Introduction

New York needs small-farm agriculturists.

Upstate New York should develop a workforce of entrepreneurs who launch small, sustainable farms - for several reasons:

• Rural development depends on growing farm numbers.
• Agriculture decreases the cost of living in rural New York.
• Demand for local foods creates new opportunity for agriculturists.
• Upstate New York is ideally situated to become a regional supplier of local foods.

These factors are explored in the following sections.

Rural development depends on growing farm numbers.

The number of independent farms surrounding a rural community is correlated with several measures of rural health (Harbur, 1999):

• Local businesses and publications
• Schools and parks
• Civic organizations and churches.

This correlation has a simple connection: locally owned farms, by investing in their communities, have "multiplier" effects on local food processing, storage, transportation, and retail businesses (New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, 2005). For every $1 million of new farm revenue from local basic food purchases, the local New York economy could grow by $2 million in new income and 1.45 jobs (Herrera, 2006).

Alfred State College FarmIf New Yorkers would buy just 10% more of their food from New York farmers and another 10% from New York food manufacturers, they would fuel economic growth with 17,000 new jobs and $16.5 billion in new revenue (Herrera, 2006).