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Cornell Cooperative Extension details farmland transfers, composting and parenting programs; notes SNAP‑Ed funding cut
Summary
Cornell Cooperative Extension presented three program areas to the committee — farmland transfer support and agroforestry workforce training, a county composting program with volunteer master composter outcomes, and expansion of the PS It Works parenting curriculum — and noted a federal SNAP‑Ed funding cut of roughly $60,000–$70,000.
Cynthia Cave Gaetani, director of Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Tompkins County, and Rob Brown, finance manager, briefed the Planning, Energy and Environmental Quality Committee on July 14 about recent program outcomes and funding pressures.
CCE reported that its farmland transfer efforts helped move roughly 300 acres in 2024, with transfers noted in Caroline (77 acres), Lansing (140 acres) and Enfield (50 acres). Staff said those efforts connect retiring landowners with next‑generation farmers, provide transfer planning assistance and promote agroforestry training — CCE said a private foundation funded development of an agroforestry workforce curriculum to be used in the Northeast.
The county contract composting program — partly funded by Tompkins County Recycling and Materials Management and supplemented by fee‑for‑service work and private funds — reached about 2,700 people with educational activities in 2024 and recorded about 14,000 pounds (7 tons) of food recovered and diverted from landfill. CCE reported 84 active volunteer master composters (15 new graduates) and about 1,563 volunteer hours in 2024; staff said a school‑district composting expansion is funded in part by private support.
CCE also highlighted the PS It Works parenting curriculum and a new two‑generation (2‑Gen) model being expanded with Smith‑Lever (land‑grant) funding to offer concurrent parent and child sessions and skills practice.
On funding, CCE cited County Law 224 as the statutory framework for extension associations and noted federal funding shifts: the SNAP‑Ed contract (nutrition education tied to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) was defunded, which CCE estimated at roughly $60,000–$70,000 in lost program revenue. CCE said it is exploring alternative funding and trying to document program leverage and multiplicative effects of county appropriation to support future funding requests.
