Project Search
Since its inception in 2004, CIG has funded hundreds of projects, boosting natural resource conservation while helping producers improve the health of their operations for the future. Use this tool to search for CIG projects based on any of the criteria listed below.
CIG projects from 2004-2009 may be missing information in the following categories: Resource Concern (specific), Conservation Practice, Production/Use.
Showing 1521 - 1530 of 1760 projects
Meagher County Conservation District
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MT
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2006
Meagher County Conservation District will investigate the hydrology of the Upper Smith River Watershed and identify irrigation and droughts influence on the stream flow of the Smith River, so that informed decisions and plans of action can be made. Surface and ground water flowing in and out of the Smith River Watershed will be measured and tracked utilizing temperature as a natural tracer. Utilizing temperature, in conjunction with water level gradients, to determine the flow pattern and interaction between the ground water and surface water systems is a new and innovative technique that would allow hydrologic systems to be investigated at a greatly reduced cost to the present techniques in use.
West Virginia University
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WV
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2006
The beneficial attributes of bio-control agents like goats and sheep have not been well understood in West Virginia. West Virginia University proposes a three-year project to evaluate the usefulness of goat and sheep as bio-control agents to implement prescribed grazing protocols for the utilization and management of invasive plant species. An educational workshop will be included as a part of this project to teach farmers methods to incorporate sheep and goats into a multi-species grazing system. We will then facilitate and demonstrate a cost share program with 30 selected farmers for a prescribed grazing system to improve brush management in the Potomac Valley Soil Conservation district. An effective marketing pool for the sale of the goat and sheep produce will be developed to orient future distribution patterns. Finally, an economic analysis will be carried out to determine the economic differences between bio-control and traditional chemical and mechanical control methods.
Watershed Agriculture Council
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NY
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2006
Animal waste is one of the main management challenges for dairy farms of all sizes. The identification of increasingly comprehensive manure management systems may result in benefits for agricultural producers and their advisors alike. One such manure management system in limited use is a bedded pack. A bedded pack utilizes a dry bedding material such as straw, hay or wood shavings creating an area for the feeding, watering and storage of livestock and their waste materials. Reports on farms using bedded packs have not focused on the actual impact on the farmer once this management system is adopted. In this project a comprehensive investigation of the producer-based experience of managing a bedded pack system will be performed. The experiences of those advising producers will be evaluated to determine if this system provides a better conservation alternative to more traditional, capital-intensive projects. The technical and operational outcomes will be disseminated to relevant audiences through field demonstrations of the system, presentations on project methodology and published results of the evaluation.
Compost Bedded Pack Barn - An Environmentally Friendly Combination of Waste Storage & Animal Housing
Robert Boldt/ We Gotta Farm
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NY
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2006
The purpose of this award is for the grantee to construct two compost bedded pack barns, an environmentally friendly combination of waste storage and animal housing for use by dairy cows. The compost bedded pack system seeks to exploit the benefits of storage, nutrient retention, application timing while minimizing or eliminating odor, spills, etc. This system will eliminate liquid manure storage, its costs and hazards. Seventy-five to eighty percent of daily manure production is captures on the pack itself. Therefore housing and manure storage are one unit. Since the bedded pack is part and parcel of the barn it is roofed. The texture of the compost when it is spread is much like damp potting soil. This is stable product that will have no runoff as would liquid.
Wisconsin Family Forests, Inc
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WI
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2006
Wisconsin Family Forests, Inc. will define and pilot a multi-owner planning and management program for landscape-level, sustainable management on fragmented, family forestland; develop a business plan that identifies a realistic mix of public funding and participant fees that will encourage long-term survival and growth of sponsors that host the program; and evaluate the project as a statutory program for countering forest fragmentation, improving forest health and generating certified forest products.
Efforts will focus on the three pilots in the first phase. Two are being administered by Wisconsin Family Forests in the Baraboo Bluffs and Door County. A third is located in the central sands area (near Wisconsin Rapids) as part of the Stora Enso Family Forest landowner assistance program. The initial phase includes establishing the operational elements of the sustainable forestry plans and coordinated harvests, developing an effective marketing strategy, recruiting participants, providing them with management assistance, developing a tracking system, etc. The second phase (concurrent with follow through on the pilots) will be to shape future public policy toward family forest management in Wisconsin, thus institutionalizing multi-owner forest management. We will collect data on results from the three pilots, write and present reports to evaluate the project, complete the scoping assessment and organize public forums to discuss the projects future potential.
Efforts will focus on the three pilots in the first phase. Two are being administered by Wisconsin Family Forests in the Baraboo Bluffs and Door County. A third is located in the central sands area (near Wisconsin Rapids) as part of the Stora Enso Family Forest landowner assistance program. The initial phase includes establishing the operational elements of the sustainable forestry plans and coordinated harvests, developing an effective marketing strategy, recruiting participants, providing them with management assistance, developing a tracking system, etc. The second phase (concurrent with follow through on the pilots) will be to shape future public policy toward family forest management in Wisconsin, thus institutionalizing multi-owner forest management. We will collect data on results from the three pilots, write and present reports to evaluate the project, complete the scoping assessment and organize public forums to discuss the projects future potential.
