CANTON — The state recently awarded $32,190 to St Lawrence Soil and Water Conservation District to work with a local vegetable farm to detect and fix a leak in their farm pond used for micro-irrigation.

According to a press release from the governor’s office, the funding is part of a recent $33 million in taxpayer dollars the state has redistributed to farms across the state through the Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program.

The local project with the SLSWCD seeks to minimize seepage losses, ensuring the pond can effectively store water for irrigating crops, the press release said.

The farm will also plant cover crops to improve nutrient retention, erosion prevention, and increase the water holding capacity of the soil.

The total cost of the project is $40,971.80.

Funded projects across the state aim to help New York’s farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect water, ensure soil health, and increase on-farm resiliency to the effects of a changing climate.

Altogether, the state claims the projects will reduce greenhouse gases by 120,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year – the equivalent of removing 28,560 gasoline powered vehicles from the road for one year.

Led by county Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD), a total of 70 projects will be implemented on 184 farms across New York State. They are supported through $16.14 million in State funding, plus an additional $17 million in federal funds.