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 1641 - 1650 of 1760 projects
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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VA
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2005
Agriculture has been identified as the leading source of nonpoint source water pollution in Virginia, responsible for over 60% of the nonpoint nitrogen (N) and phosphorous( P) loads. The Shenandoah River basin combines intensive animal agriculture and a location in the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin with a geophysical structure that makes it vulnerable to ground and surface water contamination. The increasing imbalance in nutrients applied to land and nutrient requirements for crop growth is due largely to the escalation in imported feeds. About 75-85% of the N and P consumed by livestock is excreted, so any increase in nutrient importation directly increases the amount of nutrients in land applied manure. The purpose of this project is to reduce N and P pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed through implementation of an innovative incentive program and demonstration of advanced precision feeding and feed management strategies.
Precision Dairy Feeding to Reduce Nutrient Pollution in Pennsylvania's Waters and the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
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MD
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2005
Almost 4,000 miles of Pennsylvania streams are impaired by agricultural non-point source pollution, primarily due to excessive loadings of sediment and nutrients, predominantly from livestock manure. The scientific body of evidence accumulated by the efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay has clearly established the need to resolve this manure nutrient overload. Precision dairy feeding has been identified as a critical component of Pennsylvania’s strategy to reduce non-point agricultural water pollution. The practice is cited for widespread implementation in the State’s Tributary Strategy and is identified as a key cost effective strategy in the Chesapeake Bay Commission’s publication, Cost Effective Strategies for the Bay, published in December 2004. Precision feeding reduces nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to the levels required to maintain optimum production, resulting in 20-40% reductions in the nutrient content of manure. Through this project, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and its partners will work with Pennsylvania dairy producers to bring about significant changes in the dairy industry’s standard feeding practices and subsequently improve water quality.
Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission
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GA
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2005
In Georgia, increases in population and agricultural irrigation over the past several decades have caused concern about the stresses placed on the water resources. As a major consumer of water, agriculture producers in Georgia are feeling pressure to practice improved conservation. Recent increases in fuel prices have also increased pressure on producers to irrigate more efficiently. Irrigator Pro is a computerized irrigation scheduling system that uses scientific data to help farmers make decisions that improve their irrigation water management and increase water conservation. The purpose of this project is to initiate the widespread adoption of Irrigator Pro technology for irrigation management for corn, cotton, and peanut production agriculture. Successful implementation of this project will increase the agricultural community’s contribution to water conservation in Georgia and provide results transferable to agricultural producers throughout the Southeast.
Northwest Natural Resource Group
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WA
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2005
The Northwest Natural Resource Group (NNRG) advocates the market-based forest certification system developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international organization that recognizes landowners that adhere to a rigorous set of principles and criteria. Due to the time consuming, costly and complicated certification process the NNRG has developed a Northwest Certified Forestry program. This program follows the concept of “group certification,” whereby a group manager, who oversees the management practices of many individual forestlands, becomes certified and is able to extend certification to participating landowners. FSC products are marketed as holding the highest degree of environmental quality and are positioned to capture “green” market premiums. The purpose of this project is to implement a market-based system that promotes and rewards sustainable forest management practices and the promotion of environmental services on small forestlands in western Washington.
Colorado Department of Agriculture
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CO
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2005
Classical weed biological control has been shown to be an effective, safe and inexpensive method for the control of exotic, invasive weeds. The Colorado Department of Agriculture Insectary has been at the forefront of a number of weed biological control projects. The Insectary currently has in culture, or in field insectaries, 24 arthropods used in weed biocontrol. Among our target weeds are several species that are widespread and can have severe economic and environmental impacts. Proven and effective biocontrol agents for control of these weeds are available at the Insectary. A major challenge is to get the control agents out to the areas where they are needed and to monitor weed infestations to assure establishment of the agents and actual control of the weeds. The purpose of this project is to use biocontrol to manage multi-species weed invasions on a large tract of tribal land. The project will execute a novel multi-species control plan using proven biocontrol technology. The outcome of this effort will be a template for future programs that target a number of weed pest species and bring together agencies and groups to control weeds on private and public lands.
