Office Hours with Ag Support Agencies

Friday, March 1, 2024, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Funding is available to implement farm practices that help reduce runoff, increase soil health, sequester carbon and help soils hold water. If you’ve got questions about the state and federal grants that are available, the Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and Tompkins/Cortland/Schuyler Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in collaboration with CCE Tompkins, will be available for drop-ins and personalized support at the offices of CCE Tompkins on March 1, 2024 from 2-4pm. The focus of the session will be on the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Climate Resilient Farming program (CRF).

Note that this session is intended to support those who are ready for planning assistance from agency representatives to seek New York State or Federal funding. If you are interested in more general information about the programs that SWCD and NRCS manage, you should plan to attend the CCE Tompkins Ag Summit, to be held on March 18, 2024, where agency staff will provide overviews of the funding that is available.

You can also contact SWCD and NRCS with questions at any time. Contact information as follows:

NRCS: Contact Erin Kurtz: erin.kurtz@usda.gov or James Schleppenbach: James.Schleppenbach@usda.gov, or call (607) 257-2737

SWCD: Contact Devin Cox: dcox@tompkins-co.org or Paul Gier: PGier@tompkins-co.org, or call (607) 257-2340

If there are particular things you’d like to see addressed in a session with SWCD and NRCS, please reach out and share. We hope to hold Office Hours like this regularly, but future events will be based on feedback and experience from this initial session on March 1, 2024. For questions or more information, email Graham Savio at gs695@cornell.edu.