COLUMBIA — The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications for grants to fund Missouri projects that could stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) generally fund pilot projects, field demonstrations and on-farm conservation research.
Karen Brinkman, assistant state conservationist, said Missouri anticipates having $150,000 in state-component CIG funds available this year. She said applicants can request up to $75,000 for projects lasting one to three years.
Brinkman said projects should address one or more of the four resource concerns identified for this program: grazing lands and inventory assessments; native plant communities in grasslands and as part of other conservation practices; soil health; and precision agriculture technologies and strategies.
Information about CIG can be found by accessing www.grants.gov and accessing funding opportunity number USDA-NRCS-MO-CIG-20-GEN0010780. The application process is available here.
Applications must be submitted electronically through the grants.gov website by 10:59 p.m. Central Standard Time on June 2, 2020. Application receipt date and time will be determined by the respective system-generated documentation of receipt date and time. In addition, a PDF of the complete application must be emailed to Jessica.Phillips@usda.gov.
For more information, contact Karen Brinkman at (573) 876-9364.