Cig overview
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The Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program provides funding through competitive grants for agricultural producers, private groups, and non-profit organizations to implement innovative conservation approaches and technologies. CIG was first authorized in 2002 and has provided over $297 million in funding through 732 grants. It aims to bridge research and adoption of conservation practices through on-farm testing. Recent CIG projects focused on organic agriculture, grazing lands, and soil health. The program is seeking feedback on better supporting grantees and addressing the needs of underserved producers. The 2018 Farm Bill proposals would cap CIG annual funding at $25 million and add $25 million for on-farm trials.
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Cig overview
- 1. Mission Support Services Operations Associate Chief Area Conservation Innovation Grants July 30, 2018 SWCS Showcase Delivering Results for Agriculture and Conservation
- 2. History of CIG โข Originally authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill โข First grants awarded in 2004 โข Reauthorized in 2008 and 2014
- 3. CIGโs Purpose To stimulate the adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies on farms, ranches and forest lands
- 4. CIG โ How It Works โข On-farm demonstrations and field tests โข Bridge between research and wide-scale adoption (on-farm research added in 2014) โข Leverage NRCS funding โข Integrate successes into NRCS operations
- 6. Fiscal Year Proposals Received Grants Awarded Funding Requested (Millions) Funding Awarded (Millions) 2004 148 40 55.0$ 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$ 2018 144 22 77.1$ 10.6$ TOTAL 4331 732 1,918.6$ 297.1$ National Competition
- 7. CIG in 2018 โข 141 proposals received โข Last week, announced 22 awards for just over $10 million โข Projects focused on Organic Ag Systems, Grazing Lands, and Soil Health โข Increased integration of NRCS technical experts and grantees
- 8. CIG Program Improvements โข Focusing on program results โข Improving customer service โข Improving oversight and accountability โข Better integrating NRCS technical experts โข Communicating program value โข Better integrating National and State components
- 9. Improving CIG Communications To Subscribe--https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDANRCS/subscriber/new
- 11. Farmers Screen For Fish Passage in Irrigation Systems 11
- 12. Cover Crop Decision Support Tool
- 15. An App to Nip Invasive Species in the Bud 15
- 16. Conservation Planning for Navajo Livestock Producers 16
- 17. CIG in the Farm Bill House bill โข caps the program at $25 million annually โข adds a provision with $25 million for on-farm conservation innovation trials, providing incentives to producers to test innovative conservation approaches (e.g., precision ag, SHMS, water management systems, irrigation systems, etc.) Senate bill โข No substantive changes โข Adds some focus areas, including โurban, indoor, or other emerging ag practicesโ and edge-of-field monitoring
- 18. CIG Feedback โข What is innovation in private lands conservation? โข What has CIG been missing? โข How do we better address the needs of historically underserved and socially disadvantaged producers? โข How do we do a better job of supporting grantees? โข Fewer, bigger grants? More, smaller grants?
- 19. 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Teamย ย ย ย ย received a CIG award from the NRCS State Office in New Jersey for a project to empower agricultural producers and forest land owners to identify, report and rapidly respond to newly discovered and localized populations of invasive species. The projectโs goal was to create an app to facilitate the implementation of the Early Detection/Rapid Response strategy used to stop the spread of emerging invasive species in New Jerseyโs natural and agricultural systems. The project team created and launched an app for smart phones and tablets called NJ Invasives, as well as a web-based program called IPC Connect New Jersey. Both were made available to help small-scale producers easily and inexpensively identify and report invasive species they come across during their everyday work. The app and web-based program have been successfully deployed and are in use by producers. Through the innovative app, thousands of invasive species records have been added to the Strike Team database. The benefits of this project extend far beyond the producer community in New Jersey as invasive species can impact ecological functions in both developed and wild ecosystems. The apps continue to be widely promoted and are available free of charge to all those interested in helping combat invasive species in New Jersey.
- After a long-simmering land dispute that began in the Southwestern United States was settled in 1996, Navajo families were relocated to a new community, called New Lands, in Sanders, Arizona. Along with the relocation came the task of developing 14 range units for ranching totaling 365,000 acres. With the support of a 2014 CIG award, First Nations Development Institute, an organization that assists American Indian communities in economic development, provided technical assistance that enabled 14R Ranch to develop a conservation-planning process piloted on the 14 range units. This project, driven by Navajo Nation beef producers, provided an opportunity to generate a shared vision of land-management strategies that promote wise stewardship of natural resources, serve as an affirmation of Navajo culture and traditional farming practices, and contribute to their efforts to increase economic development opportunities for their community. The project documented the process of developing a conservation plan to develop conservation-planning templates to encourage replication of the effort by other tribal producers. Navajo Nation members were trained on the conservation strategies and worked to complete their own conservation plans. To date, using the process developed under the CIG grant, four tribal producers have been awarded Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) contracts to help finance conservation improvements on Navajo Nation lands. First Nation Development Institute recently completed the project and published a planning guide,ย Conservation Planning Guide for Native Ranchers. This guide balances traditional ecological stewardship with NRCS requirements and is currently used by NRCS, Navajo Nation producers and other Tribal producers managing lands located within Arizonaโs ten Tribal Conservation Districts. The guide is available as a free resource on the First Nations Development Institute websiteย ย ย ย ย .