A video by food.curated showing damage to Maple Downs Farm, a dairy farm in the Schoharie County town of Middleburgh that was devastated by the recent floods.
On Monday, October 17, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced that $5 million would be made available in grants for replacing farm equipment damaged in the flooding from Irene and Lee.
The grants are limited to $100,000 per farm, and will be used to fund energy-efficient replacements for equipment that is powered by electricity or natural gas. From a press release announcing the program:
The program provides funding for energy-efficient repair and replacement of damaged electric and natural gas systems and equipment, such as milk processing, cooling, heating, and other farm systems. Emphasis will be placed on fast application response and face-to-face, on-line, telephone and other support needed by farmers.
The program is open on a first-come, first-served basis until December 15, 2011, or until funding runs out. Applications are available at http://nyserda.ny.gov/agriculture-disaster-program.
To be eligible, farms must be in one of the counties covered by Governor Andrew Cuomo's declarations of disaster emergency during and following the Irene and Lee floods: Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk, Albany, Broome, Chenango, Chemung, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Tioga, Ulster, Warren, Washington or Westchester.
