Madison Iszler reports in the Albany Times Union Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Working Farm Protection Act last week to make active farmland affordable and accessible. The bill was sponsored by Assembly member Didi Barrett, who represents parts of Columbia and Dutchess counties. "Ensuring working farms pass from one generation to the next is one of the best ways to maintain our state's proud agricultural heritage," Barrett said in a statement. "With the enactment of the Working Farm Protection Act, state assistance payments toward this goal are now a permanent option and have strengthened our existing farmland protection laws." Land trusts can now use state funds to purchase development rights that the land in the hands of farmers. Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.