The Altamont Enterprise is reporting Empire State Development and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets are offering funding to help new farmers. The New York State New Farmers Grant Fund will provide grants of up to $50,000 to assist with various project costs, such as the purchase of machinery, equipment, supplies and construction or improvement of agricultural structures. To qualify, a farm business owner must be within the first 10 years of having an ownership interest in any farm, and the farm must have a minimum of $10,000 in income from sales of products grown or raised on the farm. The deadline for submitting applications to the New Farmers Grant Fund is January 25. A link to the application can be found at the WGXC Newsroom page. The $1 million fund is its fifth year, and has so far awarded $3.27 million to nearly 90 farms throughout the state to expand their operations and improve their profitability. New York State is home to 36,000 farms. The state's dairy industry is the largest sector of the state’s agricultural industry. Read the full story in the Altamont Enterprise.