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 191 - 200 of 1760 projects
University of Hawaii
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HI
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2019
Optimal irrigation scheduling is about applying the right amount of water at the right time. This project will optimize scheduling by using new technology to recognize short term trends in evapotranspiration (ETo) and Rainfall (R) data to lead to improved predictions for scheduling. Objectives include: 1) Using hybrid wavelet-Artificial Neural Networks to accurately forecast daily ETo and R across different agricultural irrigation areas in Hawaii, Guam, and Nebraska; 2) Utilize the ETo and R forecasts to improve irrigation scheduling in Nebraska; 3) Incorporate the forecasted ETo and R values into CropManag tool and develop “Advanced CropManage” to improve water use efficiency for farmlands in Hawaii and Guam; 4) Validate Advanced CropManage in improving water use efficiency at the Farm-level with field trials; 5) Implement an outreach program targeting farmers and other agricultural professionals to enhance their awareness and adoption of advanced web-based irrigation tools that conserve water and enhance farm productivity.
Appalachian Sustainable Development
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KY, WV
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2019
This project seeks to conserve threatened forest ecosystems and regenerate previously mined and mono-cropped land, by creating a transferable economic incentives system that can be used to encourage forest farming and alley cropping adoption among EQIP eligible landowners. Goals: 1) Enhance forestland conservation by increasing the adoption of sustainable and profitable forest farming practices in the forest understory as financial incentive; 2) Explore Alley Cropping (code 311) with medicinal herbs and shrubs as an economically viable conservation practice with market-based incentives for adoption. Objectives include: Conserve 1,800 acres of forestland under forest farming best management practices, including the mitigation of invasive species and biodiversity enhancement; attract $35,000 of additional funding as a financial incentive to support forestland conservation through profitable cultivation of forest botanicals; conduct an economic analysis of forest farmed botanicals to quantify profit potential and break-even price points required from buyers for financially viable operations; establish at least 4 alley cropping demonstration sites trialing economically important medicinal herbs and shrubs, to determine best practices for crop productivity, economic viability, and ecological enhancement.
The Nature Conservancy
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KS
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2019
This project proposes a technology transfer and training related to improved Irrigation Management Technology and practices on croplands. Key components include Mobile Drip Irrigation technology currently being tested on Water Technology Farms, and the KanSched irrigation scheduling tool. The technical approach is supported by the generation and strengthening of social networks. An outreach/Extension component is planned for effective and rapid adoption and subsequent improvement of current conditions. Specific objectives for this Irrigation Management Technology project include 1) Increase adoption of MDI, soil moisture sensors, and the KanSched irrigation scheduling mobile app, to test improvements in irrigation efficiency and irrigation water management, maintaining crop water productivity while minimizing groundwater withdrawals; 2) Develop water budgets and irrigation scheduling tools; 3) Facilitate a peer-to-peer mentoring network for enhanced communication; 4) Identify successful techniques and strategies that could be adapted to other communities trying to minimize groundwater withdrawals and sustain local aquifers. The project will partner with NRCS soil and range conservationists to develop strategies that fulfill the needs of local agricultural producers and aid in policy and procedure development.
Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District
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OR
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2019
This project will pilot an approach to improve pollinator habitat along recently modernized irrigation pipeline corridors. Develop a streamlined protocol to evaluate, establish, and monitor pollinator habitat along irrigation infrastructure. Demonstrate cost-effective solutions to create and improve pollinator habitat and corridors that unite stakeholders through outreach and education.
