Gov. Kathy Hochul kicked off one of several conversations on Monday on a statewide listening tour about the future of farming in New York. She also announced millions of dollars in grants that will help conserve New York farmland. 

Those conversations with farmers and other stakeholders will continue in all regions of the state through the end of the year with Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. The talks will explore the economic and workforce challenges impacting agriculture, especially since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. 

"As we emerged from the pandemic, I wanted to challenge people across the state and help us define the future of farming going forward," Hochul said Monday. "And that's what this is all about. We know the challenges that exist. We also see incredible opportunities and we think about how we get through the challenges in partnership with the agricultural community because they have been there for us."

The discussions will help shape federal funding for New York's agriculture, nutrition and the environment.

Before the first roundtable discussion Monday afternoon, the governor announced 40 farms across New York, from Long Island to the Finger Lakes, will receive more than $38 million total in Farmland Protection Implementation grants.

The state expanded the pool of eligible farms or agricultural businesses that can apply for the farmland conservation funding, including horse farms, those involved in forestry, wineries and others to reflect New York's diversity of agriculture products.

The funding will help preserve farmland for the next generation, it helps farms sell development rights to portions of their farm land and takes that money to reinvest and also can make land cheaper for people interested in getting involved in agriculture.

Steve Ammerman, a spokesman for the New York Farm Bureau, stressed the funding will help make farmland more affordable in New York and ease barriers for young people to get involved.

"New York agriculture suffers when that happens because we need to be able to produce food, we need to be able to have open viewsheds, we want to keep that land in production supporting jobs and supporting our rural economies all across the state," Ammerman said. "So any time we can further invest in that preservation of our farmland, we're helping to protect it for the next generation and that's something that's very, very important."

The state is working to protect land for agricultural development after New York lost more than 300,000 acres of farmland between 2012 and 2017 because of increasing pressure from housing and solar development and the big push to increase renewable energy. The 300,000 fewer acres amounts to hundreds of miles that will likely never be farmable again.

"The Farmland Protection Implementation Grants Program continues to evolve, aligning for the first time ever with New York's priorities and goals in areas such as combating climate change," State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said in a statement Monday. "The awardees announced in this round are also for the first time inclusive of the agroforestry or equine industries, allowing us to reach farms we may not have traditionally reached in years past. I'm excited to see these changes taking effect and congratulate all the awardees for participating in this program that is helping us to forever conserve our working landscapes for future generations of farmers."