As the legislative session winds down in Albany we can hang our hat on many victories.

As I mentioned last month, we were successful in knocking down the ag value assessment increase from 34 percent to 10 percent. You do not have to do anything to apply for this change to your tax bill, it will happen automatically.

One of the bigger victories was a negotiated agreement to eliminate the inspection requirement for farm buildings for compliance with the property maintenance and fire safety codes. While one would immediately think this issue was a simple one, and who shouldn’t comply with a fire safety code, the issue was far more complicated. Imagine trying to make your old hay barn comply with the fire safety code which specifies that flammable material (i.e. hay and other dried vegetation) has to be a safe distance away from an exterior wall!

That’s what we were looking at earlier this year when the Department of State would not clarify nor apply the existing exemption for agricultural buildings used for agricultural purposes from the construction code to the property maintenance and fire safety code. Thanks to the help of our good friends Senator Seward and Assemblyman Magee, we were able to negotiate an agreement with the Governor that these buildings, similar to owner occupied residential structures, will be exempted from the recent mandated inspection requirement. While the negotiated agreement still awaits final passage and signature by the Governor, I am confident that the legislation should make it through the final days of session and be signed into law.

Speaking of the Governor, I enjoyed a sitdown meeting with him last month that was very productive. I thanked him for his big effort to overhaul the workers’ comp system, which was desperately needed. I also thanked him for his interest in connecting consumers with farmers and working on the construction of a wholesale farmer’s market in New York City.

The Governor indicated to me that he is very interested in making agriculture a linchpin in his Upstate economic recovery effort. We can certainly agree with that sentiment. Julie Suarez, Director of Public Policy, testified to that effect this month, during a senate hearing for the new heads of the Empire State Development Corp., Patrick Foye, Daniel Gunderson, and Avi Schick. Julie was right in her saying that the economic development agency has been lax in its focus on agriculture and the food processing infrastructure and needs to step in and help.

It just makes sense that if you want to revitalize the Upstate economy, one would start with its biggest economic engine: us.

Some other news
I had a terrific and educational visit to Long Island to meet with our largest membership block for its LIFB board meeting.

Long Island agriculture is truly a dynamic and diverse component of our industry — from fish farming to nursery/landscape growers and everything in between.

We continue to make our voice heard on the immigration issue in Washington, D.C. As of this writing, there is still no resolution on the issue in the Senate. We have assurances from our Senators and many of our House members that they support the AgJOBS component of reform.