§ 151-n. Climate resilient farming initiative. 1. The department, in
cooperation with the state soil and water conservation committee, and
other partners working on climate resilient farming shall encourage
agricultural producers in urban, suburban and rural communities to
reduce the effects of farming on climate change, such as greenhouse gas
emissions, and adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change by
improving and maintaining water management systems and soil health and
resiliency.

2. The department shall promote best management practices for climate
mitigation and soil resiliency, as informed by state policy, by the
United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation
Service Field Office Technical Guide and by research conducted by New
York state institutions of higher education with expertise in soil
health, and approved by the New York state soil and water conservation
committee.

3. The department shall coordinate the climate resilient farming
initiative with the agricultural environmental management program
established in article eleven-A of this chapter and section eleven of
the soil and water conservation districts law.

4. The commissioner and the state soil and water conservation
committee are each empowered to promulgate such rules and regulations
and to prescribe such forms as each shall deem necessary to effectuate
the purpose of this section.