More than 36,000 farms across New York state produce $4.7 billion in products annually, state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reported earlier this week in conjunction with the New York State Fair.
Milk is the state”™s largest farm product, accounting for almost half of all agricultural sales in 2010, DiNapoli said. Yogurt production reached 553.67 million pounds last year, more than double the amount produced in 2008.
Apples are the state”™s largest fruit crop, with New York ranking second nationally in apple production.
New York was the second-largest producer of maple syrup and cabbage in the U.S. in 2010, and was also the second-largest producer of wine, behind California, producing 36 million gallons in 2010. New York had 374 wineries in 2012, more than triple the mark set in 2000, the report noted.
The average New York farm is smaller than 200 acres, the report said, less than half the national average.
“While farming in New York is mainly a small, family business, its economic impact is widespread,” DiNapoli said in a statement.
