Innovative Conservation Grants Support Agriculture and Environment
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The Conservation Innovation Grants program provides funding for on-farm conservation projects, with the goal of stimulating the adoption of innovative approaches and technologies. Some key points: - CIG was established in 2004 and has since awarded over $286 million to 710 projects across the US. - It provides national-level grants of up to $2 million each year totaling $20-25 million, as well as additional state-level funding. - In 2017 there were 140 proposals submitted and 33 projects received awards, focusing on categories like water management, conservation finance, and precision agriculture. - Feedback from stakeholders has led to improvements in the application and oversight process over time. CIG will continue to support
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Innovative Conservation Grants Support Agriculture and Environment
- 1. Mission Support Services Operations Associate Chief Area Conservation Innovation Grants July 31, 2017 SWCD Showcase Delivering Results for Agriculture and Conservation
- 2. The Rundown CIG Snapshot History Purpose How It Works Since 2004… CIG in 2017 The Future of CIG Stakeholder Feedback
- 3. History of CIG • Originally authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill • A component of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) • First grants awarded in 2004 • Reauthorized in 2008 and 2014
- 4. CIG’s Purpose To stimulate the adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies on farms, ranches and forest lands
- 5. CIG – How It Works • On-farm demonstrations and field tests • Bridge between research and wide-scale adoption (on-farm research added in 2014 Farm Bill) • CIG projects must involve EQIP-eligible producers • Leverage NRCS funding with applicant match • Integrate successes into NRCS operations
- 6. Mission Support Services CIG – How It Works • National component • $20-$25 million per year • Max. award of $2 million • Special funding opportunities on occasion • State component • At NRCS State Conservationists’ discretion • Up to 5 percent of EQIP allocation • Max. award of $75,000
- 7. 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Proposals Received Grants Awarded Number of Proposals Received and Grants Awarded
- 8. $- $50.0 $100.0 $150.0 $200.0 $250.0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Amount of Funding Requested & Amount Awarded Funding Requested (Millions) Funding Awarded (Millions)
- 9. Fiscal Year Proposals Received Grants Awarded Funding Requested (Millions) Funding Awarded (Millions) 2004 148 40 55.0$ 14.2$ 2005 175 54 70.7$ 19.2$ 2006 199 63 75.4$ 19.3$ 2007 194 50 121.3$ 19.0$ 2008 260 56 90.7$ 18.9$ 2009 391 53 170.2$ 18.0$ 2010 388 58 221.8$ 17.7$ 2011 455 61 176.8$ 29.9$ 2012 475 59 194.3$ 26.1$ 2013 498 46 196.6$ 18.7$ 2014 394 47 166.2$ 15.8$ 2015 300 45 119.0$ 20.5$ 2016 170 45 101.5$ 26.6$ 2017 140 33 82.0$ 22.6$ TOTAL 4187 710 1,841.5$ 286.5$ National Competition
- 11. CIG in 2017 • Up to $25 million available • 140 proposals received • 33 awards announced in June • Categories—Water Management, Conservation Finance, Historically Underserved, Pay for Success, Data Analytics, and Precision Conservation
- 13. Native Bee Habitat Guidance
- 14. Adapt-N Tool
- 15. Chevy & Ducks Unlimited Partner to Store Carbon in Grasslands
- 16. Cover Crop Decision Support Tool
- 19. 2018 Farm Bill
- 20. CIG Feedback • Annual category selection • Proposal submission process • Maximum project funding • Technical oversight • End-of-project protocol
- 21. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Editor's Notes
- Kari Cohen 72nd Soil and Water Conservation Society conference (SWCS) July 31, 2017, Madison, WI
- National Competition only In 2017, roughly 24 percent of proposals were funded.
- National competition only From 2009-2017, on average only 16 percent of the funds requested were awarded.
- Nutrients are essential for food production, but loss of excess nutrients can degrade water quality. With support from a 2004 CIG award, the Iowa Soybean Association, in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund, worked directly with producers to evaluate an adaptive nutrient management process for refining nutrient management on their farms. Results from this project showed that 80 percent of farmers participating changed their nutrient management practices within 2 years. The greater nutrient use efficiency, made possible through adaptive nutrient management, not only allowed producers to reduce their fertilizer inputs and associated costs, but also reduce the risk of nutrient loss to the environment. These results led NRCS to include adaptive nutrient management in its revised Conservation Practice Standard (CPS) 590, Nutrient Management. NRCS then provided training to field staff on implementing adaptive nutrient management, and is currently providing financial and technical support to increase adoption of this practice nationwide.
- People depend on pollinators for about 30% of their food supply; however, habitat for pollinators has declined in recent years. A 2009 CIG award to the Xerces Society developed new NRCS guidelines for improving native bee habitat. The project demonstrated that establishing native pollinator habitat in previously abandoned agriculture areas significantly increased native bee populations. The project was carried out in California where most of the Nation’s fruit and vegetable crops are located. The guidelines developed led to publication of an NRCS bee habitat improvement reference guide. NRCS is now providing funding to establish bee habitat on previously unused farm areas on hundreds of thousands of acres across the Nation.
- Nitrogen is required for plant growth, but loss of excess nitrogen can contribute to water quality impairments and greenhouse gas emissions. Determining the right rate to apply is difficult, because weather influences how much nitrogen is needed. With funding from NRCS-CIG and others, Cornell University developed and tested a publicly available, cloud-based N recommendation tool, Adapt-N, on farms over three years. The tool models local weather, soil, and management to provide better nitrogen recommendations. Results showed that Adapt-N saved producers $30/acre and decreased N inputs by 44 lbs/ac, without decreasing yield. The model has been successfully tested throughout the Northeast U.S. and is now available for use in 37 states and 95% of corn acreage. The tool has been rigorously tested on over 152 farmer fields in Iowa, New York, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin between 2011-2015 (Sela et al., 2016; Sela at al., 2017ab), and in North Carolina during 2014-15. Based on these trials we have demonstrated average reductions in N inputs by 29 lbs/ac, with the same yields and farmer profits of $29/ac. We have also demonstrated that the use of Adapt-N can result in 35-40% reductions in leaching and gaseous losses of nitrogen. Adapt-N offers an estimated 5-20x return on investment for growers, depending on the production environment.
- A First-of-its-Kind Carbon Markets Transaction Environmental markets have the potential to generate new revenue streams for agricultural producers while enhancing natural resource conservation. Ducks Unlimited used a 2011 CIG award to develop a protocol for measuring and quantifying the amount of carbon stored by avoiding the conversion of grasslands to cropland. This protocol was then approved by the American Carbon Registry and used by private landowners to generate carbon credits on ranch lands in North Dakota. In 2014, General Motors became the first entity to purchase these credits as part of its corporate sustainability initiative. This success is being used as a model for future environmental markets to enhance conservation of our natural resources.
- Cover crops can dramatically reduce nutrient losses to surface and ground water, provide nutrients to the following crop, and can enhance water infiltration, thereby improving resiliency to extreme weather. Through a CIG award and other contributions, the Midwest Cover Crops Council developed a Cover Crop Decision Tool that incorporated expert knowledge across several states into a decision support system for farmers. As a result of this project, producers throughout the Midwest U.S. can evaluate their options and receive cover crop recommendations, such as species and seeding rates, tailored to their local conditions, soils, and management goals. This not only helps farmers be profitable, but also contributes public value through benefits to the environment.