The Department, through its various divisions and programs, promotes New York agriculture and its high-quality and diverse products, fosters agricultural environmental stewardship, and safeguards the State’s food supply, land, and livestock to ensure the viability and growth of New York’s agriculture industries.

New York State Agriculture Snapshot
About 20% of New York State’s land area, or more than 7 million acres, is farmland. There are nearly 36,000 family farms producing some of the world’s best food, helping to drive the New York State economy. New York ranks high among the major agricultural states in the nation, ranking in the top 10 in production of 30 commodities. It is the second-largest producer of apples, snap beans, and maple syrup, third in cabbage, grapes, and dairy, which is the largest segment of the State’s agricultural sector, and fourth in pears.

Our mission is to promote New York State agriculture and its high-quality and diverse products, foster agricultural environmental stewardship, and safeguard the state’s food supply, land, and livestock to ensure the viability and growth of New York’s agriculture industries.

Core Services

Working together, our Divisions:

  • promote New York’s agricultural producers and products and the state’s food and beverage companies;
  • connect the New York’s farmers to new markets to grow the agricultural economy;
  • improve access to fresh, local foods to consumers across New York through farmers’ markets and farm-to-school programs;
  • protect and enhance New York State’s natural resources and working landscapes;
  • maintain plant health by detecting and preventing the spread of diseases and harmful invasive species, promoting integrated pest management, regulating the sale of seed and fertilizers, and ensuring the health of honey bees;
  • promote sustainable animal production agriculture;
  • protect the safety of the animal origin food supply;
  • inspect companion animal shelters;
  • protect the safety of the food supply in New York State from the producer to the consumer through inspection and testing; and
  • assure measurement accuracy of scales and gas pumps, as well as thousands of different packaged commodities for a fair and equitable commercial marketplace.

Contact the Department: (518) 457-2771 | Commissioner@agriculture.ny.gov

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