284 - Establishment of statewide direct marketing activities. - New York Statutes

§ 284. Establishment of statewide direct marketing activities. The department shall conduct statewide direct marketing activities which shall include, but not be limited to, the following: 1. Communications and promotion of direct marketing activities, to include, where appropriate, cooperation with the cooperative extension service in the area of education. 2. Development of institutional direct marketing programs to increase the purchase of New York state farm and food products in coordination with the office of general services and the department of education. 3. Development of a technical assistance program for initiating, improving, and expanding direct marketing activities and developing new forms of direct marketing. 4. Development of guidelines for direct marketing operations that will assist individual producers in reducing costs and improve their financial returns and help assure consumers of high quality food. 5. Assistance to retail food stores in purchasing directly from New York state food producers. 6. Assistance to direct marketing organizations in areas identified as having poor consumer access to high quality and reasonably priced food and farm products. 7. Assistance to producers or consumers to initiate or improve retail and wholesale farmers' markets. 8. (a) Submission of a quinquennial report to the legislature, the first of which shall be submitted in the year two thousand six, which shall include an evaluation of the regional and institutional effect of direct marketing activities during the previous five years. (b) Between report due dates, the department shall maintain the necessary records and data required to satisfy such report requirements and to satisfy information requests received from the legislature between such report due dates. 9. Establish the Hudson valley agricultural center to serve as a marketing, promotional, informational and cultural center for the Hudson river valley agricultural region and greenway and to promote the production of fruits (including juices, jellies, and preserves made therefrom), wine, cider, vegetables, and other agricultural products.