Agriculture and Markets, Department of

Agency Web Site: https://www.agriculture.ny.gov/

Mission

The Department of Agriculture and Markets’ (AGM) 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. AGM also operates The Great New York State Fair near Syracuse.

Organization and Staffing

AGM is run by a commissioner, who is appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. The Agency's headquarters is in Albany, and there are regional offices in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Hauppauge, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, and Syracuse.

Major Programs

The Agricultural Business Services Program promotes the agricultural economy of the State and fosters the responsible use of resources to preserve agricultural land and the environment. These programs are carried out through six divisions which:

• Support and serve the State’s food and agricultural industry in the areas of market development and promotion, food and nutrition, and business development and support - including the Taste NY program and the NY Grown & Certified program;
• Inspect and test livestock, poultry, and plants to control and eradicate diseases that can both cause severe economic losses for farmers and present a public health hazard;
• Oversee the activities of county soil and water conservation districts, direct the agricultural non-point source pollution control and farmland preservation grant programs, establish agricultural districts, administer agricultural product market orders and the federal Farmers Market Nutrition Program for low-income families, and collect and disseminate statistical agricultural information; and
• Manage a variety of statutorily required activities involving the pricing and marketing of milk and milk products, and the licensing and bonding of milk and farm products dealers.

The Consumer Food Services Program ensures that wholesome food products are sold to the consumer, and that both the industry and the general public are protected from fraud or malpractice in the production, processing, transportation, and retailing of food and gasoline. In carrying out these purposes, the program:

• Licenses and inspects more than 35,000 businesses that produce, process, manufacture, or distribute food products, registers food represented as kosher, and grades farm products;
• Inspects and tests dairy products to enforce laws pertaining to milk and milk product sanitation, and guards against harmful or misrepresented food; and
• Certifies and calibrates weighing and measuring devices and oversees the testing of motor fuels under the Motor Fuel Quality and Clean Air programs.

Budget Highlights

The FY 2026 Executive Budget recommends approximately $364.2 million in appropriations for AGM, an increase of about $8.7 million from the FY 2025 Enacted Budget.

The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 656 FTEs for AGM in FY 2026.

Highlights include:

• $44 million in capital projects appropriations to support on-going improvements and continued rehabilitations at the State Fairgrounds.

For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:

Briefing Book – Environment, Energy, Parks, and Agriculture

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/21/2025