The coveted top slot on the list has positioned them not just one, but three years of funding for important conservation projects should Congress appropriate the funds next year. Represented within those groups are various state and federal agencies such as the Farm Service Agency, the NYS Farm Bureau, and the Oneida County Board of Supervisors. Oriskany Creek is listed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as under pressure from both agriculture and urban related pollution. Every year, almost 150,000 tons of soil erodes from the areas cropland and washes into the creek, carrying with it phosphorus, nitrogen and disease-carrying germs. The survival of fish and other aquatic life in the creek is threatened.
Farmers especially understand the importance of good stewardship.
Now Oriskany Creek farmers will have the assistance they deserve to help them put good conservation practices to work on their farms and protect the watershed. The proposal covers 50 farms and more than 31,000 acres of the Oriskany Creek watershed that has the highest level of agricultural activity. The plan is expected to reduce nitrogen loading by 50 percent.