January 30th, 2025
By Olivia Fuller
AFT Urges Support to Protect Farmland for a New Generation of Farmers, and Incentivize Farm to School in New York
Albany, NY—American Farmland Trust (AFT) is grateful for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s leadership in the proposed FY26 executive budget to fund programs that support New York farmers and keep land in agriculture, providing benefits to all New Yorkers.
Unlocking the Full Potential of Farm to School: Including Breakfast in the 30% Initiative
AFT has been encouraged by Gov. Hochul’s continued support for farm to school initiatives, including funding the 30% Initiative at $10 million, and the Farm to School Grants Program at $1.5 million. However, the 30% Initiative has remained inaccessible for most School Food Authorities (SFAs) across the state, with only an 11.4% participation rate of all SFAs. In a recent research report jointly authored by AFT and National Farm to School Network, over 70 percent of SFAs surveyed indicated they would purchase more local foods from New York farmers, producers, food hubs, and distributors if breakfast was included in the program. Excluding breakfast from the incentive leaves money on the table that could support New York farms and unnecessarily limits the amount of local food children receive in school breakfast.
In SY2023-24, qualifying SFAs spent $9.6 million on NYS food products for lunch, generating important revenue for our NYS farmers. Still, because the program’s lunch-only requirement makes it inaccessible for most SFAs, only $3.1 million out of the $10 million allocation was spent. In order to increase program participation, further support NYS farmers, and ensure students receive nutritious local food throughout the school day, AFT urges the state to expand the 30% NYS Initiative to include local foods at breakfast.
“We know that Governor Hochul understands the importance of nutrition for New York’s school children, which is underpinned by her announcement of support for Universal School Meals,” said Julian Mangano, New York Policy Manager at American Farmland Trust. “Including breakfast in this initiative would help increase schools’ capacity to procure local food, improve the access of nutritious meals and snacks for students, support New York farmers, and bolster the local economy.”
Farmland Protection and Resiliency: AFT Proposes $25 Million for Farmland Protection as Part of a $500 Million Environmental Protection Fund
American Farmland Trust commends state leadership for declaring agricultural lands to be irreplaceable state assets. Prioritizing the protection of farmland, farm operations, and supporting local and regional food systems has become a necessary focus. Between 2017 and 2022, New York saw a loss of 2,788 farms and 363,885 acres of farmland (2022 USDA Census of Agriculture). Without intervention, New York could lose an additional 452,000 acres of farmland to development by 2040 (Farms Under Threat 2040, 2022). With the intentional and strategic initiatives presented in the state budget, New York can be a leader in making a lasting impact by:
- Promoting sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems.
- Encouraging collaboration among local governments, conservation organizations, and the state.
- And maintaining alignment with climate resilience and food security goals.
Though New York has made strides in protecting its agricultural land, we have only permanently protected approximately 120,000 acres, or two percent of our total farm acres. New York loses an average of 50 acres of farmland per day – the equivalent of two farms each week. With this rapid rate of farmland loss, rural economies become more vulnerable. New York is the leading agricultural producer in the Northeast, having an $85.8 billion impact on the state economy (2024 Northeast Economic Engine, Farm Credit East). Agriculture is critical to New York’s food supply, environmental health, and economy. For this reason, American Farmland Trust urges the Governor and Legislature to secure $25 million for the state’s Farmland Protection program, as part of a $500 million Environmental Protection Fund. This investment is vital to increasing the amount of farmland available for a new generation of farmers, and capitalizing on the additional benefits of protected farmland, such as improved soil, air, and water quality, strong local economies and job opportunities, and a more resilient food and fiber system.
The Executive Budget also proposed several changes to Article VII pertaining to farmland protection. In general, AFT supports these changes, but encourages additional funding be allocated to support the fiscal impacts of these additional farmland protection initiatives.
Farmland for a New Generation: $1 Million Needed to Support Farmland Access and Transition in a Critical Moment
AFT strongly believes that keeping farmers on the land is crucial to ensure our farmland remains productive and resilient. We were disappointed that the proposed executive budget did not include funding for the Farmland for a New Generation (FNG-NY) program. FNG-NY is a proven program, coordinated by AFT in partnership with the State of New York, agricultural organizations, land trusts, and others – that helps farmers seeking land and landowners who want to keep their land in farming. Over the past five years, this program has had an outsized impact, supporting 38 Regional Navigators annually who have helped to facilitate 206 matches between retiring farmers and a new, more diverse generation of farmers, keeping more than 10,899 acres in farming. Despite the traction that has been made by the program, we have seen a shortfall in being able to fully support the needs of Regional Navigators. Specifically, in 2023 Regional Navigators requested $485,000 in funding to aid their work, but we were only able to award $270,000, a $215,000 deficit.
AFT is grateful for our legislative champions who continue to fight for this program. Time is of the essence, as a third of New York’s farmers are 65 and older and are likely to transition their farms in the coming years. We remain hopeful that the legislature and Gov. Hochul will work together to ensure this program is increased to $1,000,000 to continue its impact on ensuring that older farmers who are looking to transfer their land are supported in doing so, and new and beginning farmers are able to navigate the many challenges of acquiring a farm, including legal, financial, and technical support. This is especially important so we can increase equitable access to farmland, which has proven a true challenge for new, beginning, and historically resilient farmers from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. With increased funding, AFT is poised to expand its reach to a growing number of Spanish-speaking farmers and farm owners, and to work with Regional Navigators to better serve farmers in Spanish, and English, across the state.
If enacted, these actions and investments will help farmers access more local market opportunities and feed kids healthy, locally grown food, protect more of New York’s valuable farmland resources, and support a new generation of farmers to steward the land. The time is now for New York to be a leader in assuring state-level protection for our farmland and our future!
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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food® message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.