NRCS Wisconsin: Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) Program Funding for FY 2021

The purpose of Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program 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.  

NRCS is announcing the availability of CIG funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies for projects carried out in the state of Wisconsin. A total of up to $500,000 is available for the Wisconsin CIG competition in FY 2021. All non-federal entities (NFE) and individuals are invited to apply, with the sole exception of federal agencies. Projects may be between one and three years in duration. The maximum award amount for a single award in FY 2021 is $500,000. 

For FY 2021, NRCS shall only accept proposals that address one or more of the State priority categories listed below, and the project is required to be located in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin (WI) 2021 State CIG Priorities fall in no particular order into these 3 broad priority categories: 1) Conservation Planning, 2) Manure Management Systems, and 3) Soil Health Management Systems. Proposals will compete against other proposals in the same category. For example, Soil Health Management System project proposals will compete against other Soil Health Management System proposals and Manure Management System proposals will compete against Manure Management System proposals. See Section E.,2) for further information. $500,000 is available in sum for the entire WI 2021 State CIG program. The 3 categories are designed to help meet the goals of streamlining conservation planning, increasing agricultural innovation, improving weather resiliency, and addressing Wisconsin priority resource concerns: Concentrated Erosion, Degraded Plant Condition, Field Sediment, Nutrient and Pathogen Loss, Soil Quality Limitations, and Wind and Water Erosion.