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Soil & Water reports 3,200 trees sold, new farm specialist hired and $130,000 farm water grant applied for
Summary
Dylan Sakowski said Columbia County Soil & Water sold 3,200 bare-root trees at $2 apiece, hired a farm program specialist effective June 8 to expand cover-cropping and rotational grazing work, and applied for $130,000 from an agricultural nonpoint pollution program to fund water/fencing improvements on a beef farm.
Dylan Sakowski, representing Columbia County Soil & Water, told supervisors the district sold 3,200 bare-root trees this season at $2 each and ran a successful municipal assistance tree program that planted trees at town halls and parks.
Sakowski announced the district will add a farm program specialist beginning June 8 to support cover-cropping, rotational grazing and other conservation practices on local farms. He said the position is funded with non-recurring (soft) money for now and staff expect to maintain it long term.
Sakowski described a grant application to the "A nonpoint pollution and abatement control program" on behalf of a beef farm. The request was for about $130,000 to pay for fencing, engineered water systems and watering facilities intended to spread cattle impacts across pasture, reduce stream exposure, and better integrate manure into the farm’s nutrient-management plan.
Supervisors asked about farm counts and marketing of small and niche farms; Sakowski and others noted challenges in defining what counts as a farm and suggested collaborative lists (Harvest Connection, FarmFinder) that distinguish farms with public farm stands from those without.
