NEW YORK—A group of state politicians are attempting to help apple growers who lost crops from “an extremely rare and severe frost” at the beginning of the growing season.
Dubbed the Family Farmers and Apple Growers Relief Act, the legislation would implement a tax credit for farmers growing apples to claim 35 percent of their crop losses, according to a release from state Sen. Hugh T. Farley.
The severe frost early in the spring led to “one of the worst statewide, multicrop losses ever witnessed in the state.” Cornell’s Lake Erie Regional Research Laboratory estimates crop losses for apples at 50 percent.
According to the New York Apple Association, New York is the second largest apple producing state in the nation, averaging 29.5 million bushels of production every year. These come from 694 family farms, and 10,000 direct agricultural jobs stem from the apple industry.
“This legislation will help farmers who have been hurt by the frost get back up on their feet financially,” state senator and state Senate Agriculture Chair Patty Ritchie said in a release. “At the same time, it will ensure that the farming industry—one of New York’s largest and most important industries—continues to grow.”
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