Saratoga Springs, New York, January 23, 2008—"The Governor's budget proposal is a step in the right direction," said David Haight, New York Director for American Farmland Trust (AFT). "The $30 million proposed for the Farmland Protection Program is the highest funding level ever. However, demand from New York farmers and communities for these dollars was more than four times that amount last year."

Since 1996, New York has allocated more than $144.5 million from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund for the Farmland Protection Program. The program provides 75 percent of the funds needed to permanently protect farms and keep them available for agricultural use.

To date, project partners in 28 counties have received funds to protect 63,700 acres on 276 farms. Roughly half of these projects have been completed and have protected 27,500 acres of farmland in perpetuity. New York is one of only 11 states to have protected more than 25,000 acres of farmland. 

“New York has made great strides over the last 10 years, but we have much more to do,” said Haight. “Last year, almost $130 million in potential projects were pending in communities from the eastern tip of Long Island to western New York.”

Haight noted, “More and more New Yorkers are concerned about the availability of fresh, local food, the production of homegrown renewable energy, the health of the state’s economy and the quality of life in their community. We’ve got to protect our farms and support our farmers if we are going to address these issues.”

According to an AFT study, New York has the lowest percentage of its farmland protected and the third-lowest acreage of protected farmland in an 11-state Northeast region. Since 1996, more than $500 million in projects submitted to the state’s Farmland Protection Program have been rejected; largely due to insufficient state funding. Almost 26,000 acres of farmland are developed annually in New York. 

“We hope that the state legislature and governor expand the Environmental Protection Fund to $300 million this year and pass the Bigger Better Bottle Bill to increase state environmental funding.  These actions will make it possible for New York to take a big step forward to protect working farms and help farmers implement environmentally sound management practices,” Haight added.

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American Farmland Trust is a national nonprofit organization working with communities and individuals to protect the best land, plan for agriculture and keep the land healthy.
As the leading advocate for farm and ranchland conservation,
AFT has ensured that more than a million acres stay permanently available for farming. 
AFT’s New York Office is located at 112 Spring Street, Suite 207 in Saratoga Springs.
Phone: 518-581-0078.