Welcome to Madison County Soil & Water Conservation District’s Website
Serving landowners in Madison County since 1940
Who We Are
Our mission
The Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) works to conserve soil and water resources through conservation planning,
design & implementation.
Our programs focus on controlling and preventing soil erosion, floodwater and sediment damages, conserving water to help preserve natural resources and wildlife, and to protect public and private lands within the county. Madison County SWCD provides technical assistance to Madison County’s residents and municipalities with all manners of natural resource issues. In response to the 1989 Amendment of the Soil and Water Conservation District Law, we are also helping to improve the quality of the county’s surface and groundwater by fighting non-point (widely separated or diffuse) sources of water pollution.
what we do
Programs & Services
Annual Tree Sale
Thank you to all who made the 2024 Annual Tree and Shrub Sale a success!
Look for the 2025 Tree and Shrub Order Form in January.
If you would like to be added to our email list or would like a tree or shrub we don’t currently offer, please email Joann Burke at joann-burke@madcoswcd.com.
Stream & Flood Mitigation Program
The District continues to receive funding from the Madison County Board of Supervisors to implement flood mitigation projects around the County on both public and private property. District staff complete site visits and evaluation of potential project sites, assist public and private entities with required environmental permits, develops engineered designs and over sees construction of selected projects. If you are experiencing repeated flooding issues, please contact the office to set up a site visit from our staff.
Tillage Program
The district owns a 15 foot John Deere no-till drill to plant small grains. No till planting can help increase soil organic matter and fertility, promote water infiltration, reduce erosion, and limit pest and disease outbreaks. The drill is available for use by farms in the county interested in implementing this practice. For more information please contact the office.
Available Equipment
The District has a 15 foot John Deere no-till drill and a post pounder available to farmers in Madison County to be utilized on their farms free of charge. Due to the high demand of the post pounder, we will only loan it out for pasture management projects and water quality purposes.
NYS Agricultural Environmental Management
ThaThe District is active in the NYS Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) program. This voluntary and confidential program delivers technical support and financial incentives to help farmers implement conservation practices critical to the protection of water quality and other natural resources.
This five-tier approach consists of Tier 1, a single-page inventory of farm information such as farm acreage and number of animals. Tier 2 assesses current environmental stewardship and opportunities for improvement through worksheets. A plan (Tier 3) is then developed to address the resource concerns from the Tier 2 worksheets. Tier 4 is the implementation of the plan utilizing available financial and technical assistance. Tier 5 is the evaluation of the plan and practices implemented.
AEM takes a whole farm view to address not only nutrient management but also farmstead management, soil erosion, and streambank erosion. In today’s climate of environmental awareness, AEM’s technical and financial resources are valuable in assisting farmers in maintaining their commitment to conservation. Proactively advancing conservation practices is central to economic viability on today’s farms. Any farm can participate in AEM.
Madison County SWCD is currently reviewing potential projects for funding through the AEM process.
Soil Group Worksheets
An Agricultural Assessment through your local assessor’s office allows owners of farmland to receive reduced property tax bills for land in agricultural production by limiting the property tax assessment of such land to the value of their land for agricultural production, rather than its full development value.
A soil group worksheet is one part of the process. It lists the soil types on your property and tells how many acres of each soil group. Your assessor will use this worksheet, along with the rest of your application, to help them determine your tax assessment.
Honors
Mariposa Heights Farm awarded 43rd Madison County SWCD’s Conservation Farm of the Year
DeRuyter, NY–For generations, Mariposa Heights Farm founded by the Fuller family has milked cows, made crops, produced beef and raised equally hearty children on land resources that rise up to 1800 feet of elevation and feed communities downstream. It wasn’t an easy journey for Ted and Becky whose life’s journey was cut short by cancer in 2020. Like many dairy families of that era, working off the farm became a reality for the Fuller family, with Ted driving school bus fulltime since 1996 (28 years) and Becky having a teaching assistant career in area schools. In 2012, the Madison County couple caught the passion for raising hearty, registered Red Angus cattle to complement their work schedules, sell breeding stock and freezer beef and teach the next generations the nuances of beef production while filling the family’s freezer with homegrown meat.
With over 40 head of cattle on the ground, Becky knew improving soil health would be paramount for their resiliency and slowing runoff atop the Tioughnioga River Watershed. She worked with Jessica Heim, Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District, Nutrient Management Planner lay the groundwork in decision-making for applying manures and fertilizers to enhance the hay and pastureland and in turn the health of the animals and water holding capacity of the soil.
Ted worked with district staff using the Agriculture Environmental Management (AEM) planning framework to build common-sense conservation measures in a smaller farm context. The first projects focused on establishing and constructing a rotational grazing system geared towards Ted’s daily workload off the farm with a secure perimeter high tensile fence and complimentary paddock subdivisions attached to a laneway for ease of people and cattle movement. To facilitate the nutrient management goals on pasture, an above ground water system was piped throughout the system to keep the cattle happy in the paddocks and secondary hay fields nourishing the microbes.
The farm’s soil health systems and watershed were further enhanced by a 5-acre, district-planted riparian forest buffer and stream/pond exclusion fence for the resident wildlife population. Recognizing the importance of cattle manure for the land, a new barnyard with associated stoned walkway, reinforced stream crossing and vegetated treatment area was built in 2022/23 to ensure proper collection of valuable nutrients and land applied at the right time.
“I appreciate the labor savings, healthier cattle, improved forage quality, the longer growing season up here, and less mud to deal with, said Fuller. Working with the district to improve our operation has been easy while also contributing to water quality coming off our “mountain” delivered to my watershed”.
“We appreciate working with the Fuller family to enhance the natural resources for all Madison County residents to enjoy while supporting the farm’s endeavors for a sustainable future, said Steve Lorraine, Madison County SWCD District Manager.
Get involved
Board Meetings
Board Meetings are held the 3rd Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm April through October and at noon November through March, unless otherwise posted. Meetings are held in the conference room at 6503 Wes Rd, Hamilton, NY and are open to the public. Recent Agendas and Minutes are below. If you would like to see previous months, please contact us.
NOVEMBER 2024 meeting will be held Friday 11/22/24 at noon.
Publications
For Land’s Sake
our team/Contact Information
Board of Directors
Chairman, At-large Farming Public Representative: Cedric Barnes III
Vice-Chairman, Farm Bureau Representative: Allen Hough
County Legislator: Jim Cunningham
County Legislator: TJ Stokes
Non-farming Public Representative: Charlie Pace
District Staff
Office phone number: 315-824-9849 ext 5
District Manager: Steve Lorraine ext 108
steve-lorraine@madcoswcd.com
District Clerk: Amy Hayduke ext 101
amy-hayduke@madcoswcd.com
Nutrient Management Planner: Jessica Heim ext 117
jessica-heim@madcoswcd.com
District Technician: Carl Bartlett ext 102
carl-bartlett@madcoswcd.com
District Technician: Andrew Haslauer ext 112
andrew-haslauer@madcoswcd.com
Agricultural Program Specialist: Joann Burke ext 116
joann-burke@madcoswcd.com
Program Specialist: Thomas Conklin ext 118
thomas-conklin@madcoswcd.com