The Agriculture Environmental Management (AEM) Base Program is at the foundation of the Soil and Water Conservation District’s ability to help farms fund their conservation projects. The multi-tiered system collects and filters farm data so that planners can more efficiently assist in a vast selection of conservation endeavors. The tiers involve collecting basic farm data (Tier 1), assessing the environmental and conservation risks of the farm (Tier 2), planning the course of implementation (Tier 3), physically implementing the Best Management Practices (BMPs) that the farm has agreed to construct (Tier 4), and assessing the final construction of the BMPs (Tier 5).
The SWCD starts an AEM file for almost every farm that reaches out for funding assistance. Those who
opt into the Tier 4 Implementation Funding Allocation experience the broad range of benefits
that come both from the planning phases and implementation of project. However, a farm is not
required to commit to implementation of a suggested BMP in order to access helpful planning materials.
AEM offers numerous plans and technical assistance at no cost to the farm, such as forestry plans,
grazing plans, and nutrient management plans. Prior AEM rounds lasted 2 years, but AEM Round 19 has a grant life of 3 years. The New York State Soil & Water Conservation Committee awarded the District was $599,500.00 in funding for our AEM Base Program Round 19 Action Plan.
Please contact the office at (845) 343-1873 with any questions regarding the AEM program.
AEM Round 18: 1/1/24-12/31/25
Hoyt Farms: The District worked with Hoyt Farms in Montgomery, NY to help make their cropland erosion control project a reality thanks to funding through AEM Round 18. Click here to read more about the Hoyt Farms' project.
