would identify other areas where New York’s agriculture industry could expand and help secure the private and public partnerships necessary to create many successful new ventures in the future.”

Santabarbara also noted that the state Department of Environmental Conservation recently eased regulations on dairy farms. Previous regulations cost farmers upward of $150,000 when increasing the amount of cows on a farm from 199 to 200, making it difficult for many dairy farms to expand their businesses. With the new regulations, farmers with less than 200 cows can now expand their operations up to 299 cows without incurring those burdensome costs, helping foster growth to fill the increasing demand for New York’s dairy products.