The Natural Resources Conservation Service is announcing the availability of Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) State Program funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies.
Donor Name: Natural Resources Conservation Service
State: Arkansas
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/15/2023
Size of the Grant: $300,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
Purpose
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 Priorities for 2023
- Nutrient and Sediment Reduction in Impaired Watersheds
- Demonstrate effectiveness of “high potential” conservation practices (such as drainage management, wetlands designed for nutrient reduction, conservation buffers, cropping systems including cover crops, in-field nutrient management) in reducing nutrient leaching and runoff and document benefits in small watersheds.
- Ecology health and water quality of watersheds.
- Irrigation
- Demonstrate innovative irrigation water management techniques documenting water quality improvements associated with irrigation systems in Arkansas.
- Demonstrate drone use with irrigation water management uniformity and crop monitoring.
- Micro irrigation including underground Micro in High Tunnels:
- Demonstrate how underground micro irrigation (Irrigation Water Management, (IWM) may reduce the use of water while reducing fungal growth on plants and improving plant health under a natural mulch system.
- Energy savings on pumping and other farm operations related to irrigation.
- Demonstrate irrigation water use efficiency in hydroponic crop production and detail the cost (installation and inputs) vs production of multiple alternative crops relative to irrigation. Below are to be addressed in this area of concern:
- Document the cost of installation of hydroponics system. (Small urban scale)
- Document the production vs input cost.
- Document the water/flow needs of various crops.
- Produce a fact sheet that documents various methods of hydroponic systems and considerations needed to have a successful alternative crop producer.
- Produce Facts sheet that document installation cost, input cost, and production capacity.
- Host demonstrations/trainings to producers.
- Soil Health
- Demonstrate and quantify the impacts of cover crops, crop rotations, tillage and/or soil amendments on soil chemical, physical, and/or biological properties and their relationships with nutrient cycling, soil water availability, and plant growth in areas that have been land leveled in Arkansas.
- The transfer and demonstration of row rice technology can improve soil health, reduce irrigation, and allow rice production to use no-till methods. Demonstration of the use of soil health practices (i.e. cover crop, nutrient management, irrigation water management) in a row rice cropping system, including cost-benefit information and yields.
- Promote practices that further develop soil carbon amendments to increase organic matter and improve aggregate stability that will increase irrigation water efficiency and support microbial communities.
- Soil Preparation addressing soil health in high tunnels.
- Demonstrate, through soil health tests, how managing soil fertility by increasing soil organic matter from compost materials and increasing biological nutrient cycling allows for a reduction in chemical fertilizers while increasing greater water-holding capacity.
- Soil Armor (residue) and Proper Soil Temperature while Planting Cover Crops and Improving Plant Health
- Demonstrate and provide illustration how utilizing cover crops, natural mulch, and applying soil health practices to improve soil structure, lowering soil temperatures by allowing for greater water-holding capacity and improved plant health and yield potential.
- Seasonal planting dates for high tunnel
- Demonstrate and provide illustrations of the planting dates and plants that are grown to provide greater plant health and to achieve greater returns with less waste. Planting dates to correspond along with a pollinators habit to increase much needed beneficial insects for plant health and production.
- Forage gaps in a season forage system.
- Reassessing rates of nutrients, sources, and effectiveness
Proposed projects must be performed in Arkansas.
Funding Information
- Estimated Funding
- NRCS Arkansas expects to award approximately $300,000 through this opportunity. However, the agency retains the discretion to award a larger or lesser amount
- 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, 2023 -March 30, 2024, for a 1-year project
- September 30, 2023 -March 30, 2025, for a 2-year project
- September 30, 2023- March 30, 2026, for a 3-year project.
- Projects may be between 1 and 3 years in duration. Applicants should plan their projects based on an estimated project start date of:
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.
- 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
All U.S. domestic, non-Federal entities and individuals are eligible to apply for projects carried out in Arkansas. 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.
