Agriculture and Markets, Department of

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Agency Web Site: http://www.agriculture.ny.gov/

Mission

The Department of Agriculture and Markets is charged with fostering a competitive and safe New York food and agricultural industry for the benefit of producers and consumers. The Department encourages the growth and economic health of the State’s agricultural and food industry and conducts various inspections and testing programs to enforce laws on food safety, animal and plant health, and accuracy of labeling. The Department also preserves agricultural resources, improves soil and water quality, and operates the annual State Fair near Syracuse.

Organization and Staffing

The Department of Agriculture and Markets will have a workforce of 483 positions for FY 2019. The Department is run by a Commissioner, who is appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. The Department is headquartered in Albany and maintains six regional offices in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Hauppauge, Poughkeepsie, Rochester and Syracuse.

The Department of Agriculture and Markets’ operating programs are funded by tax dollars from the General Fund, fees, federal grants and other funds.

Budget Highlights

The FY 2019 Executive Budget recommends $162 million All Funds for the Department of Agriculture and Markets. This is a decrease of $67 million from the FY 2018 budget. The change primarily reflects the discontinuation of one-time appropriations for local initiatives and State Fair capital.

The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 483 FTEs for the Department, unchanged from FY 2018 levels.

Major budget actions include:

• $3.5 million in annual capital funding to address critical capital needs at the New York State Fair, including roof and façade replacement and other infrastructure improvements;
• $1.1 million for the “Taste NY” program, which promotes locally grown or produced food and beverages by making them readily available across the State at high traffic retail venues located at rest areas, airports and train stations. In addition to this innovative retail concept, Taste NY also fosters increased demand for these products via strategic branding and marketing efforts;
• $625,000 in funding for the FreshConnect farmers’ market program, which benefits farmers and consumers alike by awarding competitive grants to create and expand farmers' markets in underserved communities throughout New York;
• $1.5 million, including $750,000 suballocated from the State Education Department, for the Farm to School program, which promotes the purchasing of food from local farmers by school districts, while expanding access to healthy foods for students;
• $40,000 to evaluate and test hop varieties in New York for the purpose of increasing the availability of locally grown hops for the State’s growing craft brew industry;
• $19.5 million for various programs that provide critical support to New York’s agricultural industry, including: the Migrant Childcare, Pro-Dairy, and Cornell Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory programs, among others; and
• $50 million in reappropriated funds to complete a new 136,000 square foot exposition center at the State Fair in Syracuse, as part of the plan to upgrade and modernize the fairgrounds.

For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:

Briefing Book – Environment and Energy (PDF)

Program Highlights

The Agricultural Business Services program promotes the agricultural economy of the State and fosters the responsible use of resources to preserve agricultural land and the environment. These programs are carried out through six divisions which:

• Support and serve the State’s food and agricultural industry in the areas of market development and promotion, food and nutrition, and business development and support - including the Taste NY program and the NY Grown & Certified program;
• Inspect and test livestock, poultry, and plants to control and eradicate diseases that can both cause severe economic losses for farmers and present a public health hazard;
• Oversee the activities of county soil and water conservation districts, direct the agricultural non-point source pollution control and farmland preservation grant programs, establish agricultural districts, administer agricultural product market orders and the Federal Farmers Market Nutrition Program for low-income families, and collect and disseminate statistical agricultural information; and
• Exercise a variety of statutorily required activities involving the pricing and marketing of milk and milk products, and the licensing and bonding of milk and farm products dealers.

The Consumer Food Services program ensures that wholesome food products are sold to the consumer and that the industry and the public are protected from fraud, adulteration, or malpractice in the production, processing, transportation, and retailing of food and gasoline, and in the use of measuring devices. In carrying out these purposes, the program:

• Licenses and inspects more than 35,000 businesses that produce, process, manufacture, or distribute food products, registers food represented as kosher, and grades farm products;
• Inspects and tests dairy products to enforce laws pertaining to milk and milk product sanitation, and guards against harmful or misrepresented food; and
• Certifies and calibrates weighing and measuring devices and oversees the testing of motor fuels under the Motor Fuel Quality and Clean Air programs.

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/16/2018