What's happening
This bill authorizes the creation of an agricultural marketing "boot camp" program for small to medium New York farms targeting non-traditional markets.
Why it matters
Focuses on helping small and mid-sized farms diversify. By targeting owners of small to medium New York farms who want to reach non-traditional or non-commodity markets, the program aims to help these businesses find new revenue streams and enhance their long-term viability amid changing agricultural markets.
Provides intensive, university-backed training and resources. The program is designed to be as rigorous as a college-level course, with access to faculty, staff, and campus resources from several SUNY campuses and Cornell, ensuring participants receive up-to-date, practical education in agricultural marketing and business planning.
Offers competitive grant funding for top participants. Up to one-third of each cohort can receive grants of up to $10,000, providing direct financial support to implement innovative business or marketing plans developed during the boot camp—potentially lowering barriers to market entry for small farms.
Seeks to create replicable models and best practices. By requiring ongoing reporting from grant recipients and sharing successful strategies with future cohorts and academic partners, the program aims to continually improve and disseminate effective marketing methods for small farms across New York State.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Train Small Farm Marketers
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to agriculture
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to agriculture
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.449
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to agriculture
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Train Future Farm Marketers
In Assembly Committee · Agriculture · Sponsor William Magee
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4660
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 23, 2017
Introduced by Sen. RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT authorizing the commissioner of the department of agriculture and markets to develop the future agriculture readiness marketing camp
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The commissioner of agriculture and markets is hereby authorized and directed to develop an agricultural marketing "boot camp" program in accordance with the requirements prescribed in this act.
§ 2. (a) The commissioner of agriculture and markets is directed to develop the program in cooperation with an advisory board consisting of the presidents of: SUNY Morrisville; SUNY Canton; SUNY Cobleskill; SUNY Oswego, and the dean of the college of agriculture and life sciences at Cornell University. Though the resources of each institution shall be utilized, the program shall be coordinated by the Small Farms program of Cornell University. Two representatives, one selected by the senate majority, and the second by the assembly majority, shall also serve on the program's advisory board.
(b) Members of the advisory board described in subdivision (a) of this section shall not receive compensation, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for expenses under any applicable state law, rule, or regulation.
§ 3. The program shall be no less than one week in length, but no more than two weeks, and shall be at least as academically rigorous as a 200-level-class at any of the institutions in subdivision (a) of section two of this act. Participants shall have the same access to information, faculty, staff, and resources as a matriculated student would have at any of the institutions named in subdivision (a) of section two of this act. The program shall consist of one cohort each year, of not more than thirty students, but not fewer than five students.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09433-04-7
S. 4660 2
§ 4. (a) Prospective participants shall submit an application, at a time and in a manner determined by the participating institutions. The application shall include a combination of media, and at minimum must describe: a business plan; marketing goals; the product intended to be sold, and demonstrate that the prospective participant has the necessary attributes to succeed in the program. Prospective participants may also be required to submit other supplementary documentation as is deemed necessary by the participating institutions.
(b) Successful applicants shall be required to pay a fee covering room, board, and materials. This fee shall not exceed $500 per week, payable to any participating institution that hosts all or a part of that year's administration of the program.
§ 5. The program will be held on the campus of either SUNY Morrisville, SUNY Canton, SUNY Cobleskill, or SUNY Oswego, or any combination thereof as determined by the participating institutions. The location may change from one year to another.
§ 6. The program shall teach participants how to: develop their chosen product; how to identify prospective consumers; how to market their product to such consumers, and how to transport their product to such consumers. The program may also include any other topics or cognates that the participating institutions deem necessary and proper.
§ 7. (a) No more than one week after the end of each administration of the program, participating institutions shall review presentations prepared by each participant. Presentations shall feature such materials as the participating institutions may deem appropriate to demonstrate understanding of the program content, and the further development of the business plan and marketing goals contained in the participant's application.
(b) Of each cohort, not more than one-third of the participants shall, based on the presentations described in subdivision (a) of this section, be selected for a grant of funds. Each individual grant shall not exceed $10,000.
(c) Each grant shall be issued by the empire state development corporation, according to an agreement between it, the department of agriculture and markets, and the office of the state comptroller.
(d) Each awardee shall be required to submit periodic reports to the department of agriculture and markets and the office of the state comptroller. These reports will allow the monitoring of grant funds, and should also serve to develop best-practices models that will be shared with future participants in the program, as well as the students and faculty of participating institutions.
§ 8. The commissioner of agriculture and markets is instructed to ensure that the program admits only owners of small to medium sized farms based on the United States department of agriculture's 2012 agriculture census of New York state, who seek to target non-traditional or non-commodity markets. Applicants must be domiciled in New York state and have a principal place of business in this state.
§ 9. The commissioner of agriculture and markets shall be authorized to provide funds for this program only to the extent that an appropriation is available for that specific purpose.
§ 10. This act shall take effect immediately. The commissioner of agriculture and markets shall induct the first cohort into the program within one year of the effective date of this act.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act authorizing the commissioner of the department of agriculture and markets to develop the future agriculture readiness marketing camp
Purpose
To authorize the Commissioner of the State Department of Agriculture and Markets to develop an agricultural marketing "boot camp" program, in association with an advisory board.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 charges the Commissioner with creating the program.
Section 2 describes the advisory board that will govern the program, and the mechanism for appointing certain members of that board.
Section 3 describes the length of the program, its level of academic rigor, and the size of each yearly participant cohort.
Section 4 describes the process of applying to each administration of the program.
Section 5 lists the SUNY campuses that may be used as the site of the program each year.
Section 6 describes what the program shall teach participants.
Section 7 describes the presentations each participant must make at the conclusion of each administration of the program, how those presentations will be evaluated, and how grants may be awarded to a subset of participants.
Section 8 instructs the Commissioner to admit only the owners of small to medium sized farms, who are legal residents of New York State, with certain business models.
Section 9 authorizes the provision of funds by the Commissioner to the extent an appropriation is available for the specific purpose of operating the program.
Section 10 states that the act shall take effect immediately.
Justification
For business owners, often times marketing is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle when it comes to achieving success. To help those new to the agriculture industry gain the valuable knowledge and tools needed to promote their businesses, this legislation would establish a "F.A.R.M Camp," or a Future Agriculture Readiness Marketing Camp. Offered once yearly to a select group of successful farmer-applicants, this camp will expose selectees to several of the best agriculture programs in the state. Each participant will have access to all that SUNY has to offer, allowing them to develop their business and themselves. An exclusive group of graduates from the program will also be granted additional aid in the form of grant funds to help them make their marketing plan a reality.
Legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
To be determined
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.