New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill to keep protected farmland affordable and in the hands of farmers.
Democratic Assemblymember Didi Barrett’s Working Farm Protection Act will strengthen the state’s Farmland Protection Implementation Grant Program by rendering working farm easements permanently eligible for state funding, thereby increasing access to affordable land for future generations of farmers. Barrett, who represents portions of Columbia and Dutchess Counties, says the measure comes at a critical time as farmland values are on the rise and New York’s agricultural land is being lost to non-farmer owners. Republican Patty Ritchie sponsored the bill in the Senate.
