Sustainable Agriculture in

New York State

Sean Williamson
Dana Shapiro
Seth Paddock
Question

ƒ What existing governance mechanisms

promote sustainable agriculture in New
York?
ƒ What strategies work?
What is sustainable
agriculture?
ƒ Agriculture practices that will…
ƒ Satisfy human food and fiber needs
ƒ Enhance environmental quality upon which the
agricultural economy depends
ƒ Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable
resources
ƒ Sustain economic viability of farms
ƒ Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society
as a whole
(SARENE, 2006)
Why sustainable
agriculture?
ƒ Agro-industrial modernization succeeded in
increasing food production but has also led to:
ƒ Environmental degradation
ƒ Water pollution, soil erosion, loss of habitat
ƒ Economic marginalization
ƒ Farmers and regions unable to compete in the global
market face serious economic challenges
ƒ Social problems
ƒ Out-migration from rural areas
ƒ Loss of community vitality
ƒ Disconnection between consumers and producers
New York Agriculture

ƒ 25 percent of New York’s land used for

agriculture
ƒ 3 billion dollar industry
Methods

ƒ Analysis of three existing approaches to

sustainable agriculture
ƒ NYS Agricultural Environmental
Management (AEM)
ƒ Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education (SARE)
ƒ NY Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
(NYSAWG)
Agricultural Environmental
Management
ƒ Introduced in 2000
ƒ “Epoch II”
ƒ Voluntary, incentive based
ƒ Offers grants to farmers who comply with
environmental regulations
ƒ Customized and local
Analysis - Pros

ƒ There is a lot of money available - 45

million so far
ƒ Places local farmers in executive
positions
ƒ 9,000 plus farmers
ƒ Effectiveness can depend on who you
ask
Analysis - Cons

ƒ Is it really sustainable?- monetary dependence

ƒ No method of measuring improvement or
monitoring environmental damage - focuses on
use of “best management practices”
ƒ Too much emphasis on money
ƒ Voluntary - no real punishments for not taking
part
Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education
ƒ A federal program initiated in 1988
ƒ Promotes sustainable Ag primarily
through competitive research and
education grants
ƒ Objectives consistent with definition used
in the Introduction; equal elements of
conservation, profitability and quality of
life issues.
Case Study

ƒ A New York farmer submitted a project

proposal for converting her tractor to electric
power
ƒ SARE administrators reward a grant based on
correspondence with SARE goals and potential
applications
ƒ Upon completion of the project the farmer
places step-by-step instructions online for other
farmers to utilize
http://www.flyingbeet.com/
electricg/
SARE strengths

1- Clear goals directed at sustainable Ag

2- Local focus and organization
3- Incentive-based
4- Research instills constant innovation
5- Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN)
Regional organization
Problems with SARE

ƒ Limited funding
ƒ NE region received only $2.5 million for
grants in 2006; NY involved with 12 grants
ƒ Difficult to fund SARE over conservation
initiatives with more immediate results (AEM)
ƒ Practicality problems
ƒ Hardships: distributing information and
voluntary adoption of new conservation
practices
SARE analysis

ƒ Several characteristics of SARE encourage

sustainable Ag and move towards Epoch 3
ƒ Funding major problem
ƒ Future policies must produce more tangible
and immediately results while maintaining the
attributes that make the research and
education mechanism so promising
New York Sustainable Agriculture
Working Group

• Mission: to foster and promote sustainable

agriculture practices and sustainable local
and regional food systems
• Vision: economically viable,
environmentally sound, and socially just
community-based food systems that provide
community food security for all New York
residents
How
ƒ Cross-constituency organizing, education and
advocacy
ƒ Bringing grass roots knowledge of the food
system to the policy arena at local, state and
federal levels
ƒ Bringing new resources to the small family
farmers, small-scale food producers, regional
distributors local retailers and consumers in
their efforts to rebuild sustainable community-
based food systems throughout New York
State.
Project Examples:

ƒ Small-Scale Food Processors

Association of NYS
ƒ NY Farms!
ƒ Sustainable Agriculture and Food
Systems Summits
ƒ Market Gap Analysis
ƒ Proposals for Federal Legislation
ƒ Growing Home Partnership
 Impact?
Federal policy holds, as a public good, the
assurance of a a safe, nutritious, and affordable
supply of food for all Americans.

ƒ Sustainable Agriculture is positioned as a

means to address the problem of food
insecurity in NYS.
ƒ Increased public awareness
ƒ New infrastructure
ƒ Unprecedented structures for collective
action
Challenges and Prospects

ƒ Group Dynamics
ƒ No membership, no employees
+ A small, cohesive Board of Directors
ƒ Lack of Capital
+ NYS ‘Buy Fresh Buy Local’ representative
Comparative analysis

ƒ Current policies focus on production and

aim to enhance the long-term profitability
of farms (AEM & SARE)
ƒ NYSAWG uses a food systems
perspective and grassroots knowledge to
rebuild regional infrastructure
Shortcomings and
challenges
ƒ AEM lacks effective monitoring and may
create a subsidy dependence
ƒ SARE lacks immediate results Æ under-
funding
ƒ NYSAWG lacks political support and
access to capital
Realizing synergies

ƒ Public resources allocated to promote

sustainable agriculture should combine
elements of education, research, and
direct farm payments while addressing
the real needs and demands of New York
communities
ƒ Collaborative inter-sectoral initiatives to
address inter-connected problems
Thank You!

Questions?