As consumers make more buying decisions — including food purchases – based on sustainability and on-farm practices, ADA North East is working to promote community collaboration to motivate people and organizations to work together to achieve mutually positive environmental conditions for farms, communities and watersheds.

ADA North East is a founding member of the Partner for Healthy Watersheds — a partnership with the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition, Northeast Dairy Producers Association and the Cayuga County Farm Bureau. The group was formed to develop, communicate and implement projects and programs that increase consumer trust in dairy farmers and farm management practices. df

Nearly 50 people from the Owasco Lake watershed in New York gathered recently to learn about the latest research related to the conditions in the Finger Lakes, particularly those contributing to harmful algal blooms and other toxins. Karl Czymmek (pictured below) of Cornell University and advisor to Partners for Healthy Watersheds discussed the agriculture community’s efforts to protect water quality.