State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball will be at Cornell on Friday to discuss topics central to New York agriculture as part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s annual message to the state.
As one of several regional presentations related to Cuomo’s 2017 New York State of the State Address, Ball will brief attendees on topics connected to the Department of Agriculture and Markets. The mission of the department is to foster a competitive food and agriculture industry that benefits producers and consumers in the state.
The presentation will be held Friday, Jan. 27 from 4-5 p.m. in PepsiCo Auditorium/146 Stocking Hall. Ball will take questions from the audience following his talk, which is free and open to the public.
Topics for his talk may include:
- Wellness initiatives in NYS—pharmaceuticals, water quality, obesity, etc.
- A fully-funded Environmental Protection Fund
- Maintaining and highlighting farm-to-school projects
- Agriculture in the classroom—teaching children about local eating
- Grants for farmers and ways to connect them with other resources
- Startup grants for FFA chapters
- Rural development work
- Land trust changes—conserved farmland, providing inventories of available farmland, working with local stakeholders, etc.
- Marketing craft beverages
Registration is closed.
