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 1621 - 1630 of 1760 projects
Foundation for Agronomic Research, Inc
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GA
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2005
Practices included in producers’ nutrient management plans should be based on the best science and technology available. Currently, official nutrient management recommendations for many crops have not been updated for many years and do not adequately incorporate the latest science and technology available for site-specific management. Fertilizer management recommendations need to be updated to reflect new technology and recent university research, and there also is a need for better coordination of recommendations among neighboring states. The purpose of this project is to develop an up-to-date set of science based, well-documented Fertilizer Best Management Practice (BMP) Guides for each of six major cropping systems in order to guide nutrient management planning required for conservation programs (EQIP, CSP, TSP, etc.). A variety of education and outreach programs will also be developed and presented to encourage implementation of the practices in these BMP Guides by producers, their advisers and input suppliers, NRCS, and Extension staff.
Mifflin County Conservation District
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PA
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2005
Extensive studies of low traffic volume roads have identified unpaved road corridors as a major source of sediment pollution to nearby streams. On farms and in agricultural settings, unpaved lanes and access roads have the same potential as any public dirt and gravel roadway to produce, mobilize and transport sediment. These unpaved farm roadways are far more likely, however, to carry nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorous, as well as sediment, and far less likely to receive routine maintenance. Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy identifies dirt and gravel road improvements as a BMP to reduce nutrient and sediment loadings. The purpose of this project is to initiate the widespread adoption of environmentally sensitive maintenance (ESM) erosion control and reduce sediment/nutrient pollution from private farm lanes and field access roads in the Kishacoquillas Valley watershed in Pennsylvania.
University of Hawaii at Manoa
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HI
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2005
Animal production in Hawaii is threatened as never before. There is a need to find win-win scenarios to wisely manage the waste products of animal production. While animal waste concerns are prevalent throughout animal production systems in the continental U.S., the concern and intensity of the problem is greater in island environments of the Caribbean and Pacific Basins, where the coastline is nearly always hydrologically linked to lands used in animal production, and where impressively large amounts of precipitation can increase the potential for nutrient runoff and leaching. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate and evaluate an effluent irrigation system in which highly productive tropical grasses utilize nutrients while producing large amounts of quality forage for livestock. Small-scale testing has indicated success—this project will install the system on a larger, commercial scale.
Drywall Recycling of Montana, Inc
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MT
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2005
The construction of an average single family home generates nearly one ton of new, uncontaminated drywall waste. The large amount of waste material is generally dumped into landfills, where moist anaerobic conditions stimulate bacterial reduction of drywall’s sulfate component into potentially harmful hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide gas in landfills. An innovative solution that would diver drywall scrap from the waste stream is to recycle it for use as a natural soil amendment. Gypsum is an excellent and proven natural fertilizer and soil amendment that can be found in drywall. The purpose of this project is to develop, test, and promote the use of recycled drywall gypsum as an effective natural soil amendment, and demonstrate a model local recycling and use program.
Maryland Department of Agriculture
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MD
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2005
According to the 2002 agricultural census, the number of dairies in the state of Maryland declined 25% since the 1997 census. As the average herd size of dairies increases, smaller dairies must consider alternative management strategies to remain viable. One such strategy is management intensive grazing (MIG), designed to improve pastures and forage resources to support the majority of herd nutritional needs. MIG reduces dependence on off-farm feed inputs and helps achieve more of a nutrient balance or closed system. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate and encourage the adoption of MIG within dairy production systems as an approach to protect or improve water quality, soil quality, and grazing land health while sustaining productivity and the economic viability of dairies. Results from forage trials will be used to maximize forage benefits for animal nutrition and nutrient uptake within MIG systems.
Lake DeSmet Conservation District
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WY
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2005
In the second half of the 20th Century, greater sage grouse populations declined throughout their range. Eleven western states are working to conserve sage grouse and their Habitat. Many conservation planning efforts have been initiated. Despite the availability of voluminous quantities of research papers, conservation plans, and other documents concerning sage grouse, however, there are few examples of land management strategies that result in population recovery. This project aims to test and evaluate on a broader scale a sage grouse management model devised and tested on the Deseret Ranch in northern Utah. The 1.4 million acre Lake DeSmet Conservation District contains over 200,000 acres of sage grouse Habitat according to a Habitat suitability model produced by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Forty-three percent of this land is privately owned. This program will target producers within these Habitats to develop innovative conservation technologies, practices, systems, procedures and approaches to conserve and restore sage grouse Habitat.
University of Guam-Cooperative Extension Service
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GU
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2005
The unique characteristics of island agriculture pose constraints on the implementation of nationally recommended conservation practices. Efforts to address agricultural issues identified on Guam hold the potential of identifying solutions applicable to many other tropical islands. Water storage, high livestock waste management costs and point source pollution, and damaging wind speeds have been identified as the issues where technological innovation is needed to address unique island environmental concerns. The purpose of this project is to develop, test, and promote innovative practices that address these needs. These practices will be developed and demonstrated on three multi-agency sponsored model farms across the island. Supporting best management conservation practices will also be implemented and included in the educational programs of the project.
University of Delaware
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DE
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2005
In 1999, the Delaware General Assembly passed a nutrient management law requiring farmers and animal producers to have a nutrient management or animal waste plan that includes best management practices to reduce nutrient losses to the environment. Many operations in Delaware will require significant upgrades to current manure management practices to meet the requirements of their plans. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate and encourage the adoption of innovative techniques for managing animal waste and improving the nutrient balance on farms. The project will utilize innovative manure separation technology combined with improved storage and composting methods. Developing value-added products from the remaining waste will provide further benefits to producers.
Universal Entech, LLC
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AZ
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2005
Effective water conservation practices are a growing concern in the US, especially in the arid West and Southwest regions that are experiencing high population growth and intense demands on water supplies. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are large water consumers and are under increasing pressure to develop best management practices (BMPs) that address water conservation measures. Many BMPs for agricultural producers, specifically CAFOs, simultaneously address water conservation along with water quality. Facultative lagoons and land application are standard nutrient management methods used by CAFOs, but these methods are suspected sources of nitrate contamination of ground and surface waters. Aeration, anaerobic digestions and constructed wetlands are alternative treatment methods, but these techniques alone cannot remove sufficient nutrients to make treated wastewater reusable, and therefore advanced nutrient removal strategies are sought. An innovative technology for nutrient management and water treatment is large-scale algae culture technology. Integrating our innovative technology into CAFO comprehensive nutrient management plans and systems is based on photosynthetic microalgae using solar Energy to rapidly uptake nitrogen and phosphorous (N and P), and in the process producing clean water for reuse. This CAFO wastewater treatment and water recycling/conservation project is designed to showcase and transfer a proven, high-rate, algal filtration concept which requires minimal land space or manual supervision to treat and recycle high-strength CAFO wastewaters.
Heifer International
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AR
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2005
Management Intensive Prescribed Grazing (MIPG) is a well documented yet still innovative approach to managing resource problems such as overgrazing and erosion. Prescribed grazing involves managing the controlled harvest of vegetation with grazing animals and planning for the subsequent regrowth and its utilization, according to producer objectives. Many producers have yet to adopt this practice because it is a complex way of managing the Farm-level system and requires a significant investment in planning and monitoring of the farm. Given the challenges of implementing MIPG, limited resource farmers in particular resist adoption. With their restricted resources of time and money, these producers must see that conservation practices have an economic benefit before they can justify implementation. The purpose of this project is to develop and pilot an innovative, comprehensive training program to help limited resource farmers understand and implement MIPG Practices.