New Grant Program to Support Innovative Farm Equipment and Technology in the NYC Watershed

WALTON  — The Watershed Agricultural Council (WAC) is launching a one-time competitive grant program that will provide $1.35 million in funding directly to farms for innovative equipment and technology that improve air and/or water quality and enhance farm viability.

The Agricultural Environmental Innovation Demonstration Program (AEIDP) is funded by the Office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James, in coordination with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, stemming from an environmental settlement in the Town of Delhi. These funds are being reinvested in the agricultural community to support on-farm demonstration projects that generate measurable air and water quality benefits and practical learning through cutting-edge technologies and practices testing new tools, sharing lessons learned, and helping advance agricultural innovation across the region.

Funding is available in three project categories, and farmers may apply for up to three projects (maximum of one per category – manure handling and application equipment is not eligible):

Soil Health & Cover Crop Equipment - $200,000: Grants up to $50,000 for equipment supporting no-till cover crop management.

Agricultural Drones & Drone Services - $300,000: Grants up to $50,000 for agricultural drone purchases (limited availability) and custom drone service credit for ag applications.

Innovative Equipment & Precision Agriculture Technology - $847,000: Grants up to $75,000 for advanced technologies such as GPS guidance, variable rate, sensors, remote and automated tools and equipment.

WAC will implement the program in partnership with Cornell University’s Farmers DataLab, supporting monitoring, evaluation, and outreach to ensure that results and lessons learned are shared with farmers and partners across the region.

The program will be launched at Catskill Regional Agricultural Conference on January 9, 2026 at SUNY Delhi, where WAC will host an informational early-bird workshop introducing the grant. An additional workshop will be held on Friday, January 16th from 11AM-1PM at the Conservation Center in Walton.

Applications will be competitively reviewed, and selected projects will participate in a three-year monitoring and demonstration period, after which the equipment will fully belong to the farm.

Full program details and application materials will be available on the WAC website.