$89,000+ Awarded to Implement Best Management Practices in Croton Watershed

August 14, 2019, Yorktown Heights, NY- In partnership with Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Watershed Agricultural Council was awarded funding through the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets’ Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program to implement 15 Best Management Practices (BMPs) to address flooding in critical farm areas and increase carbon sequestration on Muscoot Farm in Katonah, NY. The total funding awarded is $89,851, while the total cost of the project is $223,373.

This system of BMPs will prevent flooding of heavy-use areas and critical infrastructure by capturing storm water and redirecting it to a constructed wetland. Awarded funding will also be used to generate a nutrient management plan, a prescribed grazing plan and perennial forage planting to improve soil health and increase the amount of CO2 sequestered in the soil.

The Climate Resilient Farming Program helps farms reduce their operational impact on the environment and address the impacts of extreme weather events resulting from climate change. Through the four rounds of funding, NYS has provided $8 million to assist farms across the state. Read the NYS press release here.

DEP AND WATERSHED AGRICULTURAL COUNCIL ANNOUNCE $92 MILLION CONTRACT TO CONTINUE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION WORK ON WATERSHED FARMS AND FORESTS
Contract will continue work to protect water quality and working lands through 2025

The Watershed Agricultural Council (WAC) and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced a $92 million contract that will continue to protect water quality and promote working landscapes in the watershed through 2025. The DEP funding will allow WAC to continue and expand its agriculture, forestry and economic viability programs in the watershed. The contract is the largest since WAC was established in 1993.

 “Since our inception we have been a firm believer that there always needs to be a balance between conservation efforts, economic viability initiatives, and water quality protection in our region,” WAC Executive Director Craig Cashman said. “Building local relationships with land and business owners has always been the key to our success and this contract builds on the past accomplishments. These efforts could only be accomplished through our partnerships with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County, Delaware County Soil and Water, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.”

“Our collaboration with WAC is considered a worldwide model for protecting water quality while enhancing the viability of working lands,” DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza said. “This work, driven by sound science and applied through the permission of private landowners in the Catskills and Hudson Valley, has yielded measurable improvements in water quality for New York City’s reservoir system. I want to thank all the staff at WAC, and the farm and forest owners who voluntarily enrolled in the programs, for driving the success of these efforts for the past 26 years.”

 After extensive negotiation between DEP and WAC, this new contract will allow programs throughout the watershed to continue and expand. The contract includes additional funding to accelerate implementation of best management practices on farms, thereby reducing a backlog of covered barnyards, manure storage, and other practices that are waiting to be installed. Other programs include the expansion of the Nutrient Management Credit Program, now available to all eligible farms in the West-of-Hudson Watershed. That program provides a financial incentive for farmers who follow a prescribed plan for the spreading of manure and/or fertilizer on their fields throughout the year to minimize nutrient-laden runoff into nearby streams. The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) will be joined with the Catskill Streams Buffer Initiative (CSBI) in a pilot program to preserve buffer lands along streams, creeks and rivers. In addition, the Precision Feed Management Program will continue to include a maximum of 60 farms.

 A total of $845,000 was also set aside for business planning, farm transition planning and micro grants for West-of-Hudson farm and forest producers through 2025. These programs are designed to encourage activities that enhance the economic viability of farm and forest businesses through marketing, training, events, staffing and more. They will also support the development of professional business and/or farm transition plans for farm or forestry businesses to better position them for improved economic profitability and sustainability. Other economic viability programming includes the continued funding of the Pure Catskills campaign, which encourages consumers to buy local products, and WAC’s annual publication of the Guide to Pure Catskills Products. The forestry program will continue funding water quality best management practices on logging jobs, as well as forest stewardship practices such as timber stand improvement and wildlife enhancements on privately owned forestland in the watershed. 

Since it was established in 1993, the Watershed Agricultural Council has completed 450 whole farms plans on agricultural lands in the City’s West-of-Hudson and East-of-Hudson watersheds, and it has installed more than 7,800 best management practices to improve the operation of farms and the quality of runoff coming from them. WAC has also preserved more than 30,000 acres of farm and forest lands through conservation easements.

Everything from our interns (pictured) to grants, check out the July 2019 ENews here!

From celebrating Dairy Month to three international tours, it’s been a busy time of year for the Watershed Agricultural Council. Check out the June 2019 news here.

The Meredith Dairy Fest was held Jun2 8-9 in Meredith, NY. The Watershed Agricultural Council and Pure Catskills were sponsors of this event, and we had a tent of Pure Catskills and WAC producers featuring locally made farm and forest products. Read more in this article by the Daily Star. We also had a visitor, Edson Maysuoka, a master’s student in Brazil studying our Watershed and programs. We discussed our programs and history with Edson and he was able to meet many farmers at the event as well! See photos below.

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We had a wonderful visit on May 16th with representatives from Dwr Cymru Welsh Water! The Burgin farm was visited as we discussed Best Management Practices, Nutrient Management and Precision Feed Management. ????????????The group was hosted by NYC DEP’s Adam Bosch. This tour was filled with familiar faces for WAC’s Council Chair, Sally Fairbairn, as she visited them in Wales in March of 2018. The group is planning another visit for later this year. See the photos below.

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On May 13, WAC had a great day presenting our Agricultural Program to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine! We visited three NYC Watershed farms showcasing the best management practices on each. ???????? The farms visited were: SRJF Farm (Albano Family), the Town Brook Route in Hobart, Byebrook Farm (Deysenroth Family) and Squan Farm (Ron Cieri). Check out the photos below!

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On April 29, 2019 staff from the Watershed Agricultural Council visited Frost Valley YMCA for a day of team building and outdoor activities. Staff were also recognized for 5, 10, and 15 year employment milestones.

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“Each year, approximately 20 billion pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables in the United States go unharvested or otherwise never enter the food supply. This produce is often perfectly good to eat but is never sold because of aesthetic imperfections or other market factors. For example, when crop prices fall, farmers may not be able to sell their product for enough to cover picking, packing, and transportation costs. Unfortunately, these same up-front costs often make it too expensive for farmers to donate the fresh fruits and vegetables they cannot sell.

To address these issues, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has launched a campaign to dramatically increase the recovery of food across the state of New York and redirect this fresh and wholesome food to the citizens who need it most. With this campaign—which is part of our larger regional and food equity work—NRDC has been able to not only help address a pressing public health and environmental need in New York, but also create
model policies that can be replicated in other areas of the
country.

As a result of this farm to food bank advocacy work—and partnering closely with a wide range of stakeholders— the state of New York recently enacted a tax credit for donations of agricultural products to the food recovery system to address the costs of donation. This tax credit allows farmers to claim 25 percent of the fair market value of qualified donations, with a maximum benefit of $5,000 per year, thus incentivizing them to donate their unsold products to those in need.”

Read the NRDC Farm to Food Tax Credit Report here.

Read the Farmer’s Guide to the NY Farm to Food Tax Credit here.

On March 22, 2019 Congressman Delgado visited with WAC and partners to discuss current farming issues in the region. We are happy to announce that our next round of Micro Grants is now available! Read these stories and more in the March 2019 ENews here.