NNY farm research program gets $300,000 in state budget

WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) – The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has received $300,000 in the 2024-25 New York State Budget.

State funding makes possible high-priority projects selected by the farmer-driven agricultural research program for New York’s northern-climate region that includes Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

NNYADP project results help farms to adapt to such challenges as weather extremes and emerging crop and livestock pests and diseases, and to meet opportunities to grow such sectors as northern New York’s maple industry and local foods production.

Funding for the NNYADP is supported by the state legislature through the New York State Assembly and administrated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Assembly Members Billy Jones and Ken Blankenbush, who represents part of the north country, serve on the NYS Assembly Agriculture Committee chaired by Assemblymember Donna Lupardo.

In Jefferson, St. Lawrence, and Lewis counties we rely on agricultural cultivation as a primary source of economic activity. The inclusion in the State budget of $300,000 for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program will create massive agricultural improvements across all of these counties. This investment will allow farms to be ready to combat issues when they emerge and to transform the North Country into the farming capital of New York state.

New York State Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush

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