Legislature hears agriculture budget: $364 million proposed, dairy grants and farmworker housing highlighted

Senators and assembly members heard a detailed presentation on the governor’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget for the Department of Agriculture and Markets at a Jan. 27 joint hearing of the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee in Albany.

Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball said the executive budget proposes $364 million for the department to “maintain our core functions and carry out initiatives” across New York’s food and farm system. The department briefed lawmakers on targeted funding in the proposal and on several programs that rely on federal or outside grants whose futures are uncertain.

Why it matters: The package aims to support New York’s farms, supply chains and food access programs at a time of tight farm margins, questions about federal support and growing concerns about farm labor, animal disease and loss of farmland.

What the budget proposes and what Ball emphasized - Dairy: The executive proposal would fund a second round of the dairy modernization grant program with $10 million to update on-farm milk storage and improve supply-chain efficiency, plus $1 million for dairy research and climate-resilient practices tied to dairies. - Climate and conservation: The governor’s plan would maintain a $400 million Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) that supports farmland and pollinator protection, soil and water…