NY Attorney General Allocates $1.1M for Climate-Smart Agriculture

Funding will support Cornell's soil health program to help farmers adapt to climate change and reduce emissions.

Published on Feb. 21, 2026

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New York Attorney General Letitia James has directed $1.1 million to support the new Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences New York Soil Health Climate Smart Agriculture Fund. The funds, originating from a settlement with JBS USA, will enable Cornell to expand its outreach and demonstrations to farmers on improving soil health and promoting climate-smart agriculture practices.

Why it matters

Improving soil health is a key component of climate-smart agriculture, which helps farmers build healthier soils, limit erosion, improve resilience to extreme weather, and sequester more carbon. This funding recognizes Cornell's expertise in this area and its long-standing partnership with New York state as the land-grant institution.

The details

The $1.1 million will go directly to the New York Soil Health Program in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The program plans to use the funds to develop new ideas and expand existing ways to educate farmers and agriculture professionals on climate-smart agriculture practices like reducing tillage, cover cropping, and building soils with organic amendments. The program will also invest in equipment and techniques for measuring soil carbon and health, and lead workshops for farmers to share their success stories.

  • On January 16, 2026, Cornell received the $1.1 million settlement funds from the Attorney General's office.

The players

Letitia James

The Attorney General of New York who directed the $1.1 million settlement funds to support Cornell's soil health program.

Benjamin Z. Houlton

The Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, which will oversee the use of the funding.

Julie Suarez

The associate dean for land-grant affairs in the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Joseph Amsili

The director of the New York Soil Health Program at Cornell, which will use the funding to expand its outreach and demonstrations to farmers.

JBS USA

The world's largest producer of beef products, which settled with the Attorney General's office for allegedly misleading the public about its commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

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What they’re saying

“New Yorkers deserve the truth when it comes to the environmental impact of the products they buy. JBS USA made sweeping promises about its parent company's climate impacts despite the company having no real plan to back those promises up. My office will always hold companies accountable when they mislead New Yorkers and harm our planet.”

— Letitia James, New York Attorney General (Mirage News)

“We are grateful that Attorney General James recognizes the strength of our research and extension programs for improving soil health, combating the impacts of climate change, and increasing agricultural profits. This funding will enlist Cornell's expertise to lower farmer input costs, improve soil organic matter quality and empower the soil's natural biology for long-term sustainability.”

— Benjamin Z. Houlton, Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (Mirage News)

“The attorney general's support of the CALS program is an opportunity to support farm families, meet food access needs with healthy foods produced on healthy soils, protect our natural resources and fight climate change.”

— Julie Suarez, Associate Dean for Land-Grant Affairs in the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (Mirage News)

What’s next

The New York Soil Health Program plans to use the funding to expand its travel around the state, providing more farm extension meetings and demonstrations with its soil health trailer to educate farmers on climate-smart agriculture practices.

The takeaway

This funding from the New York Attorney General recognizes Cornell University's expertise in soil health research and its role as the state's land-grant institution, empowering the university to help farmers across New York adopt climate-smart agriculture practices that can improve soil quality, increase farm profitability, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.