Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE):Progress report for ENE22-177. April, 2025
“Designing Multifunctional Buffers to Improve Farm Viability in the Berkshire-Taconic Region of MA, NY, and CTT”. Page Link: Designing Multifunctional Buffers to Improve Farm Viability in the Berkshire-Taconic Region of MA, NY, and CT
This page and update highlights a impactful SARE program.
Problem or Opportunity & Justification:: The agricultural sector in the Housatonic Valley (MA, CT, and NY) and Hudson River Valley (NY) must reduce its nutrient loading to improve water quality at the watershed level and meet EPA Clean Water Act standards for phosphorus. Many farmers believe there is a trade-off between farm income and ecologically beneficial agricultural practices (e.g. Kooistra et al. 2017, Liu et al. 2018). These perceptions can limit progress toward achieving environmental and conservation goals.
Solution & Approach: There is an opportunity to craft a regionally-adapted training program that also fosters inter-agency networking amongst technical service providers to accelerate the adoption by farmers of multi-functional riparian plantings. This project will bring together industry experts to train local technical service providers on how to design and implement multifunctional buffers for pollinator habitat and commercial agroforestry as a strategy for overcoming barriers to riparian buffer adoption.