READING, PA – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $90 million in 53 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) projects, which support the development of new tools, approaches, practices and technologies to further natural resource conservation on private lands. This year, increased funds were available because of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which is funding CIG projects that address climate change, with a particular focus on innovative solutions to reduce livestock emissions of enteric methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
“Over the last 20 years, USDA’s Conservation Innovation Grants have helped spur new tools and technologies to conserve natural resources, build resilience in producers’ operations and improve their bottom lines. Thanks to President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act, we are able to further empower our conservation partners, as well as help meet the demand from producers, to engage in conservation practices that are good for profitable farming, good for rural economies and good for the climate,” Secretary Vilsack said.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is awarding more than $69.7 million for CIG On-Farm Trials projects and more than $20.2 million for CIG Classic projects. Secretary Vilsack announced the CIG grants during an Investing in America roundtable in Pennsylvania while highlighting USDA programs focused on innovative climate strategies. In total, the Inflation Reduction Act provides $19.5 billion over five years to support USDA’s oversubscribed conservation programs, including CIG grants. The Inflation Reduction Act, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, represents the single largest investment in climate and clean energy solutions in American history. This conservation funding flows directly into local communities and helps ensure farmers receive the financial assistance to buy equipment, hire labor, and take the necessary steps to implement these practices. This helps producers with their bottom line and lowers their costs for the implementation of conservation and climate-smart practices.
Two awarded CIG projects will take place in Pennsylvania. One will empower farmers to make innovative and holistic farm management decisions to improve nutrient management in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The other will deploy precision ag technology to measure forage availability on dairy farms and provide the technical assistance, data collection and evaluation of both economic and conservation impacts of using the technology. This assistance and information is intended to help farmers transition from continuous grazing to managed grazing.
A list of CIG project grants is available on the CIG website.
