Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-Mid-Hudson) participated in an Assembly hearing on how the state promotes New York farm products, hearing testimony from a range of stakeholders from the acting commissioner of the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets to representatives of vegetable farmers, maple producers, flower growers and forest product businesses.

“The boom in local farming, artisanal cheese making, breweries, wineries, distilleries and other value added products has been one of the real success stories in the Hudson Valley in recent years,” said Assemblymember Didi Barrett. “It is important that we continue to support programs like ‘Pride of New York’ that not only promote New York as the agriculture state that it is but also support these important local businesses which make up a critical piece of our economy.”

For three decades, New York State has been promoting New York’s farmers and farms through programs such as ‘Pride of NY.’ This program has over 3,000 members and their products from the state’s food and beverage community -- ranging from well established businesses to new and smaller family operations. The ‘Pride of NY’ program was recently supplemented by ‘TasteNY,’ which highlights New York products at special events, tourism destinations and stores throughout the state promoting all the wonderful foods and beverages that New York State produces.

Assemblymember Barrett has sponsored several pieces of legislation that would further expand existing promotion efforts by targeting senior centers (A.2700); create the ‘Shop: Pride of New York’ program which gives food service establishments that feature New York foods and retailers and wholesalers selling New York food products access to promotional materials (A.2702); the "Buy from the Backyard Act" which would require the Office of General Services and other state agencies to buy 20 percent of all their food products from producers and/or processors in New York state (A.5051); and reduce the property tax cap from 10 percent to 2 percent on annual agriculture assessment value increases (Ch.385 of 2013). This new law helps to ease the property tax burden on local farmers.

“In promoting locally grown and produced goods in the Mid-Hudson Valley and across the state, we stimulate other pieces of the local economy as well -- shops, restaurants, lodging, gas stations, tourist destinations, services and other businesses that cater to the farms and producers,” Assemblymember Barrett said. “That leads to job creation, which is what we all want to see happen.”