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 671 - 680 of 1760 projects
The Nature Conservancy
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MD
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2013
Floodplain forests provide critical water quality and sediment/nutrient storage functions when hydrologically connected to adjacent streams and rivers. Floodplain reconnections provide ideal opportunities to store floodwaters, and enhance instream water quality and Habitat conditions. This project will demonstrate and quantify the efficacy of reconnected bottomland hardwood floodplains to improve water quality by trapping nutrients and sediment and also to enhance Habitat and flood water storage by restoring wetland hydrology. An innovative targeting tool, which predicts 1) where floodplain functions can be restored throughout a watershed; and 2) the mass of sediment and nutrients potentially captured or retained in candidate restoration sites, will be evaluated. This analysis of the ability of restored wetlands to provide targeted ecosystem functions will inform recommendations for targeting and designing floodplain reconnections, providing decision support tools for implementing the most cost-effective practices to improve flood protection, water quality, and wildlife Habitat benefits while maximizing crop production.
Dogwood Alliance, Inc
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NC
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2013
The purpose of this project is to implement a market-based approach to funding forestland conservation and stewardship practices through the creation and sale of high quality forest carbon offsets and Forest Stewardship Council certified timber management. This 2,000 acre pilot is an improved forest management project wherein the landowner commits to conserve and enhance existing forest carbon stocks on the property while planning to bring additional offsets to market as carbon stocks continue to accumulate through net growth supported by responsible forest management and ecological restoration efforts. This new, innovative model of forest conservation and management has the potential to provide a viable funding mechanism from revenue produced from forest-based carbon offsets under the California carbon cap and trade program that enables landowners to expand protection, restoration and conservation of their forests.
Cornell University
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NY
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2013
Conservation Technology Information Center
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IN
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2013
Producers plant grasses, legumes, brassicas and/or small grains between regular primary crop production periods to gain multiple conservation and sustainability benefits, including the protection and improvement of soil and water quality and improvement of wildlife and pollinator Habitat. These Cover Crops offer many potential benefits to farming operations and the communities that surround them. Incorporating Cover Crops into farming systems incurs economic and management costs that may discourage some producers from adopting the conservation practice. Farmers must evaluate any practice for its contributions to the productivity, profitability and sustainability of their operations. This project will draw on data from a wide variety of Cover Crops planted in seven Midwest states Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, southern Minnesota and South Dakota and draw upon the insight of growers with a range of experience with cover crop management. The costs and benefits of Cover Crops will be assessed with proven tools, from mathematical models and cost/benefit assessments to nitrogen rate strip trials, documentation of pollinators in project fields, and extensive communications with participating producers on their choices and decision-making processes. At least 1,000 acres of Cover Crops will be planted on farms with no previous Cover Crops. Results and insight from the project will be shared throughout the Midwest via an annual workshop, detailed articles in leading farm magazines reaching more than 350,000 Midwest producers, and printed and online resources, including a Best Practices booklet and fact sheets.
Pacific Gateway Center
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HI
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2013
Sustainable Solar for Beginning Farmers (SSBF) with Limited Resources, in collaboration with Solar Wave (SW), will design and build an affordable solar-powered refrigeration container system. This project utilizes technology created by NASA that has been successfully applied especially in the military context but SSBF has re-engineered the concept using affordable components and it now has potential applications for agricultural operations. These units are designed for disadvantaged farmers who lack effective refrigeration systems on site because of the exorbitant start-up costs of solar powered Energy systems. Solar panel installation on storage containers will provide not only essential lighting for predawn hours access but also sufficient power for a drip irrigation monitoring system. For smaller farm operations lacking access to on site refrigeration, sunlight can wilt produce and degrade cardboard boxes used for produce storage. With on-site refrigeration, product competitiveness is enhanced vis-a-vis comparable mainland products and post-harvest crop losses reduced. A demonstration model that consists of a 24 feet long x 8 feet wide x 8 feet 6 inches tall used, recycled shipping container and a DC cooling system that will be powered by 8-12 solar panels and/or rechargeable battery will be created. Four additional containers will be assembled by the farmers themselves, with assistance, so that they become invested and stakeholders in this process. Education and training on the technology and understanding of Energy conservation by the farmers will be provided, reducing agricultural fossil fuel dependency, enhancing financial viability of beginning farmers with limited resources, and introducing innovative, cost-saving measures.
