Despite the coldest winter on Long Island in over a decade and the feeling that it will never end, the cycle of seasons must commence. As the frozen tundra-like island finally thaws, it means the beginning of the crop season is about to begin. Farmers of both organic and traditional farms will rev up their tractors, plow their fields, and plant their seeds as the threat of a dreary winter’s last frost nears. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand already has the spring chapter opened in her book. On January 30, 2026, the 17-year-long Senator joined 14 other lawmakers in reintroducing the Opportunities in Organic Act to legislation.
The act is aimed at helping traditional agricultural farmers and farms switch to organic practices and remain a successful business while doing so. “Our Opportunities in Organic Act will promote sustainable farming and help eliminate the steep barriers that farmers face when transitioning to organic methods,” Gillibrand said in a press release on this matter. “I will continue fighting to ensure organic farmers in New York and across the nation have the resources they need to thrive for generations to come.”
Agriculture is a staple of New York State (NYS); according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Research, in 2022, there were 30,650 farms in the state, which contributed nearly $3 billion to NYS’ gross domestic product. It also generated 163,148 jobs. Of those numbers, 607 farms resided on Long Island, which was a three-percent increase from the last census in 2017, according to the office of the New York State Comptroller. Those farms saw roughly $373 million in agricultural sales. Suffolk County was also the state’s leader in sales directly to consumers, local food processors, and retailers ($268 million). Thus, proving how important local farms on the Island are to the food supply chain and economy.
Long Island features 24 organic farms and producers certified by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY). What exactly is an organic farm, and how do they operate? Great South Bay News asked Organics Today Farm OTF), a 100% local organic farm in East Islip.
“The physical process of being an organic farm is that the farm must not grow GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms), and must be free of chemicals,” OTF stated. “On our farm, we take it much further than that; we have a much purer product.”
These strict guidelines are set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program and must be followed if a farm wishes to be certified organic.
“The benefits of being an organic farm, as opposed to a conventional one, are that the food is clean with the absence of any chemicals, the growing process relies on natural fertilizers and pesticides, not chemicals, thus making the food healthier and more beneficial,” they further explained. “The hardest part about growing organically is that the organic natural pesticides and fertilizers are much weaker than the conventional chemicals, so it’s harder to grow many things with the same yield and size as conventional produce. A conventional farmer can spray fertilizer, and that is sufficient; an organic farmer can apply fertilizer, but must add other fertilizers to equal the strength of a conventional farm. If you do a search on organic fertilizers, you’ll see that the strength numbers for nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are 10, while if you search conventional fertilizers, you will see the numbers are nearly doubled.”
While cleaner, healthier, and better overall, organic produce is much more expensive for farmers to produce. That is where the Opportunities in Organic Act aims to step in.
“It will help mitigate challenges farmers and producers face when transitioning to organics,” according to Senator Gillibrand’s press release on the act. “Specifically, the bill would expand the existing National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program into a comprehensive program.”
It would increase USDA assistance and help mitigate costs, making organic practices more accessible. The hope is to enable more farms to switch to organic farming for the betterment of everybody, especially consumers of the crops.
Long Islander’s love their farms and their products. We patronize farm stands for locally grown produce all summer long, then come fall, ride out east for apple and pumpkin picking, or to buy delicious fresh-baked breads and pies, raw honey, and eggs. The Opportunities in Organic Act will help sources like Organics Today Farm continue to prosper and thrive.
