Bill Text: NY A01639 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires the establishment of a plant-based agriculture grant program to assist small and medium-sized farms transition to plant-based agriculture.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-10 - referred to agriculture [A01639 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A01639-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1639

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 10, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, BORES -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Agriculture

        AN  ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to requir-
          ing the establishment of a plant-based agriculture grant program

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new
     2  section 16-c to read as follows:
     3    § 16-c. Plant-based agriculture grant program. 1. For purposes of this
     4  section, the following definitions apply:
     5    (a) "Expert assistance" means assistance from an  agricultural  scien-
     6  tist,  climatologist,  pedologist, horticulturist, hydrologist, or agro-
     7  nomist for assessment, design, planning, and best  management  practices
     8  of a land-use transition to plant-based agriculture.
     9    (b) "Feed crop" means a crop that is grown for livestock consumption.
    10    (c) "Livestock" means poultry, cattle, dairy cows, sheep, swine, goat,
    11  or fish.
    12    (d)  "Plant-based  agriculture"  means any farming that uses crops for
    13  growing inputs for plant-based products and does not  include  livestock
    14  farming, dairy, or any crop production for livestock feed.
    15    (e) "Program" means the plant-based agriculture grant program.
    16    (f)  "Technical  assistance" means outreach, education, expert assist-
    17  ance, legal support for contractual barriers, project planning,  project
    18  design,  grant  application  assistance,  buyer  expertise and packaging
    19  assistance, project  implementation,  or  project  reporting  assistance
    20  provided  to  a  farmer to improve their successful participation in the
    21  program.
    22    (g) "Technical assistance provider" means  organizations  with  demon-
    23  strated  technical  expertise in designing and implementing agricultural
    24  management practices.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03939-01-5
        A. 1639                             2

     1    (h) "Small farm" means a farm with an annual gross cash farm income of
     2  less than three hundred fifty thousand dollars.
     3    (i)  "Midsize farm" means a farm with an annual gross cash farm income
     4  between three hundred fifty thousand and nine hundred ninety-nine  thou-
     5  sand nine hundred ninety-nine dollars.
     6    2.  The  department  shall  establish  a plant-based agriculture grant
     7  program to assist small and medium-sized farms transition to plant-based
     8  agriculture.  Such program shall, at a minimum:
     9    (a) Provide grants to persons farming on small  to  midsize  farms  to
    10  transition  the  use  of the land from raising livestock or growing feed
    11  crops to plant-based agriculture.
    12    (b) Develop best practices for transitioning  land  used  for  raising
    13  livestock or growing feed crops to plant-based agriculture.
    14    (c)  Provide  technical  assistance,  in  consultation  with technical
    15  assistance providers, to persons farming on small to midsize farms.
    16    3. The department shall require an applicant for a grant to submit the
    17  following to the department in the application:
    18    (a) a description of any crops currently produced on the farm;
    19    (b) a description of the land that will be transitioned  from  raising
    20  livestock or growing feed crops to plant-based agriculture;
    21    (c)  a  plan  that demonstrates how the applicant will transition such
    22  land to plant-based agriculture using the best  practices  developed  by
    23  the  department  pursuant  to  paragraph  (b) of subdivision two of this
    24  section;
    25    (d)  a description of what the farm will transition to producing using
    26  plant-based agriculture;
    27    (e) a projected timeline for the completion of the transition; and
    28    (f) any other information the department deems necessary.
    29    4. Grants shall be awarded on a competitive basis  through  a  request
    30  for  proposal  process  which  shall  set  forth  the  standards for the
    31  selection process, the required project proposal format, costs  eligible
    32  for  funding,  project  implementation, reporting requirements, and such
    33  other provisions as the department may deem necessary or  beneficial  in
    34  implementing the program.
    35    5.  The  department  shall  require  a  person who receives a grant to
    36  provide a report, in consultation with a technical assistance  provider,
    37  to  the department that demonstrates that the grant recipient is transi-
    38  tioning to plant-based agriculture.
    39    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.