Click above and send a message to your legislator in support of saving NY's farms

It's hard to overstate the importance of farms to New York. Besides feeding us, the state's agricultural industry employs thousands of people and generates $5 billion in economic activity each year -- comprising one of the largest sectors in the state's economy.

New York lawmakers have debated the sale of wine in grocery stores before, but this time things are different.

But New York's farms are struggling to survive. Because of the intense pressure to develop, over 613,000 acres of farmland were lost between 1997 and 2007. It is now estimated that a New York farm is lost every three and a half days. New York has had a Farmland Protection Fund since 1996. But many years of budget cuts have left the fund seriously depleted, with a backlog of projects that were promised funds but never delivered.

HOW CAN ALLOWING THE SALE OF WINE IN GROCERY STORES HELP?

Because New York's farms are in such a bad state, NYLCV is asking the Legislature to direct 10 percent of the projected proceeds generated by the sale of wine in grocery stores to:

• Fully fund the backlog of approved farmland protection projects and
• Honor future commitments to farmland protection

For more details, check out NYLCV's Memorandum of Support

In other words, by allowing the sale of wine in grocery stores, lawmakers can not only help New York wineries by expanding into new markets -- they can actually directly protect the farms that feed us.

Watch the TV ad below featuring NYLCV's support.