Agriculture is a major component of theNew York economy.[1] As of the 2012census of agriculture, there were over 35,000 farms covering an area of 7 million acres (28,000 km2) which contributed $5.4 billion in gross sales value and $1.2 billion in net farm income to the national economy.[1][2][3]Dairy farming alone accounted for $2.5 billion or 45% of sales.[1][4] TheFinger Lakes region is the center of state agriculture, and the state is a top-ten national producer of cow milk, apples, grapes, onions, sweet corn, tomatoes, and maple syrup. New York places second in apple production afterWashington.[1]
The majority of the New York soils were formed from glacialtill andoutwash deposits.[5]Iroquois agriculture from the 1300s onwards centered on the "Three Sisters"—beans, corn, and squash.[6] Extensiveapple andpeach orchards were planted by theSeneca andWyandot, these were largely destroyed or taken over by colonists following therevolutionary war.[7]
By the 1840s and 1850s, theNew York and Erie Rail Road was shipping fresh milk from theHudson Valley to New York City, helping alleviate the city's scourge ofswill milk, and New York state became the largest national dairy producer when dairy farming was becoming increasingly professional and industrialized.[8] Dairy producers have historically been widely distributed, weakening their bargaining power, and beginning in the 1870s became increasingly dominated by dealers.[8][9] After an 1883 milk strike, dealers became increasingly consolidated, and after a failed milk strike in 1902, producer cooperatives became increasing consolidated; the 1907Dairymen's League formed an alliance with theBorden Condensed Milk Company in 1922, who along withSheffield Farms would become the "Big 3".[8][10][11] Theinterwar period saw the establishment then disestablishment of the stateMilk Control Board, producers' bargaining agencies and dealers' bargaining agencies, and the establishment (still in use) of the New York–New Jersey federal–state milkmarketing order and the system ofmilk pooling,classification andblended pricing.[8][12][13]
Of the $5.4 billion in sales value reported the2012 census of agriculture, 58% was from the value of livestock, poultry, and their products, and 42% was from crops, including nursery and greenhouse crops.[3] Cow dairy alone accounted for 44.6% of sales value and ranked third nationally, and in 1998 the state was ranked second in apple production, third in cornsilage, fourth intart cherries, seventh in strawberries, and tenth in potatoes, and is also a top-ten national producer of grapes, onions, sweet corn, tomatoes, and maple syrup.[3][6][1]
The New York cowdairy farming industry created over $2.5 billion in milk sales value in 2015[4] and $2.4 billion in 2012, accounting for 44.6% of all agricultural sales value and making New York the 3rd largest cow milk producer in the country by sales.[3] Dairy products make up the majority of the state's foreign agricultural exports.[4]
New York is a top-ten national producer of apples, grapes, onions, sweet corn, tomatoes, and maple syrup.[1] In 1998, the state ranked second in apples, third in cornsilage, fourth intart cherries, seventh in strawberries, and tenth in potatoes.[6] Crops accounted for $2.25 billion in sales in 2012.[3] There are over fifty thousand acres of apple orchards and approximately 694 commercial apple growers, concentrated in theChamplain Valley,Hudson Valley,Finger Lakes andNiagara Frontier regions.[16]
Some sources rankpotatoes as number one in economic value among vegetables.[17] New York is also top-two or -three nationwide incabbage acreage and production, and it has also been claimed that cabbage is the highest earning vegetable in the state.[18] An upstate New York farm was the first to cultivatesugar snap peas at scale, after the cultivar was developed inTwin Falls, Idaho.[19]
TheFinger Lakes region is the center of state agriculture.[1] The top five counties by sales value in 2012 wereWyoming,Cayuga,Suffolk,Genesee, andSt. Lawrence counties.[1] In theWestern New York region,Chautauqua County is the state's top producer of grapes whileAllegany County is the state's top producer of hogs and pigs.[1]
Honeoye soil, located mainly on the low plateau in the northern part of theAppalachian Plateau, in the southern part of theOntario Lowland, andMohawk Valley, is recognized as one of the most productive agricultural soils and as the quasi-official New York state soil.[20][21][22]
TheBlack Dirt Region is a super-fertile region ofmuck located in southernOrange County within theHudson Valley region, northwest of New York City.[20] Muck soils are defined by the USDA as made up of relatively deep organic deposits of partially or almost completely decomposed plant material.[5]
TheNYS Department of Agriculture and Markets (Ag Department) enforces laws relating to agriculture,weights and measures, and the production, processing, transportation, storage, marketing and distributing of food.[23][6] TheSoil and Water Conservation Committee (SWCC) is an independent agency within the department that supports natural resources management through the support ofwater andsoil conservation districts.[24]
In 2012, New York received $6.01 billion inagricultural subsidies, ranking second with 10% of the total nationwide.[25] The Dairy Acceleration Program assists dairy farms, and is administered by the Ag Department andNYS Environmental Conservation Department and coordinated by theCornell CALS PRO-DAIRY program.[26] The Excelsior Jobs Program is administered by theNYS Economic Development Department and encourages creation of jobs and investments in industries such as agriculture.[27][28][26] The Ag Department also administers theGood Agricultural Practices (GAP)/Good Handling Practices (GHP) Certification Assistance Program is a cost sharing and reimbursement program assisting with the cost of a GAP/GHP food safety audit.[26] The SWCC administers the Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control Grant Program which can share up to 75% of costs for controlling agriculturalnonpoint source pollution, and the Climate Resilient Farming Program for reducing agricultural impacts on climate change (e.g., agriculturalwaste storage cover and flare systems; on-farm riparian, floodplain, and upland water management systems; andsoil health systems).[26][29]
The USNatural Resources Conservation Service continues to set standards for water conservationbest management practices (BMP) and administersfarm bill conservation programs such as theEnvironmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP),Agricultural Management Assistance Program (AMA),Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP),Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP),Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), and theWetlands Reserve Program (WRP).[24]
In 2012, there were 61,000 agricultural jobs resulting in $731 million in payroll expenses, from 10,000 farms (29% of all farms).[1][2] There were also an additional 56,000 farm operators, with 75% being over 45 years old and the average age being 55 years old.[1][2] In 2015, the dairy industry alone hired almost 20,000 people.[4]
Farm Credit East has reported that among those farmers that use theH-2A Visa program, which is already heavily regulated and burdensome, many have reported it has becoming increasingly unworkable due to significant and unexpected delays, and reiterated longstanding concerns with an inadequate labor supply.[30] The cow dairy industry uses permanent employees who are ineligible forH-2A Visas, causing problems with labor supply and making it a target forimmigration enforcement.[31] Responding to the 2016 proposed $15 minimum wage increase, Farm Credit East argued that it would reduce farmnet income by 31–51% due to farm's general inability topass-on costs in a global market.[32]
Both4-H andFFA are nationalyouth organizations traditionally focused on agriculture and farming.[33]Farm Credit East maintains ascholarship program for those pursuing apost-high school education (including colleges and technical schools) who can demonstrate an intention for a career in agriculture, forestry or commercial fishing.[34] Farm Credit East also maintains a scholarship program for teachers attending an institute of theCurriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE).[35]
Pathways in Technology Early College High School (PTECH) is anearly college high school partnership betweenSUNY Cobleskill,Fulton–Montgomery Community College,Hamilton–Fulton–Montgomery BOCES, and other businesses focusing on agriculture and other pathways.[36][37] TheCornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS or Ag School) inIthaca is New York'sland grant andstatutory college of agriculture supervised by theState University of New York (SUNY) system.[6] The CALS PRO-DAIRY program focuses on educational programming and applied research for the New York dairy industry.[38]
