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RC&D Council aids local farmers, businesses

By Melanie Lekocevic

CATSKILL — Feeding the hungry, saving local businesses, lowering homeowners’ insurance rates and even helping farmers market their livestock — it’s all in a day’s work for a local group of volunteers.

Elizabeth Marks, coordinator for the Hudson Mohawk Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) went before the Greene County Legislature Monday to update the board about her organization’s progress and the work its core group of volunteers do.

“This is a federal program administered through the USDA. It was set up in the ‘60s as a kind of domestic peace corps program, and it is made up entirely of volunteers,” Marks told the legislature.

The RC&D Council consists of four members from each county it serves, along with one at-large member. The organization works with residents in six counties, including Greene, Columbia, Albany, Montgomery, Rensselaer and Schenectady. Legislator Ray Brooks of Athens is among the Greene County delegates.

The impact the group has on local economies is considerable. In 2007, the RC&D helped retain 72 businesses and expand 45 others, created nine jobs and retained 72, and financed one business in those six counties.

In addition to working with local business owners, the council also has a program to feed hungry families through a venison donation program, and last year provided 14,800 servings of meat to those in need. That same year the RC&D sponsored 22 educational events, which were attended by 1,500 participants.

Each county donates $1,000 annually to the program. The USDA provides financial and staffing support, but most RC&D funding comes through grants received from local, state and other federal agencies. “Ninety-six percent of the money that the council raises goes to its projects,” Marks pointed out. “That $1,000 and volunteer help goes a long way.”

One program offered by the RC&D helps livestock farmers process and market their product. “This is a project the council has been involved in for a long time because livestock processing is facing a crisis situation,” Marks said. “We have farmers who want to raise livestock, but they are having difficulty keeping up with the demand for grass-fed livestock.”

They also help by educating farmers about grazing, land conservation and working with local soil and water conservation districts. The RC&D Council even helps lower ISO ratings in rural areas, which in turn lowers homeowners’ insurance rates.

ISO ratings help set insurance rates and rural areas with no municipal water typically have high ISOs — and that’s not good. But there are ways to lower the rating through the purchase of equipment and training for volunteer firefighters. And just lowering the town’s rating by one point can mean insurance savings of more than $100 for each and every homeowner, or more than $200,000 for an entire town.

RC&D councils were established more than 45 years ago by Congress to help local people by providing tools and technical support to stabilize and grow their own communities, while at the same time protecting and developing natural resources.

“Mainly, the RC&D is a group of volunteers who work together to find local solutions,” Marks said.

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