Allamakee Soil and Water Conservation District
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IA
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2019
The main goal of this project is to get more producers to try interseeding as an option for cover crop establishment. Numerous studies have documented the benefits of Cover Crops including cycling nutrients, reducing soil erosion, improving aggregate stability, increasing microbial diversity, and suppressing weeds (Clark A., 2007). One barrier to more widespread cover crop adoption is the short timeframe in the fall for cover crop seeding. In recent years, heavy fall rainfall has delayed commodity crop harvest which pushed back cover crop seeding until after the recommended seeding deadline (from NRCS) for winter-hardy Cover Crops. Many producers in Allamakee County, Iowa have tried aerial application (airplane) in late August or early September with highly variable success due to dependence on timely rainfall and drift issues in many of the strip-cropped fields. These issues have caused most producers to discontinue this method. This project will compare interseeded strips with non-interseeded check strips. A strip will be wide enough to allow for two combine passes. The strip layout will be randomized with a minimum of four replications. Above-ground cover crop biomass will be measured in each treatment strip multiple times throughout the growing season. Soil samples will be sent to a lab to run Haney tests. After corn harvest, cover crop samples will be sent to a lab for nutrient analysis. Cooperating producers will provide information including application regarding the corn planting, management, and yield and the interseeded cover crop species and management.
Colorado Conservation Tillage Association
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CO
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2019
Soil health is rarely achieved through isolated methods, but rather through a producer’s integration and
adaptation of a suite of practices to his/her local context. It is this systems-based and context-dependent approach to soil health, in concert with social support, that can transcend the limitations of isolated conservation practices and decision making. To increase the adoption of soil health management systems in the High Plains, we will demonstrate that producers can implement these systems profitably. An emphasis on applying principle-based systems rather than specific practices will permit us to work with a diverse cohort of 6 long-term practitioners of soil health and 18 transitioning producers representing both dryland and irrigated operations. Producers will receive financial support to create Comprehensive Soil Health Management Plans and implement a suite of practices well-suited for their operation. FARMS: Farmers for Advancing Regenerative Management Systems will provide qualified technical assistance, facilitate peer working groups, and leverage the expertise of long-term practitioners to mentor transitioning producers. This innovative combination of technical and social support will equip participants to sustain these soil health systems and regenerate their land for future generations.
adaptation of a suite of practices to his/her local context. It is this systems-based and context-dependent approach to soil health, in concert with social support, that can transcend the limitations of isolated conservation practices and decision making. To increase the adoption of soil health management systems in the High Plains, we will demonstrate that producers can implement these systems profitably. An emphasis on applying principle-based systems rather than specific practices will permit us to work with a diverse cohort of 6 long-term practitioners of soil health and 18 transitioning producers representing both dryland and irrigated operations. Producers will receive financial support to create Comprehensive Soil Health Management Plans and implement a suite of practices well-suited for their operation. FARMS: Farmers for Advancing Regenerative Management Systems will provide qualified technical assistance, facilitate peer working groups, and leverage the expertise of long-term practitioners to mentor transitioning producers. This innovative combination of technical and social support will equip participants to sustain these soil health systems and regenerate their land for future generations.
Brookside Laboratories Inc
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OH
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2019
Nitrogen fertilizer used to produce high-yielding corn and soybean crops also contributes to nitrogen pollution in the environment. Managing nitrogen to minimize losses from agricultural landscapes is an ongoing challenge for farmers, their advisors, conservation practitioners and the USDA. Difficulty controlling inefficiencies in nitrogen management is evidenced by the fact that agriculture remains the largest source of global nitrogen pollution. Enhanced efficiency fertilizer (EEF) products such as nitrogen stabilizers and inhibitors, when used properly and according to 4R guidelines, can improve nitrogen management and reduce nitrogen losses to the air and water. The goal of the On-Farm Evaluation Partnership project is to design, implement and demonstrate a systematic method for public and private partners to conduct scientifically robust on-farm evaluations using an adaptive management approach that can lead to greater farmer adoption of EEF technologies.
