Over $2 million has been awarded to seven farms in the Southern Tier for agricultural water quality conservation projects.

The money is part of $13.8 million awarded to a total of 33 projects through the state’s Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control Program.

In all, the Southern Tier received a total of $2,381,037.

Below is a list of recipients and projects that will split the $2.3 million:

$86,720 was awarded to the Broome County SWCD to work with one farm in the Susquehanna River Watershed. This project will:

  • Contribute to the nutrient load reduction goals established in the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load
  • Restrict livestock access to a stream and establish four acres of forested buffer that will reduce runoff and restore ecological function to the stream
  • Establish 29 acres of rotational grazing to promote soil health, increase quality of pasture grasses, reduce nutrient runoff and improve resiliency to climate change driven extreme precipitation events

$1,632,210 was awarded to the Chenango County Soil and Water Conservation District to work with five farms in the Upper Susquehanna River Watershed. This project will:

  • Contribute to the nutrient load reduction goals established in the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load
  • Promote the four R's of Nutrient Management: application of the right nutrients, in the right quantity, on the right field, at the right time to optimize plant and soil health while reducing nutrient runoff into nearby watercourses
  • Implement agricultural waste storage systems designed to enhance the farms’ ability to manage nutrients to reduce runoff and promote soil health

Additionally, $662,108 was awarded to the Otsego County Soil and Water Conservation District to work with one farm in the Susquehanna River Watershed.

This project will:

  • Contribute to the nutrient load reduction goals established in the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load
  • Implement an agricultural waste storage system designed to enhance the farm’s ability to manage nutrients to reduce runoff and promote soil health
  • Plant a .5-acre forested stream buffer system to further reduce nutrient runoff into nearby waterways, increase biodiversity and habitat and resiliency to climate change driven extreme weather