USDA Awards Four Iowa-Based Projects $2.4 Million in Conservation Innovation Grants

June 27, 2007

Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Mark Rey today announced the award of nearly $20 million in Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) to 36 states to fund 51 projects designed to develop and refine cutting-edge technologies and approaches that can help producers maintain viable agricultural operations.

Iowa will be the lead state in four projects awarded Conservation Innovation Grants. These include: the Iowa Soybean Association's: Nitrogen Efficiency Project ($750,000), Midwest Forestry and Biofuels': Utilization of Maclura pomifera as an Agroforestry Species for Energy Production, Carbon Sequestration, and Bioproduct Development ($325,450), the United Egg Producers': Feeding and Altering Diets for Egg Laying Hens ($812,998) and Iowa State University's: Stewardship in the Bioeconomy: An Iowa Market-Based Model ($500,000).

Three other approved CIG projects list  Iowa as a participating state. These include: AP-Garm SC, LLC AgRefresh's: The Biofuels Acceleration Project (BAP)-Using Voluntary Markets for the sale of Biofuel-Sourced Projects "Credits" to Accelerate the Production of "High-Benefit" Liquid Biofuels ($622,500), Michigan State University's: Development of a National Air Quality Self-Assessment Tool ($443,410) and the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System's: Energy*A*Syst Comp Farmstead Energy Self Assessment Tool Kit: Continuation and Expansion ($750,000). For a description of these and all other 2007 grants, click here.

CIG funds pilot projects and conservation field trials that can last from one to three years. The total value of the approved projects is about $45 million after the grantees match of at least 50 percent. Grants for approved projects cannot exceed 50 percent of the total project cost and the federal contribution for a single project cannot exceed $1 million.

As part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service administers CIG, which provides competitive grants to state and local governments, tribes, non-governmental organizations and individuals to promote the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applicants from 47 states submitted 171 CIG project proposals and requested CIG grants totaling about $61.7 million. Projects must involve EQIP-eligible producers.

Approved projects address traditional natural resource issues concerning agriculture such as water quantity, water quality improvement, livestock nutrient management, grazing lands and forest health, and soil resource management. Approved projects also address emerging natural resource issues including agricultural air emissions, energy conservation and market-based approaches to conservation.

Additional information about CIG, including summaries of approved projects, is available at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/cig. A chart for a listing of FY 2007 CIG projects (PDF) can be found at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/cig/2007awards.html.

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Contact: Terry Bish, (202) 720-5974

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