After talking with several local farmers, Fred Akshar has released initiatives designed to grow family farms. Akshar has named three main initiatives, including: tax relief, education, and encouraging to buy local. Under his tax relief initiative, Akshar plans to expand the STAR property tax program to include both farm business in addition to farmers’ homes, as well as create tax-free farm savings accounts. For education, Akshar hopes to strengthen the state’s Young Farmer Loan Forgiveness Program, and provide additional funding for public schools to include agriculture in their curricula. To encourage more people to buy local, Akshar wants to create incentives, like tax credits, for companies to use New York-produced ingredients in their products.
