Bryan Fitzgerald reports in the Times Union legislation that would grant tax breaks to farmers who lost crops to paralyzing frosts was introduced in the state Senate Fri., June 1, and is expected to be brought to the Assembly later today. The Republican-backed bill, known as the "Family Farmers and Apple Growers Relief Act," would establish a tax credit to allow farmers to claim 35 percent of their losses due to the frosts. Fitzgerald cites recently released data that estimates approximately 50 percent of the state's apple crop was wiped out by the March frosts. Forty to 50 percent of grapes are gone, as well as 90 percent of the state's peach crop; the frost is believed to have killed nearly all of New York's cherries. New York is the second largest apple producer in the nation, behind only Washington. The state's apple industry generates $233 million each year, and employs more than 10,000 people, Fitzgerald writes. Read the full story in the Times Union.