What's happening
The Carbon Farming Act creates a tax credit for New York farmers who use land management practices that sequester and reduce greenhouse gases.
Why it matters
Targets agricultural greenhouse gas reduction at its source. By incentivizing carbon sequestration directly on farms, the bill addresses a significant but often overlooked sector in climate policy, potentially turning farms from emitters into active carbon sinks.
Integrates science-based measurement tools. The use of USDA’s COMET-Planner and COMET-Farm ensures that carbon sequestration claims are quantifiable and verifiable, fostering accountability and credibility for both farmers and taxpayers.
Connects financial benefit to environmental performance. The size of the tax credit is directly tied to the actual economic value of carbon sequestered, as determined by state agencies, encouraging meaningful, results-driven action rather than generic compliance.
Builds infrastructure for ongoing climate-smart agriculture. The bill requires state agencies to create educational materials and standardized metrics, laying groundwork for broader adoption and understanding of climate-friendly farming, and potentially positioning New York as a leader in regenerative agriculture policy.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Give Farmers Carbon Tax Credit
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to agriculture
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8256
IN SENATE
April 24, 2018
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, the environmental conservation law and the tax law, in relation to enacting the carbon farming act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "carbon farming act".
§ 2. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and declares that soil and vegetation management can significantly enhance soil and carbon sequestration, resulting in a wide range of environmental and agricultural benefits to New York farmers and residents, including: increased yields; soil health; improved water quality; and reductions in greenhouse gases. The legislature further declares that enhancing carbon sequestration, the long term storage of carbon in plants, soils, geologic formations and the ocean, through farming is in the best interest of New Yorkers. It is therefore the intent of the legislature and the purpose of this act to encourage farmers to further sequester and mitigate carbon in this state by establishing carbon farming tax credit to reward and incentivize farmers to maintain or adopt practices that help maximize New York's carbon sequestration potential.
§ 3. Section 150 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
5. "Carbon farming" means the implementation of a land management strategy for the purposes of reducing, sequestering, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions on land used in support of a farm operation and quantifying those greenhouse gas benefits using the United States Department of Agriculture's COMET-Planner, COMET-Farm, and other quantification tools.
§ 4. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivision 53 to read as follows:
53. Carbon farming credit. (a) Allowance of credit. A taxpayer that is an agricultural business that produces farm products shall be allowed a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07578-11-8
S. 8256 2
credit against the tax imposed by this article for the practice of carbon farming.
(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(i) "carbon farming" shall have the same meaning as set forth in subdivision five of section one hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law;
(ii) "farm products" shall have the same meaning as set forth in subdivision five of section two of the agriculture and markets law; and
(iii) "carbon sequestration" shall mean the long term storage of carbon in plants and soils.
(c) Such credit shall be calculated based on the economic value of carbon farming as determined by the commissioner of environmental conservation, in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture and markets and the commissioner pursuant to paragraph ccc of subdivision two of section 3-0301 of the environmental conservation law.
(d) The taxpayer shall attach to its tax return its final certificate of eligibility issued by the commissioner of environmental conservation pursuant to section 19-0309 of the environmental conservation law. In no event shall the taxpayer be allowed a credit greater than the amount of the credit listed on the final certificate verifying the emissions reductions to be credited to the taxpayer.
(e) If the amount of the credit allowable under this subdivision for any taxable year shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, any amount of credit not deductible in such taxable year may be carried over to the following three years, and may be deducted for the taxpayer for such year.
§ 5. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection (jjj) to read as follows:
(jjj) Carbon farming credit. (1) Allowance of credit. A taxpayer who provides farm products and who practices carbon farming shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed by this article.
(2) Definitions. For the purposes of this subsection, the following definitions shall apply:
(A) "Farm products" shall have the same meaning as set forth in subdivision five of section two of the agriculture and markets law.
(B) "Carbon farming" shall have the same meaning as set forth in subdivision five of section one hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law.
(3) Application of credit. Such credit shall be calculated based on the economic value of carbon farming as determined by the commissioner of environmental conservation, in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture and markets pursuant to paragraph ccc of subdivision two of section 3-0301 of the environmental conservation law.
(4) Certification required. The taxpayer shall attach to its tax return its final certificate of eligibility issued by the commissioner of environmental conservation pursuant to section 19-0309 of the environmental conservation law. In no event shall the taxpayer be allowed a credit greater than the amount of the credit listed on the final certificate verifying the emissions reductions to be credited to the taxpayer.
(5) Carryover of credit. If the amount of the credit allowable under this subsection for any taxable year shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, any amount of credit not deductible in such taxable year may be carried over to the following three years, and may be deducted for the taxpayer for such year.
S. 8256 3
§ 6. Subdivision 2 of section 3-0301 of the environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new paragraph ccc to read as follows:
ccc. Cooperate with the department of agriculture and markets to develop educational materials to promote and encourage carbon farming. Such materials shall promote farming practices which reduce, sequester and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions through the implementation of carbon farming strategies and on land used in support of a farm operation; and develop and codify a metric to quantify the storage of carbon using the United States Department of Agriculture's COMET-Planner, COMET-Farm, and other quantification tools. The department shall develop and distribute an application and certification procedure which verifies the carbon stored to be credited to each farm. The department may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement this section.
