Bill Text: NY S09656 | 2023-2024 | 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 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-16 - REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE [S09656 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09656-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9656

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 16, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. BRISPORT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed 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.
    25    (h) "Small farm" means a farm with an annual gross cash farm income of
    26  less than three hundred fifty thousand dollars.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05753-01-3
        S. 9656                             2

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