Dawn Howard is conservation district manager in St. Lawrence County. She says the grant money will pay for water quality projects on six farms. On some farms, the money will help keep cows away from waterways; on others, it will provide storage for hay and corn, so they don’t leach out pollution.

Howard says it will also pay for manure pits on two farms. She said, "Manure pits allow the farmers to store their matnure during the winter time and not daily spread it on top of the snow. And then when the crops need it, and it's safe to spread it out on the land, when you don't have that runoff, that flush in the spring, they they can put it out. And it's there; the nutrients are there for the crops to uptake."

The St. Lawrence County projects should protect both the Black Lake and Grasse River watersheds from farm runoff.  According to Howard, the program has been funding water quality projects for 18 years, and it’s making a difference. Farms in Franklin, Herkimer, and Lewis counties all received funding for water quality protection as well. In total, New York expects the grant money to help nearly 160 farms around the state.