Last November, the DOC discontinued its farming program in an effort to save money as the state's budget crisis loomed. Now New York State is looking to try and bring some revenue back into its coffers by allowing farms the opportunity to make use of the land.

"We're doing our best to try to keep as much of this land as possible in farming. I know that some people have been unhappy that the state is 'abandoning its farms' — that's not true," said DOC Spokesman Erik Kriss.

"Due to the cost of providing security, since inmates are working on them, [the farm programs] lost $3.4 million a year combined for the agency and for the taxpayers. We're looking to cut costs and make the operation more efficient and focus on our core mission, so we believe that it's a better policy to lease this land out so that private farmers can work the land. They are not burdened by the costs of security. Hopefully they can work this land at a profit, which is really good for everybody — it's good for the state because it generates revenue, and expands, in a minor way, the private agricultural sector of New York. And it keeps this land in farming, as much of the land as possible."

Kriss provided acreage numbers pertaining to the three prison sites in this newspaper's coverage area: the farms near Eastern Correctional Facility in Napanoch, Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Wallkill, and Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg will have 446, 447, and 117 acres available for lease, respectively. Not all of the land once used by the farming programs will be leased, however, because some plots may be too close in proximity to the prisons, and would therefore provide too great a security risk.

The bids will be received and reviewed by the New York State Office of General Services (OGS), the custodians of all state property. Also working with the DOC and the OGS is the Department of Agriculture and Markets, who will aid in ensuring the land is matched with the right farm operations.

"[The Department of Agriculture and Markets] know[s] the farmers in this state, and they know if a particular farm has had issues — allowing run-off inappropriately for instance — that kind of thing. So they know who does a creditable job taking care of farmland," said Kriss. "We want to make sure they're good stewards of the land, because we don't want the land to go to waste and go fallow…we want it to remain productive agricultural land."

In order to get the acreage in use as quickly as possible, to maintain the health of the land, the state will likely be offering one-year permits in lieu of leases because of legal hurdles associated with the lease process. Kriss said that such permits could then give way to longer-term leases which span multiple years.

The revenue gained from leasing out the land will go into the state's general fund. As to what was set as the minimum bid amount, the figure was not available from the Office of General Services as of press time.

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