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 661 - 670 of 1802 projects
Kansas State University
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KS
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2014
Factors such as growing global population and climate variability are increasing demand for water. Looking into the future, agriculture, the dominant fresh water user around the world will be required to produce more food with less water. This increase in food production is expected to come primarily from irrigated agriculture. In the United States Great Plains, producers are already experiencing problems of limited water supplies for irrigation due to Ogallala Aquifer depletion. Economies of many rural communities in the Central Plains rely heavily on irrigated agriculture, including confined cattle feeding operations, beef packing and agro-input businesses. However, with declining water supplies the future of irrigated agriculture in the Great Plains is uncertain. The goal when working with limited water is to capture and store every possible source of water in the production system. In the Great Plains these sources of water include rainfall, snowfall and irrigation water. Reduced tillage coupled with residue management have been proven in several studies to increase available soil water by reducing soil water loss from tillage operations, reduction in soil water evaporation and enhancing infiltration. This project will leverage advances in sensor and information technology to demonstrate proven benefits of reduced tillage on soil water storage using physical and virtual on-farm demonstrations.
North Carolina State University
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NC
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2014
Beef cattle contribute a major portion of pasture-based livestock production in the US and these systems support the nations single largest agricultural commodity. About 30 percent of the total cow population (8.7 million head) is in the Southeast, Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic regions. Beef cattle in the region are typically managed in low input systems that result in poor pasture condition and can have negative environmental impacts including loss of vegetative cover, soil compaction, nutrient concentration, erosion and nutrient loss through runoff and direct deposition of manure into surface water. Many best management practices, such as stream exclusion, have been developed to address these concerns. While these approaches are generally beneficial, their installation in the absence of a good forage system plan and improved producer management skills limits their overall benefit. Because of high input costs and the value of cattle the interest by beef producers in thoughtful pasture and forage management is increasing. This project will combine nutrient distribution mapping, grazing season extension using stockpiled forages, strategic use of annuals in locations of high soil nutrient concentrations, emerging concepts about soil health and active on-farm educational workshops featuring demonstrations of these important practices and testimonials from farm owners who have had the practices implemented for multiple years. The educational activities will build on already active programs in the participating states, resulting in an improved understanding of the benefits of using annual Cover Crops in these systems and how the use of mixed species Cover Crops compares to single species.
North Carolina State University
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NC
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2014
Livestock farms are major sources of ammonia and odor and they also emit hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter (PM) and greenhouse gases that affect the environment, public health, visibility and quality-of-life of neighbors. The U.S. EPA may regulate livestock barn emissions under the Clean Air Act and it is paying particular attention to ammonia because it is released in large amounts and it is a precursor of fine PM (i.e., PM2.5) which impacts public health and visibility. Local ordinances and nuisance complaints could also force livestock producers to reduce odor emissions. Improving management practices can improve air quality marginally but to reduce pollutant and odor emissions from barns substantially and consistently many farms may require exhaust air treatment to comply with the Clean Air Act. While conventional exhaust air treatment technologies are effective, they are very expensive and they choke the ventilation system. One promising method is the use of natural windbreaks (trees and shrubs) that can reduce odors without affecting the ventilation system. But windbreaks require maintenance, have large footprints and cannot be placed close to the fans where they would be more effective. This project will develop a low-cost, engineered windbreak wall – vegetative strip system. Computational fluid dynamics modeling will be used to design the system, including, vegetation height and density and wall features (e.g., height, angled or vertical) to maximize effectiveness by balancing pollutant removal, dilution to reduce odors and acceptable back pressure on the fans. Two systems will be installed to treat the exhaust gases of tunnel-ventilated livestock barns (roaster and swine) and monitored over two years. Inlet and outlet gas, PM and odor concentrations will be measured to evaluate treatment effect. Concentrations of pollutants and their fates will be determined using soil and plant analyses and compared with control areas. Finally, cost-effectiveness of the system will be determined based on reductions in $/kg of the pollutants.
Regents of the University of Minnesota
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MN
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2014
Access to local produce markets in combination with recent cost-share incentives has stimulated a recent and rapid expansion in high-tunnel purchase and utilization. High tunnels, which are unheated plastic-film covered protected field environments with a unique microclimate, allow for crop production in seasons when it would otherwise not be feasible due to low outside temperatures. This is especially valuable in regions such as the upper Midwest, an area challenged by a short growing season and a cold, wet spring. High tunnel growers produce simultaneous crops in the same soil year after year, thus soil quality and fertility can be severely impacted. Management practices that incorporate soil fertility building rotations can increase soil quality in these intensive cropping systems. Legume Cover Crops are extraordinary sources of organic matter and fertility and, if well managed, can completely replace external nitrogen fertilizer additions, increase soil organic matter, and increase biological functioning in high tunnel soils. The winter months provide a window of opportunity for cover crop rotations, and some high tunnel produces in northern climates are already successfully using Cover Crops over the winter in their tunnels. This project will increase adoption of winter annual legume cover crop use in high tunnels by identifying species of interest and transferring evidence-based information to growers, including improvements in both soil quality and cash crop productivity.
