Farm officials paid state Sen. Patty Ritchie a visit in Albany today to discuss state legislation that she's sponsoring to ease farm regulations.

The bill is also sponsored by Assemblyman Bill Magee, Mrs. Ritchie's counterpart on the Assembly Agriculture Committee.

The bill would:

— Give farmers a tax credit for investments after Jan. 1, 2011.

— Cut down on filing fees for LLCs or partnerships. Right now, the fees are based on gross income, without accounting for the cost of production — which is, naturally, sky-high on farms.

—"Eliminate massive paperwork" for small wineries, though a news release from the Farm Bureau of New York isn't specific as to what that feel-good sentence means.

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