Southern Tier Farms Get NYS Funds to Protect Water Sources

New York Governor Kathy Hochul says over $1.5 million is headed to the Southern Tier to help five farms protect clean water and mitigate the impacts of climate change. 

The Democrat on October 18 announced a total of $13-million is earmarked for agriculture water quality conservation projects at fifty farms across the state. 

According to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets website, $1,554,356 is being split between the Broome, Delaware, Tioga and Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation Districts. 

In Broome County, one farm in the Susquehanna River Watershed is getting $32,240 to install livestock exclusion practices and establish five acres of forested riparian buffer, support rotational grazing practices and to help meet water quality goals set by the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load. 

The Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District will use $809-thousand, 247  to work with one farm in the Susquehanna River Watershed to improve the timing of manure application through implementation of a waste storage and transfer system and implement a livestock heavy use are runoff management system. 

Tioga County’s Soil and Water Conservation District will work with two farms in the watershed, using $179,039 to address two erosion issues, implement over 700 feet of stream corridor and shoreline management systems to stabilize stream banks and establish forested riparian buffers to reduce potential nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment in the stream corridor. 

In Tompkins County, one farm in the Cayuga Lake-Salmon Creek Watershed will use $533,830 dollars to implement a waste storage and transfer system to improve on-farm nutrient management in accordance with the Cornell Nutrient Management 4R guidelines that say: "right source, right time, right rate and right placement'.

In addition to projects to cover 600 watersheds across New York in the past 28 years, the state has seen 140,000 acres of cover crops planted to help prevent erosion, improve soil health and increase organic matter in the soil.