January 17, 2014
By Stephanie West
Albany, NY – NYS announced $12 million to aid farms in implementing water quality conservation systems that will help make New York’s farms cleaner and safer. This funding is available to County Soil and Water Conservation Districts through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund. Grants will be administered by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets and the New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee.
“New York’s agricultural industry has been an economic success story for the past three years and its continued growth depends on keeping our farms safe and clean,” Governor Cuomo said. “This $12 million will help local farmers across New York maintain a clean water supply which is vital to their livelihood. With our support, New York’s farms are going to continue to expand, creating more jobs and making our state’s home grown products popular across the country.”
Agricultural Pollution runoff has the potential to enter water bodies. This funding will help farmers work with County Soil and Water Conservation Districts to prevent such pollution from occurring by employing soil erosion prevention methods, planting vegetation along streams to prevent runoff, adopting nutrient management systems, and planting cover crops after the annual harvest to protect the soil.
