Sure, New York may be known for its bright lights and city streets, but it’s also home to a booming agriculture industry.

In fact, agriculture is one of New York’s larger and most vital industries, encompassing 23 percent of the state’s landscape, and with an economic impact close to $6 billion annually, according to a 2013 report from the New York Department of Agriculture.

“We rank very highly in a number of commodity crops,” said Richard A. Ball, commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets. “Apples are a big crop for us, and it looks to be a very good crop this season. We’re also big in potatoes and vegetables, which are off to a good start.”

It looks to be another great season ahead for New York apples, one of the state’s major commodity crops.As for potatoes this season, Ball said it’s too soon to have an evaluation of the crop, but he expects it to be “on par.”

“We’re very close to flowering on my farm, which is always a pretty sight,” he told The Produce News on June 19. “We hope to start digging potatoes in this region in early July.”

Ball did note that there may be some winter injury on a few of the state’s crops, including raspberries and blackberries, but surprisingly most tree fruits look to be pretty good.

“Generally speaking, I think we’re off to a good start,” he said. “We had a very good strawberry season, an excellent asparagus season, and summer squash is being harvested already, which is surprising considering the cool spring we had. I think on average, we’re not in a bad place from a growing standpoint.”

In place to promote the state’s agriculture industry are two important programs geared toward consumers and growers throughout New York.

In 2012, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the Taste NY initiative, which dovetails nicely with the state’s Pride of NY program, stated Ball.

“Together, they complement each other,” he said. “The Taste program is an opportunity for consumers who are traveling through New York to see, taste, sample and find out about the value-added products we produce here in the state and then drive them to the farm and back to the stores where they can find more of those products.”

The Pride of New York, the state’s branding program for the promotion of agricultural products grown, produced or processed in New York state, is more targeted toward the growers’ side of the industry.

The program markets participants and informs customers about the availability and variety of New York-grown produce. It was designed to help consumers identify high-quality, local products where they shop — urging them to “Buy Local. Buy Pride of New York.”

“It’s more of our brand in the state for all the crops that we raise — all the vegetable crops, apple crops, wood products and dairy products that we produce in the state,” Ball said. “We like both programs, and we like the way they dovetail together.”

Participants in the Pride of New York program display the logo on their products to show they are proud to be a New York producer. Participants are also listed on the website — prideofny.com — where consumers and businesses can search for products.

To apply to be a part of the program, visit www.prideofny.com.