Mississippi State University
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MS
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2013
Nutrient and sediment runoff from agricultural lands is associated with impairment of waterbodies in the Mississippi River Basin. There is a need to identify the most suitable practices and improve nutrient management plans to avoid, control or trap sediment and nutrients before they leave farm fields. The major objective of the project is to test and validate existing risk assessment tools and newly developed components on risk assessment tools, to demonstrate their accuracy in assessing the magnitude, extent and risk of soil and nutrient losses, and their utility in facilitating decision support for water quality and quantity improvement and cost-effectiveness of conservation practices at both field and watershed scales in the Mississippi Delta. The performance of the most representative quantitative and qualitative risk assessment tools used to help producers apply conservation practices, or evaluate other action plans to perform nutrient management, will be evaluated under similar scenario conditions in the Mississippi Delta. The evaluation of the group of risk assessment tools under similar scenario conditions has never been performed, and will generate important insights about the level of precision inherent to each individual tool.
Wes-Mon-Ty RC&D
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WV
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2013
Killing a cover crop can provide a mulch on the soil surface, helping retain soil moisture and making soils more resilient to drought conditions. Farmers can kill Cover Crops using herbicides, but they can also kill them by “rolling and crimping” the plants. However, most “roller/crimper” implements are designed for medium to larger scale farmers. Furthermore, many beginning farmers and limited resource farmers lack capital for simple machinery. Many such farmers may only own hand tools and/or simple garden tillers. The lack of access to appropriate technology to enhance soil health will be addressed by demonstrating and transferring innovative, scaled down cover crop crimping alternatives such as foot powered crimpers, and providing a blueprint for the on-farm construction of this technology. This project may have wide-spread application to promote adoption of cover cropping on small-scale specialty crop operations.
Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project, Inc
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OK
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2013
Native American and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (NA&SDFR) in Oklahoma face many challenges including: high costs of production with poor economies of scale due to their small sizes; difficulty accessing government programs, such as field crop/commodity programs; and less access to farm credit both public and private. USDA has introduced a number of programs to address these farmers needs, and is working to raise awareness of the USDA and its programs by sharing information. This project has a dual purpose: to further enhance NA&SDFR access to USDA programs; and to improve NA&SDFRs agricultural production capacity and drought resilience. Project methods include enhancing networks and collaborations with NA&SDFR in Oklahoma; identifying NA&SDFR needs; identifying NA&SDFRs obstacles to participation in USDA programs; developing culturally sensitive outreach and training programs to enhance NA&SDFR awareness of and participation in USDA programs; developing a culturally appropriate protocol for building trust and enhancing NA&SDFR access to USDA programs; and enhancing NA&SDFR adoption of solar water pumps and other green technology to help improve drought resilience.
Texas A&M AgriLife Research
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TX
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2013
This project will demonstrate effectiveness and incorporation into local farming systems of management practices that have been shown to work in other parts of the country but have not been widely adopted in sub-tropical, semi-arid regions of Texas and Oklahoma. Cover Crops will be used to enhance nutrient deficient soils and suppress weeds to the point where productive perennial forages can be established. In addition the use of Cover Crops sown into established perennial Bermuda grass pastures to enhance soil organic content, soil water holding capacity and soil fertility will be explored.
Cape Atlantic Soil Conservation District
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NJ
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2013
Decline of pollinator species such as the honeybee can have far reaching impacts on plant pollination and crop production. Often, farmers have a difficult time finding a plot of land on their farm suitable for creation of pollinator Habitat without losing valuable agricultural production land. The time and Energy cost it takes to prepare a field to plant a wildflower seed mix can also be prohibitive. The Cape Atlantic Soil Conservation District will expand or enhance pollinator species Habitat areas by taking the technology of establishing a grass cover with vegetated compost filter socks and adapting it to establish on-farm pollinator Habitat areas with native wildflowers.