Despite recording $8.5 billion in gross income in 2022, the number of New York farmers—and acres in farming—continues to decline.
That’s according to a report on the challenges facing the state’s family farms and food supply released by New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
The report shows that from 2017-22, 4,877 farms were shuttered statewide—a loss greater than nearly every other state and all of New York’s neighbors with the exception of Connecticut and Massachusetts.
“The critical role farms play in New York cannot be overstated, both as an economic engine for their communities and an essential part of our food supply system,” Comptroller DiNapoli said.
“They employ thousands of people and contributed $2.7 billion to the state’s gross domestic product in 2022…but there are increasing challenges that are changing the agricultural landscape.”
Among them:
Volatile commodity prices, labor pressures and extreme weather, all adding to the “unpredictability of farming that is contributing to the consolidation and the loss of farms.
“Policymakers must consider the ways in which state programs and policies affect this sector,” Comptroller DiNapoli warned.
The report analyzed recent economic and industry data, including the 2022 United States Department of Agriculture Census released this year.
It provides a comprehensive breakdown of farming across upstate New York along with Long Island and New York City.
The report includes an analysis of state programs and tax benefits for farmers.
Assemblyman Chris Tague, ranking member on the Assembly Committee on Agriculture, said the report’s findings illustrate the need for a “more concerted approach for supporting New York’s agriculture industry.”
Assemblyman Tague also pointed to the fact that the Comptroller’s report found that 1,728 acres of farmland—nine percent statewide--were reclassified for solar electric generation facilities from 2012-2022.
“We simply cannot afford to sacrifice farmland for green energy fields at the rate we are,” he said.
“It’s unsustainable.”
At an Assembly Committee of Agriculture on the report, representatives from the Northeast Dairy Producers Association and New York Farm Bureau also noted the fact that farmers had had trouble finding employees—even as labor costs have increased by 68 percent because of a lower overtime threshold.
To help all of this, Comptroller DiNapoli recommends four steps the state can take:
• Provide additional support for direct-to-customer or direct-to-institution marketing to help farmers increase the share of New York-produced food sold in the state.
• Support research and services for the development and adoption of climate change resistant crops and measures.
• Evaluate policies in siting renewable energy facilities on land other than productive farmland.
• Promote supportive policies for new farmers that include training programs.