Ready access to productive land resources is an essential component of the survival strategy for New York farm and food producers. The farmland legacy program partners with Cornell Cooperative Extension to build toward streamlined and effective policies to help resolve conflicts over alternate land uses and improve quality of life for all citizens.

Structural adjustment in New York agriculture, as reflected in number and size of farm, continues to alter the working landscape and influence the economic and social vibrancy of rural communities. Although few New Yorkers are now actively employed in farm and food production, active farmers own or lease-own or lease a substantial share of all land area for use in farm commodity production. Ready access to productive land resources is an essential component of the survival strategy for New York farm and food producers. Efforts to understand the forces underlying rural land use trends and articulate viable policy options for policy makers are essential if the industry is to flourish in this millennium.

The Department of Applied Economics and Management operates a legacy farmland protection program that is multi-dimensional and dates to the 1970s. The cornerstone of the program is applied research dealing with the social and economic aspects of farmland use and policy. The campus-based program is a full partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension educators in nearly 50 county associations who deliver program in the farmland protection arena; the program centers on the New York Agricultural Districts Law, which is overseen by the New York State Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets. Program efforts are complemented with timely dissemination of applied research results and periodic inservice training events for Extension educators and members of Agricultural and Farmland Protection Boards.

New York county legislators have created agricultural districts which now comprise about 8.5 million acres or 28 percent of the total New York land area. Farming is recognized as a priority land use in districts and the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets estimates that about 6.3 million acres or 72 percent of all districted acreage is farmed by 21,600 farm operators. Agricultural assessments available under this legislation provide aggregate tax benefits now approaching $90 million per year. Separate provisions for a 10-year exemption on new farm structures generate about $11 million in property tax savings each year. Forty-six New York counties are engaged with comprehensive agricultural and farmland protection planning efforts with components that encourage retention of land in farm use and enhance agricultural economic development.

• Greg Poe (Cornell)
• David Kay (Cornell)
• Rod Howe (Cornell)
• Stephan Goetz (Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development)