Source: US State of New York
As world leaders gather in New York during Climate Week NYC 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul today highlighted the State’s nation-leading climate efforts, including awarding a record level of funding—more than $33 million—to farms through the Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program. Funded projects aim to help New York’s farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect water, ensure soil health, and increase on-farm resiliency to the effects of a changing climate. Altogether, the projects are estimated to reduce greenhouse gases by 120,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year – the equivalent of removing 28,560 gasoline powered vehicles from the road for one year. This is nearly double the impact of the previous round of the program. Funding for the program was included in the New York State FY 2025 Enacted Budget as part of the State’s aggressive climate agenda and is supported by additional federal funds through a USDA Climate Smart Commodities grant.
“New York State is leading the nation in the fight against climate change, and our record investment in the Climate Resilient Farming Program is just one part of my administration’s ambitious efforts to protect our ecosystems and create the green future all New Yorkers deserve,” Governor Hochul said. “This program gives farmers the resources they need to mitigate their impact on the environment, prepare for and respond to whatever weather events the future holds, and continue their critical work contributing to our local economies.
Led by county Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD), a total of 70 projects will be implemented on 184 farms across New York State. They are supported through $16.14 million in State funding, plus an additional $17 million in federal funds. Of the 70 awarded projects, 39 involve a new farm participant, illustrating the growing reach and impact of the program.
SWCDs were awarded the grants on behalf of farmers in one of six tracks:
- Track 1A: Livestock Management: Alternative Waste Management and Precision Feed Management (New York State funds)
- Track 1B: Manure Storage Cover and Methane Capture Projects (federal funds)
- Track 2: Adaptation and Resiliency (New York State funds)
- Track 3A: Healthy Soils NY (systems and Best Management Practices that support soil health and agroforestry (New York State funds)
- Track 3B: Soil Health Systems (federal funds)
- Track 4: Agricultural Forestry Management (for carbon sequestration) (New York State funds)
The Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program follows the State’s Agricultural Environmental Management planning framework and is led and implemented by county SWCDs. County SWCDs work with farms and communities to conserve natural resources and address pressing environmental challenges and opportunities. SWCDs in the following regions were awarded grants through Round 8 of the program:
- Capital Region: $3,152,885 awarded to work with 11 farms
- Central New York: $8,241,829 awarded to work with 36 farms
- Finger Lakes: $12,948,325 awarded to work with 67 farms
- Long Island: $118,763 awarded to work with four farms
- Mid-Hudson: $166,400 awarded to work with five farms
- Mohawk Valley: $608,797 awarded to work with five farms
- North Country: $3,439,282 awarded to work with 20 farms
- Southern Tier: $2,827,378 awarded to work with 19 farms
- Western New York: $1,655,677 awarded to work with 12 farms
In total, the awarded farms are projected to implement 98,000 acres of cover crops, 23 acres of riparian buffers, and nine manure storage cover and flares systems – the most in a single round, which will provide the largest estimated greenhouse gas emission reduction for a single practice for the program to date. For a complete list and descriptions of projects awarded, please visit the Department of Agriculture and Markets’ website.
State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “Farmers care deeply for the health and vitality of New York’s working landscapes. Working in partnership with county Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the state, our farmers are committed to producing food in a way that reduces their environmental footprint and protects our natural resources at the same time. With this record-setting level of funding, we are expanding our reach to even more farms across the State, helping New York State to continue to lead the nation in combating climate change and ensuring a healthy, thriving environment for all.”
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said, “With $33 million in new funding announced today, New York’s farmers will be able to better prepare for the impacts of extreme weather events resulting from climate change and reduce operational impacts to the environment, like choosing equipment that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and implementing projects to better support soil health and water quality after extreme weather. DEC applauds Governor Hochul and our partners at the Department of Agriculture and Markets for supporting New York farms and advancing sustainable practices to improve the health and resiliency of our agricultural ecosystems and communities with record investments and complementary initiatives like investments through the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act.”
New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher said, “Farmers are natural stewards of the environment. We welcome investments in sustainability, especially those investments that help farmers protect the land that is their livelihood. The Climate Resilient Funding Program creates a pathway for farmers to reduce greenhouse gases and take proactive measures in planning for extreme weather conditions.”
Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo said, “For nearly a decade, the Climate Resilient Farming Program has helped farmers address the impacts of climate change through proven techniques and practices. I’m pleased that this record-level round of funding is reaching so many new participants across the state. Thank you to the Governor, our federal partners, and my colleagues for their continued support for this program and to the Soil and Water Conservation Districts for their dedicated service.”
