West Hudson Valley News

Assemblyman Chris Tague has expressed concern over the decline in farms and farmland in New York, following a report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The report highlights that despite generating $8.5 billion in gross income in 2022, the state has seen a reduction of 4,887 farms between 2017 and 2022. This rate of loss surpasses nearly every other state in the U.S., except Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Tague, who serves as the ranking Minority member on the Assembly Committee on Agriculture, emphasized his long-standing warnings about this issue since his election in 2018. He stated, “It’s incredibly disappointing and frustrating because this is the exact problem I’ve been trying to warn this state of since I was elected in 2018.”

The report also notes that 1,728 acres of farmland have been reclassified for solar electric generation facilities. Tague remarked on this trend saying, “We simply cannot afford to sacrifice farmland for green energy fields at the rate that we are. It’s unsustainable.”

During a recent meeting with New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball, Tague addressed issues such as commodity prices, grant allocation, land health, and labor pressures. He noted discrepancies between Commissioner Ball's responses and Comptroller DiNapoli's recommendations.

“It often seems the answers we hear from the state’s agriculture department are incongruous with the reality presented by the state comptroller’s office,” Tague said. He stressed the importance of supporting farmers more effectively: “Like Mr. DiNapoli says, and like I’ve said for seven years now, we need to support farmers more."

Tague concluded by highlighting the broader implications: "We need to foster an environment that is agriculture friendly. Because if we don’t have farms, we don’t have food.”