Clemson University
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SC
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2019
The overarching goal of this project is to assist farmers in the Southeastern Coastal Plain region adopt innovative and proven sensor-based and site-specific irrigation scheduling technologies and to evaluate the economic and environmental impacts of these technologies. Scientists at Clemson University have successfully developed a cost-effective sensor-based irrigation scheduling technology, known as “Clemson Water Management System” (CWMS) for crop production, that is “grower ready”. This concept combines sensor-based and site-specific water application technologies with wireless
network and Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems and can automatically collect data from moisture
sensors, transmit the data to the internet in real time, and store the data on a Cloud-based server which
can be accessed remotely or from a handheld device. This will help growers enhance water use
efficiency and farm profits while substantially reducing water and Energy use, erosion, and
leaching of chemicals such as pesticides and soil nutrients, by applying water only where needed
at the optimum rates. This affordable technology is designed to assist farming operations of
all sizes including historically underserved producers.
network and Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems and can automatically collect data from moisture
sensors, transmit the data to the internet in real time, and store the data on a Cloud-based server which
can be accessed remotely or from a handheld device. This will help growers enhance water use
efficiency and farm profits while substantially reducing water and Energy use, erosion, and
leaching of chemicals such as pesticides and soil nutrients, by applying water only where needed
at the optimum rates. This affordable technology is designed to assist farming operations of
all sizes including historically underserved producers.
Croatan Institute
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CA, OR, WI
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2019
Rural farming communities today are facing a fresh wave of financial challenges, associated with extreme weather events and a rising tide of loan defaults and bankruptcies. In many rural places, farming is literally losing ground. At the same time, growing numbers of farmers are embracing more resilient, regenerative agriculture strategies that explicitly seek to improve soil health and enhance rural community wealth. Building upon best-in-class conservation practices, regenerative agriculture aims to work with natural systems to restore, improve, and enhance the biological vitality, carrying capacity, and “ecosystem services” of rural farming landscapes. The benefits and outcomes of these practices include not only healthier soils but also enhancements in biodiversity, water quality, and more resilient rural communities. This constellation of benefits associated with building both soil health and rural wealth through regenerative agriculture is what we call “Soil Wealth.”
Today, investing in soil wealth is limited by the number of appropriate mechanisms available to ease the financial burdens of these agricultural transitions. This project proposes to develop an innovative place-based financing model to address some of these barriers. Innovative work will be carried out in this project through the development of the Rural Regenerative Agricultural District concept, which will explore both the possibility of a voluntary improvement district, legislatively designated districts, and/or collaboration with existing soil and water conservation districts; by studying the feasibility of the soil wealth improvement mechanism as a financing technique, through the exploration of both public and private approaches to property-assessed-type financing; and through the development of an implementation roadmap to support states and localities to develop these districts that would include a pilot financing program outline to model this mechanism on the private side and a marketing platform to attract private investors to finance these kinds of soil wealth improvements. Project partners and project advisory council members will be integral parts of all project work. Our proposed place-based financial model is designed to benefit producers adopting regenerative and soil health improvement practices, providing them with much-needed upfront capital to make substantial improvements on their land and in their operations.
Today, investing in soil wealth is limited by the number of appropriate mechanisms available to ease the financial burdens of these agricultural transitions. This project proposes to develop an innovative place-based financing model to address some of these barriers. Innovative work will be carried out in this project through the development of the Rural Regenerative Agricultural District concept, which will explore both the possibility of a voluntary improvement district, legislatively designated districts, and/or collaboration with existing soil and water conservation districts; by studying the feasibility of the soil wealth improvement mechanism as a financing technique, through the exploration of both public and private approaches to property-assessed-type financing; and through the development of an implementation roadmap to support states and localities to develop these districts that would include a pilot financing program outline to model this mechanism on the private side and a marketing platform to attract private investors to finance these kinds of soil wealth improvements. Project partners and project advisory council members will be integral parts of all project work. Our proposed place-based financial model is designed to benefit producers adopting regenerative and soil health improvement practices, providing them with much-needed upfront capital to make substantial improvements on their land and in their operations.
Texas A&M AgriLife
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TX
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2019
The objectives of this project are to: 1) Develop a control guidance algorithm that enables the Lagoon-Cleaner Robot to map-out an enclosed waterbody and provide efficient whole-lagoon treatment; 2) Conduct field tests of the vessel and water treatment systems, optimize vessel operation parameters under field conditions; 3) Investigate the effect of Lagoon-Cleaner Robot treatment on water quality parameters. Optimize electrolytic cell arrangement, navigation control, operation cycle and cruise velocity to maximize treatment efficiency.