State funding of $13,500 is coming to St. Lawrence County to help develop local agricultural and farmland protection plans.

The funds, to be allocated to the St. Lawrence Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board, will be used to update the county’s agricultural development plan, which will provide the framework for the county to continue to encourage and support viable agricultural initiatives, according to a press release from Assemblywoman Addie Russell’s (D-Theresa) office.

The counties are required to fund at least 50 percent of the cost of their respective plans’ development.

St. Lawrence County, the largest in the state, is slated to receive the least among the seven counties covered by this announcement, including Broome, Genesee, Montgomery, Oneida, Scoharie and Washington counties.

Plans must take into account land use codes to ensure zoning and subdivision regulations are “farm friendly” and do not unreasonably restrict agricultural activities. Smart growth principles are also incorporated into future development plans. Local government can play a vital role in farmland protection by ensuring that comprehensive plans and land use regulations contain clear language that support the local agriculture industry.

Matilda Larsen from the St. Lawrence County Planning Office said, “This planning effort will result in the digital production of an Agricultural Development Plan that will be used to help preserve and advance the farming industry in St. Lawrence County. An exciting element of the new plan will result from a partnership with St. Lawrence University’s GIS lab to create a virtual Agricultural Atlas of St. Lawrence County which will include aerial imagery, property boundaries, land use regulations, topography, soil types, and the presence of wetlands that will be centralized on an interactive website.”

Dawn Howard, manager of the St. Lawrence County Soil and Water Conservation District said, “We have extensively used the 2001 Agricultural Development Plan that was developed with public outreach and stakeholder input, to guide our activities. This will allow us to update data, account for current and emerging issues, and guide future activities.”

“Agriculture continues to have a vibrant and strong future as one of the main economic components in the North Country,” said Russell, whose “River District” includes all St. Lawrence County towns along the St. Lawrence River (Massena, Ogdensburg, Louisville, Waddington, Lisbon, Oswegatchie, Morristown, and Hammond) plus the towns of Canton, Potsdam, Rossie, Macomb, and DePeyster, and northern Jefferson County not including Watertown.

“The agricultural community requires a large number of supporting businesses to meet the needs of their businesses. Helping our local farmers continue thrive is essential to our communities,” she said.