Deadline: 31-Jul-24
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is announcing the availability of Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) State Program funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies.
The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies in conjunction with agricultural production in the United States and its territories. 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.
The goals and objectives of this program are:
- Use climate-smart management and sound science to enhance the health and productivity of agricultural lands.
- Lead efforts to adapt to the consequences of climate change in agriculture and forestry.
- Restore, protect, and conserve watersheds to ensure clean, abundant, and continuous provision of water resources.
- Increase carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and economic opportunities (and develop low-carbon energy solutions).
- Protect agricultural health by minimizing major diseases, pests, and wildlife conflicts.
- Build resilient food systems, infrastructure, and supply chain.
- Foster agricultural innovation.
CIG Priorities
- Carbon Sequestration
- Demonstrate conservation practices and management techniques that increase carbon sequestration beyond the conservation practices identified by NRCS.
- Develop strategies to increase biologic carbon sequestration on farmsteads.
- Legacy Sediment
- Demonstrate and evaluate removal of legacy sediment for restoration of wetlands and endangered species habitat creation.
- Measure effects of restoration- changes in water quality (nutrient levels, temperature, sediment turbidity).
- Measure effects of habitat creation- changes in fish and macroinvertebrate, amphibian and reptile, and/or plant populations.
- Measure effects to existing wetland function before and after project.
- Document real costs related to earth moving and disposal or re-use of sediment.
- Make cost benefit analysis of effectiveness and impact of this practice.
- Recommend best management practice for legacy sediment removal and restoration for future related conservation efforts.
- Examine the costs and effects of natural resources of disposing colonial mill dam sediments in a variety of areas, including urban brownfields, on current agricultural areas, and abandoned mine land.
- Soil Health
- Cover crop establishment following harvest of corn grain in the northern tier counties of Pennsylvania lags behind the rest of the state due to its cooler, wetter climate and shorter growing season. Land Grant University (LGU) researchers have recently refined an innovative cover crop interseeding technique that allows for planting cover crop seed, application of side dress fertilizer and application of post emergent weed control is a single operation when the corn seedlings are at the early 6-leaf/foot-tall stage of development. According to LGU research, this technology is a good fit for northern Pennsylvania and southern New York where late season interseeding establishment of cover crops and post-harvest generally fails. The awardee will demonstrate proof-of-concept through field-scale demonstration of early post emergent interseeding of cover crop into corn across the northern geographies of Pennsylvania.
- Now widely adopted in Pennsylvania, continuous no-till crop production systems have proven to significantly lower soil erosion while maintaining crop yields and lowering production costs. Benefits of no-till adoption are cumulative over time as infiltration, structural consolidation, and soil health improve over time when soil is undisturbed by tillage. Where manure is surface applied but not incorporated under no-till systems, runoff water is laden with nutrients and organic matter that degrade water quality downstream. Innovative solutions that reduce the surface loss of applied manure while maintain the benefits of the continuous no-till system are sought.
- Demonstrate, evaluate, and verify the effectiveness, utility and affordability of innovative conservation systems that include crop rotation, cover crops conservation tillage and nutrient management have in promoting beneficial organisms that support ecological pest management.
- Demonstrate, quantify, and evaluate the innovative application of biochar from manure and other organic materials for use in agriculture. Evaluate the effect of biochar application to improve soil health. Evaluate how much biochar is neededto provide the most benefit for the least cost. Sources of biochar should be locally developed and easily obtainable.
- Demonstrate the use of innovative soil carbon amendments to improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil. Soil properties to be addressed are soil organic matter, soil aggregate stability, and habitat for soil organisms. Other outcomes to be measured are plant productivity, and water-use efficiency. Carbon amendments can be applied to row crop or specialty crop production, or for urban agriculture. The type of carbon amendments can be compost or biochar derived from plentiful local sources, or other carbon amendments from regionally appropriate carbon-based materials. This project would provide support for the development of a Pennsylvania specific soil carbon amendment practice standard.
- Water Quality
- Demonstrate the use of native grasses as filters along streams to improve water quality while exploring carbon market approaches to encourage increased adoption.
- Develop strategies for working with stakeholders within ag impaired watersheds to improve the adoption of conservation within the watershed and identify effectiveness using stream monitoring data.
- Urban Farming
- Demonstrate how agricultural production and conservation of the natural resources (e.g. soil, water) go hand-in-hand in the urban farm by implementing. innovative conservation practices that promote sustainable production.
- Demonstrate techniques and best practices for conservation in small scale/urban farm systems.
- As an educational program alongside innovative urban practices, develop and implement a hands-on program to educate producers on the elements of soil health, conservation planning process and on how to request assistance (including helping producers establish farm documentation with the Farm Service Agency). Produce written documents in English, Spanish, Pennsylvania Dutch and Nepali.
- Demonstrate soil remediation techniques to mitigate lead and other urban soils contaminants.
- Propose conservation practice standards or specifications appropriate for urban farming applications. This may include technical criteria or specifications on how to adapt practices to smaller sites and soil conditions common in urban areas.
- Demonstrate, evaluate, and verify the effectiveness, utility and affordability conservation systems that include crop rotation, cover crops, conservation tillage and nutrient management have in promoting beneficial organisms that support ecological pest management.
- Explore approaches to increase pollinator habitat by fine tuning seed mixes for urban conditions.
- Non-Industrial Private Forestland
- Development and demonstration of innovative strategies to build forest management collaboratives (a.k.a. forest landowner stewardship networks) in order to encourage broader adoption of conservation practices amongst small scale non-industrial private forestland (NIPF) landowners and to support implementation of forestry conservation practices (such as prescribed burning) across ownership boundaries.
- Increase the adoption of multistory cropping agroforestry conservation practices (a.k.a. forest farming) for the management of forested systems where non-timber forest products are produced in a manner that reduces natural resources concerns.
- Evaluate the compatibility of improving forest health and the implementation of multistory cropping with a focus on native plants harvested and used as medicinal herbs.
- Develop plant species specific guidance to optimize forest health and non-timber forest product production opportunities.
- Utilize demonstration sites for outreach and education opportunities related to multistory cropping and the production and/or post-processing of non-timber forest products.
- Demonstration of on farm uses for residual woody materials (i.e. Biochar) to address resource concerns including soil erosion, and water quality degradation.
- Demonstration of ways to connect forest biochar production to land application especially on urban farms and community gardens.
Funding Information
- Estimated Funding: NRCS Pennsylvania expects to award approximately $225,000 through this opportunity. However, the agency retains the discretion to award a larger or lesser amount.
- Award Ceiling: $75,000
- Award Floor: $5,000
- Start Dates and Performance Periods: Projects may be between one and three years in duration. Applicants should plan their projects based on an estimated project start date of October 1, 2024.
- Number of Awards: The agency expects to make 3 award(s).
Innovative Conservation Projects or Activities
- CIG funds the development and field testing, on-farm research and demonstration, evaluation, or implementation of:
- Innovative approaches to incentivizing conservation adoption, including market-based and conservation finance approaches; and
- Innovative 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; and
- 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.
- Technologies and approaches that are eligible for funding in a project’s geographic area using an EQIP contract for an established conservation practice standard are ineligible for CIG funding, except where the use of those technologies and approaches demonstrates clear innovation.
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 (2 CFR 200.206(d)).
- All U.S. non-Foreign, non-Federal entities and individuals are eligible to apply for projects carried out in Pennsylvania. US Federal agencies are not eligible to apply to this opportunity or impart their work to non-federal portion of the budget.
- Individuals that are business owner/operators cannot apply as individuals.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
