The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) State Program.
Donor Name: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
State: New York
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/23/2023
Size of the Grant: $500,000
Grant Duration: 1 to 3 years
Details:
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.
Innovative Conservation Projects or Activities
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; 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.
CIG Priorities for FY 2023:
- Urban Agriculture
- Demonstrate the use of innovative methods or approaches to establish and maintain pollinator and beneficial insect habitat (for both managed and native species) for urban agriculture.
- Demonstrate innovate rainwater or water reuse approaches that mitigate food safety concerns and reduce costs for urban farms.
- Develop innovative approaches to adapt to climate extremes such as increased temperatures and rainfall.
- Develop innovative approaches to address elevated moisture and humidity levels in aquaponic systems, including water reuse systems.
- Demonstrate innovative approaches or technologies that conserve and or generate efficient energy on urban agriculture operations.
- Demonstrate innovative approaches to support the establishment of small-scale poultry, fish, and livestock operations in urban agricultural environments.
- Demonstrate the use of small-scale composting systems that improve the quality of compost, prevent pest problems derived from the composting process and provide quality soil amendments tailored to urban farm needs.
- Organic
- Demonstrate and evaluate innovative organic pest and nutrient management technologies for single and/or integrated vegetable, row crop, orchard, and/or livestock systems to improve plant health and productivity in organic systems.
- Demonstrate and evaluate innovative methods to improve soil health and water quality to aid in the creation of farm systems beneficial and supportive of organic production.
- Demonstrate innovative methods to develop pollinator/beneficial insect habitats that will strengthen these populations in order to improve pollination and/or pest control in organic agriculture systems.
- Development and demonstration of innovative cropping and tillage systems that build soil health and overcome negative effects of tillage for weed control. Systems should be evaluated with current or proposed soil assessment tools.
- Demonstration of no-till or reduced tillage systems for organic crops for improved soil health such as improved soil biology both macro and micro-invertebrates, increased soil water infiltration and retention, increased soil organic matter, reduced erosion, improved weed and erosion control and improved soil. Systems must note how nutrient management goals are met.
- Demonstrations of 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.
- Development of innovative crop rotations for organic transition to build soil health and lead to organic certification. Systems should match the three-year transition period and may or may not include cash crops.
- Development and demonstration of intercropping systems including cash crops, insectaries, and cover crops to increase biodiversity and manage pests. When using approved organic pesticides, include a pesticide hazard assessment and mitigation strategy.
- Climate Resilience
- Develop innovative methods to help producers and forest owners adapt to climate change in New York. Innovative adaptation methods are needed to help farm and forest owners cope with:
- Increased temperatures, including in winter (which is causing a reduction in snowpack, less time when the ground is frozen, increased rainfall in winter, and increased pest survivability).
- Increase in the number of dry days (drought).
- Increased average annual precipitation.
- Increase in the number of heavy rainfall events.
- Develop innovative methods to help producers and forest owners adapt to climate change in New York. Innovative adaptation methods are needed to help farm and forest owners cope with:
- Develop and/or demonstrate innovative methods to reduce the top three greenhouse gas emissions coming from agriculture which include:
- Nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer applications
- Methane emissions from enteric fermentation from the digestive systems of ruminant animals.
- Methane emissions from manure both applied and stored.
- Collection of financial outcomes of climate smart agriculture and forestry such as cost of production and current and historic yield in order to conduct a cost benefit analysis on climate smart agriculture and forestry adaptation and mitigation practices to encourage higher adoption rates.
- Evaluate and share existing systems and technology that can help quantify emissions reductions
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $500,000
- Award Ceiling: $500,000
- Award Floor: $10,000
Performance Period
Projects may be between 1 and 3 years in duration.
Eligible Applicants
- 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)). Neither foreign entities nor foreign individuals are eligible to apply for this opportunity.
- All U.S. domestic, non-Federal entities and individuals are eligible to apply for projects carried out in New York. US Federal agencies are not eligible to apply to this opportunity or impart their work to non-federal portion of the budget.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.