AG James and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton today awarded more than $1.34 million in grants to support farmers in Delaware and Sullivan Counties. The Agricultural Environmental Innovation Grant Program is funded by Attorney General James and DEC’s 2023 settlement with FrieslandCampina Ingredients North America, Inc. for repeated violations of state and federal environmental law at its Delhi, Delaware County facility. Administered by the Watershed Agricultural Council, the grant program will directly reinvest the settlement funds in the Catskills by providing 25 farms with access to innovative agricultural technologies and practices. The projects selected for funding will demonstrate innovations that can increase efficiency and promote sustainability on New York farms, boosting economic, health, and environmental outcomes across the Catskills region.  

“New York’s farmers work from sun-up to sun-down to put food on our tables. All too often, our farmers are the ones who feel the impacts of environmental degradation, toxic pollution, and climate change first. This new grant program will invest directly in New York’s farmers by helping them to adopt new technologies and practices to save money, reduce waste, and protect the clean air, water, and land that we all depend on.” -AG James