California Dairy Research Foundation
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CA
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2014
California is home to 1.8 million dairy cattle, over 80 percent of which reside in the states Central Valley, an area rich in agriculture and responsible for nearly 20 percent of the nations milk supply. Central Valley dairy farms produce much of the forage necessary to feed their cows by utilizing manure nutrients to grow crops year-round. Cow manure is an important renewable resource used to fertilize crops, replenish soil nutrients and enhance soil quality. Utilizing manure effectively is paramount to sustainable dairying and agriculture, but has been regulated since 2007. Regulatory requirements include the maintenance and implementation of both waste management and nutrient management plans. The industrys regulatory and environmental success depends on individual dairy producer ability to identify and adopt conservation practices and implement superior nutrient management to protect scarce surface and ground water resources. Multiple potential challenges exist which may prevent full implementation of all aspects of nutrient management and available conservation practices within a given operation. Barriers are most often site-specific and require individual assessment of current systems, equipment and practices to determine optimal farm solutions. This project will develop, field-test and demonstrate the use of an electronically available teaching and learning (eLearning) system as an innovative approach to conservation practice adoption and nutrient management implementation. A proven decision tree support system will be adapted into an eLearning format to enable individual farm nutrient management needs assessment. Its guiding principles will be communicating scientifically-proven yet practical, cost-effective options at various nutrient management system critical control points (decision tree nodes) to assist producers in identifying site-specific solutions for full nutrient management plan implementation.
Okanogan Conservation District
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WA
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2014
A large number of producers across the Inland Northwest are interested in integrating Cover Crops into their winter wheat-summer fallow rotation. Cover Crops have been utilized extensively in the Midwest and the eastern United States, where summer precipitation is prevalent, to build soil organic matter, reduce soil temperature and fertility inputs and improve farm sustainability. Because Cover Crops have not been evaluated in the 8 to 12-inch, non-irrigated rainfall zone, Inland Northwest producers have been hesitant to integrate them into their production systems. Cover Crops in the low rainfall regions have the potential to reduce soil moisture and therefore reduce the yields of the successive crop. Following the recent National Forum on Cover Crops and Soil Health, producers became interested in conducting on-farm demonstrations to improve soil health through Cover Crops. This project will support collaboration with producers to examine the feasibility of planting Cover Crops in the low-rainfall, non-irrigated wheat-fallow region of Washington. By closely monitoring soil moisture and other parameters, producers will gain more information and knowledge on the use and feasibility of Cover Crops in the area and the best way to include Cover Crops in their rotation.
Texas A&M AgriLife Research
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TX
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2014
In semi-arid regions of Texas, the impact of Cover Crops on soil moisture availability is a major concern. These concerns have been partly supported by past research evaluating Cover Crops in the Texas Rolling Plains and Southern High Plains. A comprehensive evaluation and demonstration of the impact of conservation cropping systems could be the very vehicle that drives a more widespread adoption of soil health promoting practices within semi-arid environments. This is especially important in regions that face water quantity issues, which is evident throughout Texas. In order to increase soil carbon and potentially reduce irrigation water requirements, soil health promoting practices such as conservation tillage, Cover Crops and crop rotation must be incorporated. With low adoption of soil health promoting practices and regional water supply issues, demonstration of soil health promoting practices are imperative to the success of future producers and conservation of water resources where deficit irrigation is commonly practiced. This project will incorporate crop rotation and mixed species Cover Crops into long-term conservation tillage systems and demonstrate how soil health promoting practices can improved water use efficiencies under deficit irrigation without compromising crop yields and/or economic returns.
Texas A&M AgriLife Research
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TX
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2014
Wastewater and solids manure handling are two of the most important environmental issues confronting animal production facilities in the U.S. Limited technologies are in place to solve the issue of scarce water resources as well as proper handling of manure that could become a resource for the animal facilities. The main goal of this project is to demonstrate a proven water treatment and recycling technology and a biomass conversion system for electrical power. In addition, nutrient loading will be reduced and the wastewater holding structure will simply become a holding pond with reduced solids loading and hence nutrient loading. Several trainings, workshops, field days and demonstration will be organized and implemented through this project leading up to the final demonstration of the combined water treatment and reuse as well as possible net metering of the power generation output.
Copper River-Ahtna Inter-Tribal Resource Conservation District
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AK
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2014
The Natural Resources Conservation Service has recognized Alaska Native Corporation as agricultural lands and subsistence food production and harvest as an agricultural product. Native private corporate ownership in Alaska is over 44 million acres. This has created a significant number of historically underserved and beginning farmers. In addition, tribal conservation districts are being developed to help serve these landowners in Alaska. Many of the traditional NRCS EQIP and other practices need to be adapted to Alaska and applied in new, innovative ways. In addition, tools such as ecological site descriptions are needed in Alaska to help effectively link NRCS programs and practices with beginning farmers and their unique subsistence resource production issues. This project will develop technical expertise on wildlife, Habitat and forestry and provide advisory services to land managers for two native corporations and eight regional tribes. These activities will help NRCS better serve its primary clientele in Alaska and will help other tribal conservation districts recognize their opportunities to positively support sustainable subsistence food production in their districts.
Winrock International Institute of Agricultural Development
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AR
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2014
Individual farmers have experimented with rotational livestock grazing on Cover Crops across the country, primarily as a means of improving their financial bottom line. The economic gain associated with this innovative enterprise stacking is estimated at $66 per acre, a figure that does not account for productivity gain or reduced nutrient inputs. Combining rotational grazing and multi-species Cover Crops also significantly build soil health, increases water infiltration, reduces erosion and increases the productive capacity of the land. This project will establish and monitor approximately 50-acre, side-by-side control and treatment plots within corn fields on eight farms. Demonstrations will span two full years of cropping/cover cropping. Current management practices will be maintained on control plots. On treatment plots, the project team will work with farmers, first to introduce multi-species Cover Crops and then to strategically release and rotate cattle across the plot, which will graze down and trample the cover. Detailed profit and loss data and soil health and fertility measures on each pair of plots will be collected. All existing analyses indicate this practice will generate more direct revenue than it costs to establish. Over time it will re-build soil health, reducing the need for nutrient inputs, decreasing flooding and erosion, increasing drought tolerance, and ultimately, increasing crop and livestock yields and revenue from a single land base.