Addressing Climate Challenges to Agriculture and Water Quality in the NYC Watershed (CCA) is a project funded by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that is aimed at assisting climate adaptation planning for the Watershed Agricultural Program. CCA is a partnership among the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP), Columbia University, the Watershed Agricultural Council (WAC), and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP). The project officially launched in October of 2023.

The Year Two Workshop was hosted at the Catskill Watershed Corporation in Arkville, New York from November 7-8, 2024. The workshop offered the project’s technical teams, key stakeholders, and watershed farmers, an opportunity to reconvene a year after the Project Launch Workshop, which took place November 15-16, 2023, and communicate and engage with key findings from the first year of project work.

The workshop objectives included:

1. Presenting findings to date to project partners, agricultural extension workers and local farmers
2. Receiving feedback on ongoing research and collecting information from attendees
3. Co-developing research priorities and plans moving forward into Year Two

Similar to last year’s workshop, WAC coordinated tours of two farms within the NYC Watershed on the workshop’s second day. The tours directly inform the agricultural landscape models that AgMIP researchers are developing, with a specific focus on nutrient management, grazing operations, and implementation of beneficial management practices (BMP).

AgMIP looks forward to continued project collaboration with WAC, NYC DEP, and watershed farmers through October 2026.