Over five million dollars has been awarded by the state to the Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District to work with four local farms to help protect water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The money is part of over $15.8 million in funding through the first round of the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Enhanced Nutrient and Methane Management Program (CAFO ENMP). Funding from the program will go toward projects that help farmers protect water quality and mitigate the impacts of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
$2,167,334.00 was awarded to work with one farm in the Chemung Watershed. This project will:
• Add separation units and construct two covered and flared storage facilities, that account for 95% of the farm’s manure.
• Implement a dragline application system that will reduce on-field traffic and vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions.
• Improve nutrient management by using separated solids as bedding.
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19,099 metric tons of CO₂e annually.
$1,532,006.00 was awarded to work with one farm in the Seneca Watershed. This project will:
• Replace a screw-press for waste separation that will allow full-scale separation of all manure on the farm.
• Cover and flare methane emissions from one of the farm’s two manure storage facilities.
• Improve transfer capabilities between waste storages through an underground line, thereby reducing the need for truck transfers.
• Reduce an estimated 6,340 metric tons of CO₂e annually.
$1,229,520.00 was awarded to work with one farm in the Seneca Watershed. This project will:
• Replace the farm’s existing manure separation, transfer, and cover and flare systems with more efficient options.
• Install a multi-screw press manure solids separation system, thereby allowing the farm to switch completely to bedding with separated manure solids.
• Replace the existing, depleted cover and flare portions for waste storage, accounting for 100% of the manure produced by 2,200 adult cows.
• Project will result in the continued reduction of 14,620 CO₂e metric tons annually by promoting sustainable manure management
$431,052.00 was awarded to the Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District to work with one farm in the Seneca Watershed. This project will:
• Replace an outdated and non-functional cover and flare system on the farm’s primary manure storage facility.
• Treat waste from 92% of animals on the farm.
• Reduce 7,280 metric tons of CO₂e annually.
According to the state, the program will help CAFO-permitted farmers implement projects that enhance manure management systems that sequester carbon and conserve manure nutrients applied to fields and soil to protect water quality. The program also supports advancements in precision feed management to balance nutrients and reduce methane emissions. The estimated Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction for all projects is 122,833 MTCO2e a year, the equivalent of taking 28,651 gas-powered vehicles off the road for one year.
Have all the Finger Lakes news from Finger Lakes News Radio delivered to your email every morning for FREE! Sign up by clicking here