§ 7. Subdivision 1 of section 19-0309 of the environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 817 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows:
1. For the purposes of sections 208, 210, 606 and 612 of the Tax Law, the commissioner or his designated representative is hereby authorized to issue certificates of compliance concerning air pollution control facilities [and], air pollution controlled process facilities and carbon farming as defined in such law. No such certificate shall be issued unless the facility to which it is applicable is in compliance with applicable provisions of titles 1 to 11, inclusive, and title 19 of article 17, article 19, and title 1 of article 27 of this chapter; of the Public Health Law; of the state sanitary code and of codes, rules, regulations, permits or orders issued pursuant thereto.
§ 8. Section 16 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new subdivision 49 to read as follows:
49. Cooperate with the department of environmental conservation to develop educational materials to encourage carbon farming and how to use the United States Department of Agriculture's COMET-Planner, COMET- Farm, and other carbon quantification tools. The program shall promote farming practices which reduce, sequester and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions on land used in support of a farm operation. The department shall promote the carbon farming tax credit provided in sections two hundred ten-b and six hundred six of the tax law.
§ 9. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition, amendment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, the environmental conservation law and the tax law, in relation to enacting the carbon farming act
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to create a new financial incentive to farm- ers for land management practices which help improve soil health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, making New York a leader in promoting new agricultural strategies that combat climate change.
Summary of provisions
This bill shall be known and cited as the "carbon farming act".
Read the full memo (794 words)
A new subdivision 5 is added to section 150 of the agriculture and markets law to define "carbon farming" as the implementation of land management practices which reduce and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions on land used in support of farm operations and the further quantifica- tion of those benefits using existing state and federal tools for meas- uring carbon storage in soil and the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
A new subdivision 53 is added to section 210-B of the tax law to create a carbon farming credit allowance to those tax paying agricultural busi- nesses, which produce farm products, for their practice of carbon farm- ing.
The economic value of the carbon farming credit would be determined by the commissioner of environmental conservation, in consultation with commissioner of agriculture and markets, using existing methods for measuring air pollution, pursuant to paragraph ccc of subdivision two of section 3-0301 of the environmental conservation law.
The amount credited to the taxpayer for carbon sequestration and green- house gas emissions reduction would be based upon a certificate of eligibility issued by the commissioner of environmental conservation, pursuant to section 19-0309 of the environmental conservation law.
In the event a tax credit allowance exceeded the taxpayer's total tax for a given year, the credit could be carried over to the following three years.
A new subsection jjj is added to section 606 of the tax law to make conforming changes related to definitions of carbon farming credit and its application and carryover.
A new paragraph ccc is added to subdivision 2 of section 3-0301 of the environmental conservation law to create an educational program to encourage and educate farmers about the benefits of carbon farming prac- tices, develop and promote the application and certification procedure for verification of emission reductions credited to applicants, and to codify a metric to quantify the storage of carbon using the USDA's COMET-Planner, COMET-Farm, and other quantification tools. The depart- ment is given authority to make rules and regulations necessary to complete this.
Subdivision 1 of section 19-0309 of the environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 817 of the laws of 1987, is amended to grant the commissioner authority to issue certificates of compliance for carbon farming among other air pollution facilities and process facilities.
A new subdivision 49 is added to section 16 of the agriculture and markets law to direct the commissioner to work with the department of environmental conservation to develop educational and promotional mate- rials on carbon farming practices.
Justification
Climate-smart land management practices improve soil resilience and increase productivity for our state's farmers while simultaneously addressing the state's climate change goals. The aim of a statewide carbon farming initiative is twofold: as a land stewardship program, it would improve soil health and productivity by holding nutrients in place; as a climate-smart initiative it would mitigate carbon's release into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide contributes to climate change as a greenhouse gas by trapping heat in the atmos- phere.
A tax credit for farmers who practice land management strategies which store, or sequester, carbon in the soil is a new model for combatting climate change. Reductions in net CO2 emissions can be quantified by existing methods for measuring air pollution, especially the USDA's COMET-Planner software which was developed following the enactment of the 2014 federal Farm Bill. New York would be the first state to offer this type of tax credit, specifically for carbon farming, to all taxpay- ers who make farm products and not only the largest agricultural busi- nesses.
By using no-till systems, planting cover crops, trees and perennial forages, and managing compost application, farmers can see improvements in water holding capacity, nutrient storage, and reduced erosion. All of these farming practices have the collateral benefit of sequestering carbon in the soil, thereby reducing its release into the atmosphere as CO2. The carbon farming program outlined would incentivize farmers who are currently using these strategies to continue them and would encour- age others to undertake the prescribed soil health methods now widely accepted as beneficial not only to productivity but for the reduction in greenhouse gases.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
Undetermined.
Effective date
90 days after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.