2023 Tompkins County Ag Summit

March 24, 9:00am-12:45pm 

Sponsored by the Tompkins County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board and hosted by the Enfield Community Center

This event will be an opportunity for municipal and town officials, supervisors, board and committee members, and interested farmers, to learn about ways to ensure that development in their communities supports agriculture and farmland preservation, as well as benefiting the local community.

9:00-9:30 – Breakfast and getting settled
9:30-10:00 – Ensuring solar development benefits localities where it is sited (Joe Lawrence, Cornell PRO-Dairy, joining via Zoom from Jefferson County)
10:00-10:30 – Farm-friendly planning (George Frantz, Cornell City and Regional Planning)
10:30-11:00 – Farmland Protection Planning for urban and rural areas - benefits and resources (Jeff Kehoe, NYS Dept of Ag & Markets, joining via Zoom from Albany County)
11:00-11:30 – Overview of New York State’s penalty system for solar developers who build on prime farmland/farmland of statewide importance, update on how those fees are spent (Jason Mulford, NYS Dept of Ag & Markets, joining via Zoom from Albany)
11:30-12:00 – Update on the Tompkins Food System Plan and how towns and municipalities can get involved (Katie Hallas, Tompkins Food Future) 
12:00-12:45 – Lunch