Climate Resilient Farming

How the Program is mitigating the Impact of Climate Change on NY Agriculture

By Jennifer Clifford, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Climate Resilient Farming Program Manager

Climate change has impacted the agricultural sector in a variety of ways. From increasing the risks of soil erosion, reduced soil quality, and pollution events to threatening agricultural productivity, and impacting food security, these effects can be felt by farmers, the communities they live in, and by consumers.

New York State has committed to combating climate change by taking some of the most aggressive actions in the nation. Signed in 2019, New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) for example, sets targets for the agricultural sector to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sequester carbon. There has also been an expanded focus on increasing a farm’s adaptation and resiliency to drought and flooding events as a result of a changing climate.

To address this, the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets and the NYS Soil and Water Conservation Committee (SWCC) offer grant programs to help farmers to adopt transformative management practices that reduce GHG emissions, increase carbon storage in soils and woody plants, and protect atrisk agricultural lands, all while providing multiple benefits that improve the health and resiliency of the state’s farms, ecosystems, and communities.

Together, the SWCC and County Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) provide programs and services that make it easier and more affordable for farms to implement regenerative agriculture. One program accessible to farmers is the Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) framework, which provides funding and technical assistance for GHG reduction activities, including conservation tillage, cover crops, and others. Among the programs under the AEM umbrella is the Climate Resilient Farming Program, which is intended to support farmers to proactively address climate concerns.

Launched in 2015, the Climate Resilient Farming (CRF) Program, helps to reduce the impact of agriculture on climate change (mitigation), and to increase the resiliency of New York State farms in the face of a changing climate (adaptation). To date, CRF has awarded $12 million, helping 200 farms across the state. Eligible projects include agricultural waste storage cover and flare systems, water management systems, and soil health management practice systems. Agricultural waste storage cover and flare systems have the capacity to immediately impact both the GHG emissions from the farm and the farm’s resiliency to major precipitation events. Stored liquid manure produces methane, a GHG that is 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide, meaning that manure management is an essential component of addressing climate change within the agricultural sector. Cover and flare systems involve installing an impermeable cover over a manure storage facility, piping the emitted methane and other gases away from the facility, and burning the gas in a flare, significantly reducing the global warming potential of the system. A cover also eliminates millions of gallons of clean rainwater from entering the storage, keeping clean water clean, and reducing emissions associated with spreading millions of gallons of rainwater on crop fields.

Impermeable cover on a manure storage to reduce methane emissions and eliminate rainwater from entering the storage.

Water management is an effort to prepare agricultural producers for two anticipated, and experienced, impacts of climate change: flood events and drought. The water management systems include many conservation systems and best management practices that stabilize and reduce flows, and/or store water, such as riparian forest buffers, stream corridor and shoreline management, erosion control, ponds, and wetlands. Some conservation systems, such as transferring land to perennial production or forest buffers, can also create beneficial carbon sinks.

Wetland installed on a farm in the Skaneateles Lake watershed in Onondaga County.

Interseeder purchased by Schuyler SWCD through the CRF grant program to aid farmers in planting cover crops. The specialized equipment can plant directly within an existing crop.

Improved soil health on farms can significantly enhance a farm’s resiliency to the impacts of climate change, including offering benefits during times of drought and wet weather, as well as optimal growing conditions. Soil health practices including conservation crop rotations, reduced or no tillage practices, cover cropping, and nutrient management can create carbon sinks, increase water holding capacity, and improve recycling of nitrogen by crops, thereby mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

Round 6 of Climate Resistant Farming program will offer up to $8 million for eligible projects. Farms interested in assistance should contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District to start planning.

Did You Know?

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• Over 800 counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts and special districts participate in NYSHIP

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For additional information regarding The Empire Plan or the Excelsior Plan, public employers may visit our website at www.cs.ny.gov or email the Public Employer Liaison Unit (PELU) for the New York State Health Insurance Program at PELU@cs.ny.gov.