Assemblymember Deborah Glick said, “As fresh water sources become scarcer nationwide, sustainable farming has become even more important for New York and the entire US. Thank you to Governor Hochul for on-going support to farms and addressing climate change through the Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program. This program increases sustainability efforts and lowers greenhouse gas emissions while protecting water and soil health through projects led by county Soil and Water Conservation Districts,” said Assemblymember Deborah Glick, Chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee, “This year’s projects will nearly double the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions while abating nutrient pollution and harmful algal blooms, protecting drinking water, and supporting our farmers and New York farms.”
State Senator Pete Harckham said, “Our farms are facing the consequences of the climate crisis every day. The Climate Resilient Farming Grant program is vital to their efforts to build soil health, protect our environment, and ensure a sustainable local food supply. I’m particularly proud of the Healthy Soil NY program, which promotes a cohesive, scientifically rigorous soil protection strategy. It was true then and true now. With continued support, we can empower New York farmers to lead the way in resilient, climate friendly agriculture.”
Senator Michelle Hinchey said, “When we say farmers are on the frontlines of the Climate Crisis, we mean their ability to grow our food is directly tied to the environment around them—how healthy the soil is, the weather conditions, and the effects of a changing climate. Their work and our food supply depend on a stable and thriving ecosystem, and as a state, we have a major stake in this process. The Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program is one of the key initiatives where the state can deliver direct support to our farms, helping scale proven sustainability measures and put New York in the best position to protect our food supply for the future. I’m proud to help champion this vital program and congratulate all the awarded projects supporting farms across New York State, including in Columbia and Ulster counties!”
New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee Chair Dale Stein said, “Thanks to the partnership between the State and the County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, we have seen great progress in the use of Best Management Practices on our farms to mitigate the impacts of climate change and to help our farmers be better prepared for the increasing number of severe weather events we are all experiencing. Now, with the help of federal funds, our Districts are able to expand their reach even further and welcome even more farms into the program.”
Launched in 2015, the Climate Resilient Farming Program supports the State’s agricultural sector in meeting its goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration on working lands under the State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. So far, through the program, with expert technical support provided by county SWCDs, 580 farms have been able to implement changes that are contributing to a reduced environmental footprint and increased resiliency to the effects of a changing climate. Round 8 of the program provides $16.14 million in state funding for these projects, consistent with $16 million in Round 7 and a significant increase from $8 million in Round 6.
Governor Hochul’s Commitment to Soil and Water Conservation Districts
Under the Governor’s leadership, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget provides $81.8 million through the Environmental Protection Fund, up $4 million from last year, for agricultural programs and initiatives, such as the Climate Resilient Farming grant program, that are helping farms to implement environmentally sustainable practices and combat climate change. This includes capital investments Soil and Water Conservation Districts oversee, such as supporting dairy farmers to implement projects that enhance manure management systems that sequester carbon and conserve manure nutrients applied to fields and soil to benefit water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also includes recent funding in the Eastern Finger Lakes Watershed that galvanizes implementation of the plans and programs to address on-the-ground actions necessary to abate nutrient pollution and harmful algal blooms (HABs), prevent runoff, protect drinking water, and support local farmers.
New York State’s Nation-Leading Climate Plan
New York State’s climate agenda calls for an orderly and just transition that creates family-sustaining jobs, continues to foster a green economy across all sectors and ensures that a minimum of 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities. Guided by some of the nation’s most aggressive climate and clean energy initiatives, New York is advancing a suite of efforts – including the New York Cap-and-Invest program (NYCI) and other complementary policies – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels. New York is also on a path toward a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and economy-wide carbon neutrality by mid-century. A cornerstone of this transition is New York’s unprecedented clean energy investments, including more than $28 billion in 61 large-scale renewable and transmission projects across the State, $6.8 billion to reduce building emissions, $3.3 billion to scale up solar, nearly $3 billion for clean transportation initiatives and over $2 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. These and other investments are supporting more than 170,000 jobs in New York’s clean energy sector as of 2022 and over 3,000 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, New York also adopted zero-emission vehicle regulations, including requiring all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in the State be zero emission by 2035. Partnerships are continuing to advance New York’s climate action with more than 400 registered and more than 150 certified Climate Smart Communities, over 500 Clean Energy Communities, and the State’s largest community air monitoring initiative in 10 disadvantaged communities across the State to help target air pollution and combat climate change.