Heron Lake Watershed District
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MN
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2005
The Heron Lake watershed encompasses parts of four counties and impacts a much larger environment by draining directly into the Des Moines River. The Des Moines River flows through an intense agricultural environment and is included on the EPA 303(d) Impaired Waters List. Preliminary results of an intensive diagnostic study reveal that the equivalent of 2,775 truckloads of sediment (58,000 tons) pass through Jackson, Minnesota each year - the southernmost site of the study. Soil erosion from cropped agricultural land continues to be a significant source of sediment in surface waters, and also results in an irreversible loss in soil productivity. Soil detachment and transport can be effectively reduced in row-crops by maintaining plant residue of the previous crop until the new crop canopy closes. Residue is maintained by minimizing or localizing the aggressiveness and number of tillage operations. Data shows that in 2004 only 45.8% of the producers in Jackson County, and 44.4% of the producers in Nobles County, used conservation tillage methods. One new method of tillage, strip tillage, is a promising new technology that removes residue in the fall only from a narrow strip where the row will be planted in the spring. This project will provide testing and evaluation of conservation tillage techniques in order to help persuade farmers that strip tillage will benefit their operations both economically and environmentally.
The Miami Conservancy District
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OH
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2005
Although tremendous improvements in surface water quality were made over the last three decades within the Great Miami River Watershed, over 40% of the rivers and streams still fail to meet Ohio’s water quality standards. The remaining impairment originates primarily from nonpoint source pollution and includes nutrient enrichment, excess sediment, and altered Habitat. The Watershed is a significant source of nutrients to the Ohio River and the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of this project is to implement a water quality trading program as an innovative approach to address these water quality challenges. Interest in water quality credit trading in the Watershed grew from facilitated discussions which identified the common goals of producers and point source wastewater treatment plants. An extensive economic and market analysis of the viability of a trading program in the Great Miami River Watershed indicated a potential savings of over $350 million for communities with nearly $40 million dollars of new money for investments in agricultural BMPs.
Maryland Department of Agriculture
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MD
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2005
Milk urea nitrogen (MUN) has been shown to be an excellent predictor of nitrogen excreted directly into dairy cow manure. MUN can be used to identify herds that are overfed protein, and routine MUN analysis can help producers fine tune feed management and reduce the nitrogen excreted to manure. Currently, despite the promise of MUN analysis, there remain obstacles to its widespread adoption in the field. These barriers include milk laboratories’ skepticism of the value of MUN analysis and a lack of understanding of the process and its value on the part of producers. The ultimate goal of this project is to reduce nitrogen losses to air and water from dairy farms in the Chesapeake Bay region by improving dairy herd nutrition. MUN analysis will be institutionalized in milk laboratories and diary operations, and an innovative incentive program will be established to encourage producers to reduce nitrogen lost to the environment by decreasing nitrogen feeding.
Tioga County Soil and Water Conservation District
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NY
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2005
New York, as a Chesapeake Bay Watershed state, is developing a Tributary Strategy to meet sediment and nutrient load allocations developed by the Chesapeake Bay Program. A significant source of nutrients in the Susquehanna River watershed is the 262,000 dairy cattle that inhabit agricultural operations in the region. The two nutrients of greatest concern are nitrogen and phosphorous. Nutrient management planning on dairy farms with a focus on nutrient source reduction is vital to the economic sustainability of farms as well as improvement in water quality in the region. Significant reductions in nutrient imports can only be realized through more precise management at every step along the farm system. The purpose of this project is to engage dairy producers to implement precision feeding and forage management practices on their operations. Shifts that occur in both nutrient excretion from individual animals and in Farm-level mass balance will be measured. It is believed that nutrient excretion can be decreased by 15-30 percent and Farm-level mass balance by 30-40 percent on many dairy farms in this region.
University of Maryland
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MD
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2005
Most poultry litter is applied as fertilizer to cropland following nitrogen (N)-based nutrient management recommendations. Under N-based planning, rates for manure applications are typically based on the N requirement of the crops to be grown and the plant-available N content of the manure. A recent economic analysis confirmed that application of broiler litter as a fertilizer to cropland is the highest value use of the litter generated on the Delmarva Peninsula. The amount of phosphorous (P) applied with the manure usually has not been considered when determining recommended application rates. In these situations, soil P concentrations can increase rapidly. Recent research that examined phosphorous in manure-amended Atlantic Coastal Plain soils suggest that the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are more vulnerable to receiving excess P from surface runoff than from P leaching. This same research concluded that the primary focus of P management efforts should be minimizing loss through surface runoff pathways coupled with monitoring the degree of P saturation of surface soils. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate that currently existing conservation tillage technology can be successfully used to partially incorporate poultry litter in reduced tillage grain production systems, preserving surface residue and soil conservation conditions, while reducing N and P losses compared to no-till production systems. This nutrient management approach will be demonstrated and evaluated on 10-12 farms across the Delmarva Peninsula.