USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service CIG program has three components: 1) State CIG competitions 2) the National CIG competition, and 3) the On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials. Public and private grantees develop the tools, technologies, and strategies to support next-generation conservation efforts on working lands and develop market-based solutions to resource challenges. Grantees must match the CIG investment at least one to one.
USDA Seeks New Proposals for National On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trial & Soil Health Demonstration Grants in 2020
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has extended the deadline for accepting proposals through May 29, 2020 for On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials (On-Farm Trials), now in its second year. On-Farm Trials, part of the agency’s Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) program, help support the adoption and evaluation of innovative conservation approaches on agricultural land.
Newly authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill, On-Farm Trials supports more widespread adoption of innovative approaches, practices and systems on working lands. On-Farm Trials projects feature collaboration between NRCS and partners to implement on-the-ground conservation activities and then evaluate their impact. Incentive payments are provided to producers to offset the risk of implementing innovative approaches. The Soil Health Demo Trial (SHD) component of On-Farm Trials focuses exclusively on implementation of conservation practices and systems that improve soil health. Eligible entities receiving SHD awards agree to follow consistent soil health assessment protocols to evaluate the impacts of practice and system implementation. Learn more about On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials.
National Conservation Innovation Grants in 2020
A CIG funding notice is announced each year. Funds for single- or multi-year projects, not to exceed three years, are awarded through a nationwide competitive grants process. Projects may be watershed-based, regional, multi-state or nationwide in scope. The natural resource concerns eligible for funding through CIG are identified in the funding announcement and may change annually to focus on new and emerging, high-priority natural resource concerns. The national CIG competition (CIG Classic) deadline has not yet been announced. The national CIG Announcement of Program Funding will be posted at www.grants.gov. For more information about past awards or to learn more about CIG funding, visit the CIG website.
Iowa NRCS Seeks New Proposals for 2020 State Conservation Innovation Grants
Iowa NRCS announces the availability of up to $350,000 in FY 2020 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies in Iowa. Applications will be accepted for Iowa-specific projects only. Applications are requested from eligible government agencies, non-governmental organizations or individuals. CIG funds single and multi-year projects, not to exceed 3 years (anticipated project start date of September 30, 2020). Funds are awarded through a competitive process; the maximum award amount for any project could not exceed $100,000 in FY 2020. The grant proposal submission deadline is June 26, 2020.
2020 Iowa CIG Priorities
NRCS invites proposals that support one or more of the following Iowa priorities. See the full Announcement of Program Funding for additional information about each of the priorities.
- Habitat
- Water Quality and Quantity
- Soil Health
Application Process
The complete 2020 Iowa CIG Request for Applications is posted on Grants.gov, opportunity number USDA-NRCS-IA-CIG-20-NOFO0001007. The opportunity can be found easily on Grants.gov through the basic search criteria by using the opportunity number, or by searching the CFDA of 10.912. It can also be found by filtering for All Department of Agriculture.
Applications must be submitted electronically through grants.gov. Incomplete and/or non-compliant proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant. In addition, a PDF of the complete application must be emailed to Judy.Martinson@usda.gov with a cc to Carolyn.Christian@usda.gov. Note in the message line of the email: FY20 CIG [organization name] [proposal name]. You are encouraged to keep the name of your proposal short. Attachments must be named and emailed as separate documents. Do not send as one adobe document or as a compressed (i.e. zipped) files. Attachment names must reflect the name of the organization and the form name (Example: Cambridge University_SF-424A) If it takes more than one email to send the attachments, number the emails in the message line (example: three emails would be numbered 1 of 3, 2 of 3, and 3 of 3)
Submissions must be received by the time and date due. Late submissions will not be reviewed or considered. The agency will rely on system generated date and time receipt documentation for submission made both via Grants.gov and e-mail to determine whether applications meet the submission deadline.
CIG Mandatory Forms
Form Instructions
Sample Documents
Please note that the sample budgets are to assist the user in completing their internal budget. The spreadsheet format of these budgets are not allowable in any part of the proposal or budget narrative.
Help Documents
Helpful Links
Program Contacts
Michele Devaney, GAD Agreement Specialist, is the primary contact for all Iowa CIG Administrative questions. Administrative questions include all questions regarding completion and submission of forms, NRCS agreement policy, NFO requirements, etc. Questions regarding this opportunity must be submitted to the Administrative Contact via email at Michele.Devaney@usda.gov with the Opportunity Number in the subject line. Questions must be submitted by June 1, 2020. A question and answers document addressing all questions will be posted to the Related Documents tab of this opportunity in Grants.gov by June 20, 2020.
CIG is funded through the Environment Quality Incentives Program (EQIP.) EQIP questions should be directed to Jon.Hubbert@usda.gov
General Programmatic questions should be directed to Jaia Fisher at Jaia.Fischer@usda.gov or Judy Martinson at Judy.Martinson@usda.gov, with a “cc” to whomever is not addressed in the “To” address line.
For technical issues with Grants.gov, please direct partners to contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Judy Martinson
Resource Conservationist
USDA-NRCS
210 Walnut Street, Room 693
Des Moines, IA 50309
Phone: (515) 323-2229
Email: judy.martinson@ia.usda.gov
