2021 NRCS’ Conservation Innovation Grants Program

Deadline: 29-Jun-21

The U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is inviting proposals for the 2021 NRCS’ Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) Program.

The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies in conjunction with agricultural production.

CIG projects are expected to lead to the transfer of conservation technologies, management systems, and innovative approaches (such as market-based systems) to agricultural producers, into government technical manuals and guides, or to the private sector.

CIG generally funds pilot projects, field demonstrations, and on-farm conservation research.

On-farm conservation research is defined as an investigation conducted to answer a specific applied conservation question using a statistically valid design while employing farm-scale equipment on farms, ranches or private forest lands.

CIG funds the development and field testing, on-farm research and demonstration, evaluation, or implementation of:

Approaches to incentivizing conservation adoption, including market-based and conservation finance approaches; and
Conservation technologies, practices, and systems.

Projects or activities under CIG must comply with all applicable federal, tribal, state, and local laws and regulations throughout the duration of the project:

Use a technology or approach that was studied sufficiently to indicate a high probability for success;
Demonstrate, evaluate, and verify the effectiveness, utility, affordability, and usability of natural resource conservation technologies and approaches in the field;
Adapt and transfer conservation technologies, management, practices, systems, approaches, and incentive systems to improve performance and encourage adoption;
Introduce proven conservation technologies and approaches to a geographic area or agricultural sector where that technology or approach is not currently in use

Priorities

Water Quality Priority: The objective of this priority is to implement new technologies, methods or marketbased approaches to maintain, restore, or enhance water quality resources associated with agricultural and/or forest land uses while sustaining productivity. Possible subtopics include:
- Innovative approaches to management, application and/or treatment of manure on farms;
- Demonstrate and evaluate innovative organic pest and nutrient management technologies for single and/or integrated vegetable, row crop, orchard, and/or livestock systems;
- Demonstrations of organic and non-organic farms or ranches using edge-of-field monitoring. Voluntary edge-of-field water quality monitoring enables agricultural producers and scientists to quantify conservation work on water quality. Through edge of-field monitoring, NRCS works with producers and conservation partners to measure nutrients and sediment levels in water runoff from a field and compare the improvements gained under different conservation systems;
- Demonstrate and quantify the effectiveness of methods to capture dissolved phosphorus from field runoff and subsurface drainage.
- Assess and demonstrate the correlation between soil health parameters and water quality on cropland, particularly as it relates to phosphorus attenuation.
Soil Health Priority: The objective of this priority is to implement new technologies, methods or market-based approaches to maintain, restore, or enhance soil resources associated with agricultural and/or forest land uses while sustaining productivity. Possible subtopics include:
- Economic/Financial case studies on successful Soil Health Management Systems (SHMS) across varied production systems that include quantifying on-site net profit and offsite impacts (e.g., soil erosion, nutrient losses, water and air quality).
- Develop, demonstrate, inform, and promote design and implementation of SHMSs that are location- and production system-appropriate, economically viable, and improve soil health/soil functioning (e.g., optimize nutrient availability, optimize productivity, control soil-borne diseases, increase plant available water, increase resilience to extreme weather), including:
  - Implementation strategies for feasible transition from degraded soils in varied production systems.
  - Transitions to more diverse cropping rotations and grazing systems.
  - Optimal species mixes, seeding rates and seeding methods (e.g., inter-seeding, inter-cropping, frost-seeding) to enhance cover crop establishment/survival, as well as management and termination. Innovative approaches to incorporating cover crops in high intensity/high value cropping systems that address concerns such as delayed planting, pest issues, residue challenges and nitrogen availability challenges.
- Demonstrate and quantify the impacts of Soil Health Management Systems on pest prevention, avoidance and suppression;
- Demonstrate innovative ways to control pests that facilitate the implementation of Soil Health Management Systems.
- Quantify the impact and value of soil health by different types of agricultural operations across a range of soils, including use of standard methods for physical, biological, and chemical soil properties/soil health indicators.
Forestry and Wildlife Habitat: The objective of this priority is to implement new technologies, methods or market-based approaches for environmentally sound wildlife habitat and/or livestock management while sustaining agricultural and/or forest productivity. Possible subtopics include:
- Habitat
  - Pollinator/beneficial insect habitat innovations – may include evaluation of pollinator mixes for planting success or pollinator use/benefit, practice design/installation approaches, demonstrations, etc.
  - Innovative approaches to improving aquatic stream habitat.
  - Demonstrate the environment benefits (water quality/wildlife) of managed grazing practices.
  - Evaluate the potential use of carbon credits in forest and grazing systems.
- Forestry/Wildlife
  - Innovative conservation approaches and technologies related to forestry and/or wildlife habitat management that will lead to improved implementation of NRCS forestry or wildlife habitat related conservation practices. This category is intended to be broad to allow for the natural resources community to submit inventive ideas not anticipated by the State CIG committee.
- Forestry
  - Innovative approaches to restore native plants or communities that have been placed at-risk by non-native pests such as disease, insect, plants or animals.
  - Innovative approaches to addressing challenges related to forest regeneration.
  - Tree/shrub establishment innovations and alternatives to traditional tree planting practices in Vermont. The intent is to find lower cost and/or more effective establishment methods when faced with challenging site conditions.

Funding Information

Estimated Funding: The total amount of Federal funding the agency expects to award through this opportunity is $465,000.
Start Dates and Performance Periods: Projects may be between 1 and 3 years in duration. Applicants should plan their projects based on an estimated project start date of September 30, 2021.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants and applications must meet eligibility criteria by the application deadline to be considered for award. Eligible applicant type is determined by the implementing program statute.

Applicant entities identified in the SAM.gov exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted, or excluded from receiving Federal contracts and certain Federal assistance and benefits will not be considered for Federal funding, as applicable to the funding being requested under this Federal program.

All U.S.-based non-Federal entities (NFE) and individuals, with the exception of Federal agencies, are eligible to apply for projects carried out in Vermont. The following entity types are eligible:

City or township governments
County governments
For profit organizations other than small businesses
Independent school districts
Individuals
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS (other than institutions of higher education)
Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c)(3) status with the IRS (other than institutions of higher education)
Private institutions of higher education
Public and State-controlled institutions of higher education
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Small businesses
Special district governments
State governments