The Curators of the University of Missouri
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MT
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2006
The University of Missouri will demonstrate the profitability of utilizing soil and water conservation techniques on farms to improve pastures. At the University of Missouri Bradford Research and Extension Center a series of demonstrations will be set up that feature techniques that incorporate soil and water conservation that promote wildlife diversity. These demonstrations will be part of a larger management plan for the entire research center that includes management of native warm season grasses and native forbs for conservation and wildlife. A key feature for these demonstrations is that copy yield and economics will be determined for each of the techniques. Changes in bird numbers from these techniques will be determined from monthly bird counts by the local Audubon Society.
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
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WI
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2006
The purpose of this award is for the grantee to:
• Develop and implement Energy*A*Syst farm Energy efficiency self assessment tool to be available through the Farm*A*Syst program platform. This self assessment tool will provide producers with a first assessment of whether they are candidates for specific Energy efficient technologies. These tools would be developed for the following farm operations in the upper Midwest: dairy, beef, irrigated crops and vegetable production, green house operations, grain drying, and potato storage.
• Develop detailed Energy audit tools to be used by Energy service professionals to estimate Energy savings potential for the specific Energy efficient technologies in the self assessment tool kit.
• Develop Energy*A*Syst self assessment tool kit to assess potential for various renewable Energy generation options.
• Develop detailed Energy audit tools for use by trained Energy auditors to estimate Energy generation potential of renewable Energy technologies for specific farms.
• Develop Energy*A*Syst self assessment tool kit to estimate greenhouse gas reduction for Energy efficient and renewable Energy generation technologies.
• Develop detailed audit tool to be used by Energy service professionals to estimate greenhouse gas reduction for Energy efficient and renewable Energy generation technologies.
• Evaluate the application of both self assessment and detailed professional audit tools on no less than30 EQIP eligible producer operations of which one-tbird will be consist of producers outside the state of Wisconsin.
• Assess accuracy of simplified self-assessment tools with more detailed professional Energy audit tools.
• Develop and implement Energy*A*Syst farm Energy efficiency self assessment tool to be available through the Farm*A*Syst program platform. This self assessment tool will provide producers with a first assessment of whether they are candidates for specific Energy efficient technologies. These tools would be developed for the following farm operations in the upper Midwest: dairy, beef, irrigated crops and vegetable production, green house operations, grain drying, and potato storage.
• Develop detailed Energy audit tools to be used by Energy service professionals to estimate Energy savings potential for the specific Energy efficient technologies in the self assessment tool kit.
• Develop Energy*A*Syst self assessment tool kit to assess potential for various renewable Energy generation options.
• Develop detailed Energy audit tools for use by trained Energy auditors to estimate Energy generation potential of renewable Energy technologies for specific farms.
• Develop Energy*A*Syst self assessment tool kit to estimate greenhouse gas reduction for Energy efficient and renewable Energy generation technologies.
• Develop detailed audit tool to be used by Energy service professionals to estimate greenhouse gas reduction for Energy efficient and renewable Energy generation technologies.
• Evaluate the application of both self assessment and detailed professional audit tools on no less than30 EQIP eligible producer operations of which one-tbird will be consist of producers outside the state of Wisconsin.
• Assess accuracy of simplified self-assessment tools with more detailed professional Energy audit tools.
Oregon State University/ College of Agriculture
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OR
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2006
The objectives of this project are to demonstrate new sprayer technologies to reduce pesticide drift and stream loading. New technology sprayers are appearing in the market, but until the full benefits of these new technologies are demonstrated to the growers, their adoption will continue to remain low. This project would demonstrate and quantify the benefits of using new/modified sprayers and sprayer practices to reduce off-target drift and increase spray application efficiency while achieving effective pest control. Findings will be integrated into a new set of BMPs for sprayer adjustments and modifications, spray practices, and sprayer types, and incorporated into ongoing grower outreach and BMP education programs throughout the Mid-Columbia fruit production region in Hood River and Wasco counties of Oregon, and Washington counties of Skamania and Klickitat.
American Forest Foundation
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DC
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2006
Management of white oak (Quercus garryana) has the potential to make significant contributions to the economic and ecological health of the Willamette Valley. Although techniques and strategies for oak savannah restoration and management have been developed, only a handful of private landowners have adopted them. As a direct result, supplies of white oak timber products are viewed as unreliable by potential consumers and species dependent on healthy, functioning oak savannah Habitats have declined. If properly managed the oak savannah ecosystem could provide wood for wine barrels as well as critical Habitat for a number of species in decline. American Forest Foundation will increase adoption of oak savannah management by private landowners through cost-share assistance and will leverage the impact of on the ground work through outreach and education.
Nebraska Corn Board
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NE
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2006
The Nebraska Corn Board will demonstrate and validate a dynamic real-time decision support system, for irrigation management. This project will: (1) Select progressive corn producers who are interested in increasing WUE with limited irrigation to conserve water resources and who meet EQJP eligibility requirements. For each selected producer, identify paired fields with pivot irrigation as demonstration sites using satellite imagery, NRCS soil survey maps, digital elevation maps to select fields with similar soil and topographical characteristics. (2) Conduct these demonstrations in different regions of1he state to document the validity of this new real-time decision support tool under a variety of soil and climate conditions. (3) Monitor results from years 1 and 2, and make revisions to the decision support tool as required based on the results and feedback from the producers. (4) Conduct a series of workshops across the state to educate producers, crop consultants, extension educators, and industry professionals about the decision-support tool and results of the on-farm demonstration program.