Changes to NY Farm Brewing Law (S.4185/A.5766) | 2019
April 29th, 2019
An act to change the current requirements of the New York State Farm Brewing Law.
S.4185 (Metzger) / A.5766 (Woerner)
MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION
Unshackle Upstate, a non-partisan, pro-taxpayer, pro-economic growth, education and advocacy coalition made up of business and trade organizations from all parts of Upstate New York, opposes this legislation.
This bill would change the current requirements of the New York State Farm Brewing Law. The legislation currently applies to the percentage of ingredient product grown in New York. The initial legislation required 20% New York ingredients by weight, rising to 60% in 2019 before rising to 90% in 2024. The proposed change to the New York State Farm Brewing Law would add that raw materials must also be processed in New York State.
While well intentioned, this proposal would have negative impacts on New York Farms that grow the barley, the craft brewers who purchase the processed malt, and potentially jeopardize the future viability of our New York Farm Brewery program. By requiring New York processing, several New York based businesses that process barley outside of the state would be excluded from participating in this program. These companies, like Country Malt Group in Champlain, the largest purchaser of New York grown malting barley, could be forced to reduce their workforce in New York.
New York farmers who grow barley face significant challenges dealing with supply chain and capacity issues. Currently, many New York based malt producers lack the ability to purchase and store large quantities of barley from area farms. This legislation would exclude companies like Country Malt Group, that purchase large quantities of barley from area farms and processes in near by places from participating in the Farm Brewery program, dramatically reducing the market for area farmers and reducing their incentive to grow barley.
With a reduction of barley production, and the likely higher cost of production by the existing NY producers, New York State’s craft brewers are going to pay significantly more for their ingredients. These additional costs are either going to be passed on to the consumers or encourage Farm Breweries to abandon their participation in the program and seek more affordable products elsewhere.
In both instances, this proposal causes the opposite of what the initial legislation set out to achieve. Instead of supporting a partnership between New York agriculture and our growing craft beer industry, this legislation will reduce the number of New York farms producing barley products. It will also raise costs for the brewers, forcing them to reconsider the value of the Farm Brewers program.
New York State has put significant effort in to growing our craft beer industry. The Farm Brewery legislation encourages partnership between New York’s rich agriculture tradition and the entrepreneurial spirit of our craft brewers. This proposal, however, would represent a significant step backwards and potentially harm the industries the original legislation aimed to support.
For these reasons, Unshackle Upstate opposes the enactment of this legislation.