Groups get $1M to boost ag economy

By Patricia Breakey
Delhi News Bureau

June 22, 2009 04:00 am

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WALTON _ The Watershed Agricultural Council and the Natural Resources Conservation Service have been awarded a $1 million grant through the federal stimulus act.

The money will be used for technical support of clean-water projects in the New York City watershed region.

"This money will augment our $4 million worth of construction projects slated for 2009 and 2010," WAC's Agricultural Program Manager Brian LaTourette said. "We are scheduled to implement 85 best-management practices on roughly two-dozen farms over the next two years."

The ARRA watershed funding is expected to affect an estimated 255 jobs locally, including protecting five jobs and possibly creating three positions at WAC, according to a WAC media release. The projects will also mean additional work for local contractors and sales for local businesses, LaTourette said.

LaTourette said the projects help local farmers improve profitability while keeping pollutants and bacteria out of the NYC water supply.

The projects will deal with soil erosion, animal waste and barnyard runoff, which pose serious threats to public health.

"By keeping water clean with simple, applicable, farm-specific BMPs, we can greatly reduce agriculture's impact on our most valuable resource _ clean drinking water," LaTourette said.

LaTourette said most of the farms where the projects will be done are in Delaware County.

Each year, as part of a voluntary landowner conservation program, the WAC receives funding from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to put these practices in place.

"The impact of this federal stimulus money is far-reaching," WAC Board Chairman Fred Huneke said in a media release. "As WAC designs these farm plans, we're contracting third parties to build these projects, which puts money directly into the local economy. The multiplier effect of these watershed projects is significant."

The WAC works with NRCS, Soil & Water Conservation Districts and Cornell Cooperative Extensions in eight counties.

According to a media release from federal Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's office, $84.8 million is available to the Watershed Operations Program nationwide. Funding is provided through the stimulus, formally called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

"This project is great news for the New York watershed and the communities it serves," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in a media release. "Through this effort, we'll update critical infrastructure, create jobs and rebuild our economy, while improving water quality and restoring the environment.