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Senator Pamela A. Helming (R,C,I-Canandaigua) announced Monday that a total of 17 farms in two counties within the Finger Lakes region received a combined $1.24 million for agricultural water quality conservation projects. The funding comes to the Ontario and Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation Districts through the Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control Program, which is funded through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and the New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee.

These projects allow farmers to address water quality issues to prevent pollution, reduce erosion, and limit the amount of harmful sediments and other runoff in priority watersheds while increasing productivity and economic activity. County Soil and Water Conservation Districts apply for these grants on behalf of farmers and use the money to conduct environmental planning or implement best management practices, such as agricultural waste storage systems, riparian buffer systems, conservation cover crops, and structural soil conservation practices.

The Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District received $380,034 to work with two farms in the Canandaigua Lake Outlet Watershed. The Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District was awarded a total of $860,427 to work with 15 farms - $168,618 for two farms in the Yawgers Creek Watershed, part of the Cayuga Lake Watershed; $90,284 for five farms in the Owasco and Cayuga Lake Watersheds; $92,348 for seven farms in the Owasco Lake Watershed; and $509,177 for one farm in the Salmon Creek Watershed, part of the Cayuga Lake Watershed.

"As someone who is a tremendous supporter of both water quality and the agriculture industry, I am glad to see these projects that will support both of these ventures by giving farmers the resources they need to protect the bodies of water that surround their farmland. I commend the Ontario and Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation Districts for applying for and earning this funding, and I wish them the best of luck with their projects," Helming said.

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