The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $90 million in 53 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) projects, which support the development of new tools, approaches, practices and technologies to further natural resource conservation on private lands. This includes four projects in Colorado. This year, increased funds were available because of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which is funding CIG projects that address climate change, with a particular focus on innovative solutions to reduce livestock emissions of enteric methane, a potent greenhouse gas. 

“Over the last 20 years, USDA’s Conservation Innovation Grants have helped spur new tools and technologies to conserve natural resources, build resilience in producers’ operations and improve their bottom lines here in Colorado,” said Clint Evans, State Conservationist with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Colorado. “Thanks to President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act, we are able to further empower our conservation partners, as well as help meet the demand from producers, to engage in conservation practices that are good for profitable farming, good for rural economies and good for the climate.”

NRCS is awarding more than $69.7 million for CIG On-Farm Trials projects and more than $20.2 million for CIG Classic projects. In total, the Inflation Reduction Act provides $19.5 billion over five years to support USDA’s oversubscribed conservation programs, including CIG grants. The Inflation Reduction Act, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, represents the single largest investment in climate and clean energy solutions in American history. This conservation funding flows directly into local communities and helps ensure farmers receive the financial assistance to buy equipment, hire labor, and take the necessary steps to implement these practices. This helps producers with their bottom line and lowers their costs for the implementation of conservation and climate-smart practices.   

The four Colorado projects include: 

1) Accelerating Conservation to the Speed of Development: Innovating to Protect Colorado’s South Platte River Basin - In the South Platte River Basin, the purchasing of water rights for development threatens the long-term viability of the region’s agricultural economy. This project will create a financial tool to leverage water rights by implementing Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices, create water sharing opportunities, and permanently conserving Colorado’s best soils and senior water rights in agriculture.

2) Engaging Native American Historically Underserved Youth in Bison Restoration and Conservation Planning - This project will engage Native American youth at the community level in restoring the American bison, a keystone species critical for the healthy function and biodiversity of ecosystems as well as for tribal cultures and food systems.

3) Promoting Optimized Fertilizer Nitrogen Management for Conservation Stewardship in Sugar Beet Production - In partnership with the Western Sugar Cooperative, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is undertaking a project to enhance the economic and environmental resilience of beet sugar production in Nebraska and Colorado. The objective of this project is to involve 50 beet growers in assessing the advantages of implementing a sugar yield-based N input model to promote profitable and sustainable beet production.

4) Comparative and Ongoing Compost Application Trials to Guide and Incentivize Best Use - The US Composting Council will coordinate with leading researchers and project implementation partners to conduct 88 new SHD trials of compost application in varied production systems. The comparative trials will assess environmental, economic, and social benefits to compost application across a variety of soil types, compost types/rates, and production systems in three states: California, Colorado, and Washington. The trials will measure the agronomic, social and environmental impacts of compost on soil carbon, water holding capacity, and overall soil health; develop accessible compost application guidance for producers and technical assistance providers; and inform potential updates to NRCS guidance related to Conservation Practice Standard 336 as well as providing interoperable data to improve DayCent and MEMS models.

A list of CIG project grants is available on the CIG website. 

NRCS is committed to the success of all of our nation’s producers, businesses, and partners. Some of our nation's producers belong to communities that have been or are marginalized in ways that have diminished their ability to farm and ranch successfully. These producers play a vital role in securing a healthy agricultural economy for our country and protecting, enhancing, and sustaining our valuable natural resources. NRCS encourages proposal submissions from entities that represent, are partnered with, or are composed entirely of producers belonging to such communities.

 Biden-Harris Administration Efforts

 The Inflation Reduction Act, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, has bolstered funding for several other conservation programs as well. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act increased funding for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, and NRCS made available $1.5 billion in April this year for projects that support projects that save farmers money, create new revenue streams, and increase productivity. In March, USDA announced its plans to invest $138 million of financial assistance in 138 new climate-smart conservation easements, through which farmers and ranchers are conserving wetlands, grasslands and prime farmlands.

Additionally, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced in December 2023 an investment of $10 million to advance the science of reducing methane — a potent greenhouse gas — produced naturally by ruminant animals. Through its efforts to support climate-smart agriculture, USDA is investing across all 50 states. This program expands markets for America’s climate-smart commodities, leverages the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production, and provides direct, meaningful benefits to production agriculture, including for small and underserved producers. 

More About the Conservation Innovation Grants Program 

Through creative problem solving and innovation, CIG partners work to address our nation's water quality, water quantity, air quality, soil health and wildlife habitat challenges, all while improving agricultural operations.  

Since 2004, CIG has invested $541.9 million to fund 929 innovative projects and 467 partners. This includes $170 million for 121 projects during the Biden-Harris Administration. 

The national CIG program has two parts: CIG On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials and CIG Classic. Through CIG Classic, partners develop new tools, technologies, and strategies to support next-generation conservation efforts on working lands and develop market-based solutions to resource challenges. For CIG Classic, this year’s funding priorities were: 

• Forestry 
• Habitat Conservation and Restoration for Wildlife and Invertebrates 
• Managing Agricultural Lands to Improve Local Water Quality 
• Energy Conservation 
• Economics 
• Strengthening Conservation through Indigenous Knowledge 

CIG On-Farm Trials projects feature collaboration between NRCS and partners to implement on-the-ground conservation activities and then evaluate their impact.  CIG On-Farm Trials support more widespread adoption and evaluation of innovative conservation approaches in partnership with agricultural producers. Incentive payments are provided to producers to offset the risk of implementing innovative approaches.  For CIG On-Farm Trials, this year’s funding priorities were: 

• Feeding Management and Enteric Methane Reduction 
• Irrigation Water Management Technologies 
• Nutrient Management 
• Grazing Lands 
• Soil Health Demo Trials

The Soil Health Demonstration Trial (SHD) component of CIG On-Farm Trials exclusively focuses on adoption of conservation practices and implementation of systems that improve soil health and contribute to the Inflation Reduction Act goals of increasing carbon capture and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

A critical element of each CIG On-Farm Trials project is the project evaluation. Partners must propose robust scientific approaches to their CIG On-Farm Trials, resulting in data and analyses of the environmental, financial and, to the extent possible, social impacts of the trials.  NRCS will use the results of CIG On-Farm Trial project evaluations and analyses to explore the development of new NRCS conservation assistance, guidance documents, technical tools, and conservation practice standards, or modifications to existing ones.  For example, CIG partners worked to develop and test an irrigation water management tool for farmers, called Irrigator Pro. What started as a cloud-based platform can now be used as a smart phone app to help farmers determine when to irrigate for optimal crop growth while conserving water resources and minimizing irrigation costs. 

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.   

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