New York (WRGB) — Governor Kathy Hochul today announced nearly $16 million in funding is going to 116 New York farms through Round seven of the Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program to help address the impacts of climate change, including $1,221,092 for four Capital Region farms.
The Climate Resilient Farming Program is a part of the Agricultural Environmental Management framework, locally led by county Soil and Water Conservation Districts and participating farmers.
According to Hochul, the selected projects will reduce greenhouse gases by an estimated 64,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, which would be the same as “eliminating over 14,000 cars from the road for one year, increase environmental sustainability, and boost resiliency to extreme weather events related to climate change.”
New York’s agricultural industry is too often faced with severe challenges associated with our changing climate, from flooding to droughts that impact their crops and their livelihood,” Governor Hochul said. “The Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program is addressing these challenges head on, helping our farmers to implement projects that prevent weather-related damage and also ensure our farmers are part of the solution to climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing their environmental footprint.
Including the latest round, since the program began in 2015 nearly $36 million has been awarded to 386 farms across the state to implement “Best Management Practices (BMPs) that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance soil health and promote energy savings.”
The County Soil and Water Conservation Districts were awarded the grants on behalf of farmers in one of three tracks: livestock management for methane reduction; adaptation and resiliency projects to help farms withstand climate change driven weather extremes; and Healthy Soils NY to boost soil organic matter, sequester carbon, reduce soil erosion and nutrient pollution in waterways, and increase crop yields.
SWCDs in the following regions were awarded Round 7 grants for the Climate Resilient Farming Program:
Capital Region: $1,221,092 to work with four farms
Central New York: $1,817,866 to work with 17 farms
Finger Lakes: $4,342,175 to work with 40 farms
Hudson Valley: $381,210 to work with five farms
Mohawk Valley: $2,804,446 to work with 12 farms
North Country: $1,283,743 to work with 15 farms
Southern Tier: $1,801,037 to work with 11 farms
Western New York: $1,469,802 to work with 12 farms
For a complete list and descriptions of projects awarded, please visit the Department of Agriculture and Markets’ website.
Under the Climate Act, the state is slated to build on this progress and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85% from 1990 levels by 2050 and advance progress towards the State’s 2025 energy efficiency target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs of end-use energy savings.