Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced that $14.7 million has een awarded to implement water-quality protection projects on 43 farms across New York. 

The funding was provided through the second round of the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Waste Storage and Transfer System Program. It supports projects that will allow large livestock farms to better manage and store nutrients, such as manure, to protect ground water and nearby waterways, according to a release from the governor’s office. The program is part of the governor’s 

$2.5 billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017, which invests in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects and other water-quality protections statewide.

Through the program, 50 waste storage and transfer systems will be installed on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) permitted farms in 22 counties across the state. Grants will help offset the cost of construction, site preparation, and associated best-management practices. Funded projects will also help farmers meet the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s environmental requirements first announced in January 2017. 

The funding is being provided to County Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the Capital Region, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country, Southern Tier, and Western New York regions. The districts applied for this funding on behalf of eligible farmers in the region. 

A list of funding being provided to the districts is available at: https://www.agriculture.ny.gov/Press%20Releases/cafo-waste-storage-and-transfer-sys-r2-awards.pdf.

In December 2017, Gov. Cuomo announced $20 million had been awarded through round one of the program to implement water-quality protection projects on 56 farms throughout the state. The Department of Agriculture and Markets will launch a third application period for an additional $15 million in grant funding in 2019. 

“Environmental stewardship is an important part of farming in New York State and our Districts are critical to their success. Our farmers know that by caring for the land, the land gives back to us,” State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said in the release.

New York state has more than 500 CAFO farms, most of which are dairy farms with 300 or more cows. CAFOs can also include associated livestock operations such as beef, poultry, and equine farms. Grant funding for the CAFO Waste Storage and Transfer System Program is available over three consecutive application rounds, the release stated.                 

UTICA — Leadership Mohawk Valley (LMV) has announced its Class of 2019, with 32 participants from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors in Herkimer and Oneida counties. 

This marks Leadership Mohawk Valley’s 29th year of helping to develop and inform the Mohawk Valley’s leaders by exposing them to all aspects of the region during a program year, spanning from September 2018 to June 2019, LMV said in a news release.

This is the first class in the LMV program under the newly formed Center for Leadership Excellence, a partnership between LMV and Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC), the release said. This joint effort creates an “innovative and high impact center to address the region’s need for effective, equipped, and engaged community leaders,” the organizations contended.

The LMV Class of 2019 kicked off with a day and a half opening retreat on MVCC’s Rome campus and at The Root Farm in Sauquoit. The class will then meet one day a month to focus on a specific aspect of the community. Topics will include human services, health care, wellness, education and lifelong learning, economic development, and more. The days give participants a hands-on look at key organizations, access to decision-makers, and issues facing that particular field in the Mohawk Valley, LMV said.

The LMV Class of 2019 is comprised of the following people.

– Benjamin Atwood, Young Scholars LPP, Utica College

– Edward Barone, III, Empower Federal Credit Union

– Alicia Brockway, NBT Bank 

– Erin Bushinger, Assured Information Security

– Jeremy Butler, Kids Oneida

– Maria Cofano, Air Force Research Laboratory

– John Eckmair, Utica National Insurance Group 

– Steven Edwards, Revere Copper Products

– Stephanie Eghigian, Empowered Pathways/WERC 

– Erin Fish, RCIL

– Kayla Hartman, Masonic Care Community 

– Kristen Hutchins, Rome Memorial Hospital 

– Kathryn Karl, Kas by Kas Consulting

– Carrie Klepadlo, C&D Advertising

– Karen Korotzer, The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter

– Ross Kraft, Gilroy Kernan & Gilroy 

– Jason Lewin, AmeriCU Credit Union

– Joseph Miller, Eastern Air Defense Sector

– Jaime Morse, Air Force Research Laboratory

– Sandy Nemeyer, The Parkway Center 

– Paris Pearson, The House of the Good Shepherd

– Jessica Reilly, Excellus BCBS 

– Scott Riffle, Arc Herkimer/Herkimer Industries

– Amy Roache-Fedchenko, Fort Stanwix National Monument 

– Melissa Robison, First Source Federal Credit Union 

– Jason Rutherford, Eastern Air Defense Sector 

– Christopher Sagaas, Utica Public Library 

– Rebecca Spataro-Kearns, Boilermaker Road Race 

– Douglas Walters, Strategic Financial Services

– Judy Wolf, Mohawk Valley Small Business Development Center 

– Karlie Wolfe, M&T Bank 

– Thomas Wynne, M. Griffith Investment Services 

For more information on Leadership Mohawk Valley or the Center for Leadership Excellence, visit www.mvcc.edu/cle.