Soil & Water secures $361K in climate resiliency grants for 3 farms
Photos courtesy of Soil & Water Conservation District: Two Orleans County fruit farms will get frost fans to help prevent damage to their orchards during a spring frost.
ALBION – The Orleans County Soil & Warer Conservation District has been awarded a $361,311 state “Climate Resilient Farming Grant” to assist three farms.
Two of the grants will go towards frost fans, while the other grant will help a farm in Kendall remove numerous ash trees along a waterway at the farm and establish a riparian buffer. The farm will replant the area with healthy, native trees, said Katie Sommerfeldt, the Soil & Water district manager.
The grant to replace a series of smudge pots with frost fans will help two farms, one in Gaines and one in Carlton, prevent frost damage to their orchards which can devastate crops, Sommerfeldt said.
The frost fans have automatic weather stations. They will blow warmer air from above through an orchard to fight a freeze in the spring when fruit buds are vulnerable to frost.
Farms now set up numerous smudge pots and power them with diesel fuel. It’s very labor-intensive, often needed manpower throughout a chilly night.
The frost fans will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and require far less manpower, Sommerfeldt said.
Many of the local fruit farms have been using smudge pots to try to warm up chilly orchards, a labor intensive effort.
