Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy is inviting Albany County farmers and members of the business community to an upcoming informational session on a partnership aimed at helping startups and those looking for expand. The new initiative, in collaboration with the Hudson Valley AgriBusiness Development Corporation, will provide a wide range of programs that include assistance with project planning, technical assistance, marketing and promotion, food safety certification and much more.
“According to the USDA, Albany County has lost over 10% of its farms between 2012 and 2017. When you consider agricultural products were valued at $47.3 million, and the importance of farms for healthy local produce and the public health, these numbers should be a concern for everyone,” said County Executive McCoy. “Everything from strategic planning to grant writing are important skills that not everyone has learned and can determine the fate of some of these businesses.”
Other types of assistance provided by the agriculture support initiative include:
- Comprehensive Business Planning
- Strategic Planning for Growth and Development
- Analysis and Projections
- Agriculture Loan Fund Program
- Farm and Food Funding Accelerator
- Matchmaking Services
- Value-Added Infrastructure
- Grant Writing
- Farm Transfer
- Land Access
- Production Diversification
- Local Product Sourcing
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2017 Census of Agriculture found that the number of New York farms shrank from 35,537 in 2012 to 33,438 in 2017. During that same period, the number of farms in Albany County declined from 494 to 440. The new partnership being announced today was one of the highlights of the County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan, which was adopted by the County Executive and County Legislature in 2019.
Any interested parties should attend the meeting.
