New York’s Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program is providing $2.2 million to help 34 farms reduce their operational impact on the environment and better prepare for extreme weather events. County Soil and Water Conservation Districts were awarded grants on behalf of farmers who are cost-sharing the projects with their own money.

Mohawk Valley
• $74,494 to assist one Fulton County farm with installing a 45-acre prescribed grazing and a 5.7-acre riparian buffer system to increase soil health and reduce farm-based greenhouse gas emissions

• $432,659 to help a Herkimer County dairy farm to install a manure storage cover and flare system to dramatically reduce methane emissions, boost energy savings and mitigate water quality concerns, especially during major precipitation events

• $10,256 to help a Schoharie County vegetable farm implement no-till cover cropping on 14 acres of diverse cover crop species, which will improve carbon sequestration and improve resiliency during flood and drought periods

Finger Lakes
• $149,085 to work with one Monroe County dairy farm to install a riparian buffer system and an irrigation water management system, which will mitigate nutrient and sediment runoff and store water as needed for drought situations

• $119,907 to help four Ontario County farms implement cover crops, which will improve soil carbon sequestration potential and farm flood and drought resiliency

• $281,686, enabling a Wayne County livestock farm to install a manure storage cover and flare

• $156,790 to help one Genesee County dairy farm expand a clean water storage reservoir into an irrigation reservoir and install a center pivot irrigation system

Central Region
• $128,600 to work with a Madison County farm to install a water and sediment control basin system that’ll prevent erosion and protect the village of Chittenango from flood runoff potential

• $40,760 to install a 78-acre prescribed grazing system on an Onondaga County farm to increase soil health and improve soil carbon sequestration by promoting year-round plant growth

• $180,856 to help another Onondaga farm implement a 1.05-acre wetland for greater storm water storage and ultimately reduce sedimentation into Skaneateles Lake

North Country
• $103,500 for installing riparian buffer systems and ponds for stormwater capture and irrigation on an Essex County farm to reduce farm runoff to the Boquet River and Lake Champlain

• $43,696 for a Jefferson County farm to install a riparian buffer system and livestock access control, which will reduce streambank erosion and sedimentation, and provide a reliable grazing water source

Western New York
• $85,024 to help a Chautauqua County farm to put diverse cover crop species in to improve soil quality and organic matter, and to reduce erosion during extreme weather events

• $82,268 to help five farms in Erie County implement cover crops that will improve soil carbon sequestration potential and improve farm resiliency amid weather extremes

Southern Tier
• $77,255 to help six farms in Chenango County install cover crops to improve soil health and decrease flooding downstream.

• $205,000 to work with seven Schuyler County dairy, crop, beef and sheep farms installing cover crops in three priority watersheds to mitigate impacts of extreme storm events and help to protect several public drinking water sources

The Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program is a part of the state's Environmental Protection Fund. A fourth funding round of the Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program will be announced this fall.

Source: N.Y. Department of Agriculture and Markets