USDA Awards Nearly $1.8 Million in Conservation Innovation Grants to PA Projects

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced the winning proposals for the 2010 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG). "Among the 61 projects selected, six of them will directly benefit Pennsylvanians," announced Noel Soto, CIG program Coordinator for USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

CIG invests in innovative, on-the-ground conservation technologies and approaches, with the goal of wide-scale adoption to address water quality and quantity, air quality, energy conservation, and environmental markets, among other natural resource issues.

"Creative solutions that help producers conserve natural resources and reduce costs are an important  part of our efforts to improve the quality of our air, water, and soil," Vilsack said. "The Conservation Innovation Grants will produce far-reaching results on a wide range of issues, including conservation management and bio-energy production, by facilitating the development and adoption of new approaches and technologies."

NRCS administers CIG as part of the Agency's Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Grants are awarded to state and local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations and individuals.

Nationally, NRCS received 230 full proposals and awarded nearly $18 million in Conservation Innovation Grants. Grant recipients provide matching funds to CIG bringing the total value of the approved projects to more than $35 million.

A summary of all selected proposals awarded this year is available at www.nrcs.usda.gov.

Pennsylvania's six selected proposals include:

• $503,000 to the National Center for Appropriate Technology for integrating sustainable and organic agriculture into NRCS programs.
• $225,000 to the Dairy Research Institute to implement a farm energy audit data collector training program.
• $147,000 to the Forest Guild to promote the adoption of innovative conservation practices for sustainable forest biomass harvesting
• $600,000 to the World Resource Institute to build an online multistate water quality trading platform and carbon estimating tool for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
• $284,000 to Cornell University for the adaptation of near-real-time high resolution climate data to provide field-specific in-season Nitrogen fertilizer recommendations.
• $256,960 to the Pennsylvania State University to promote the adaptation of conservation practices on small dairy farms without the need of government regulatory measures or subsidies.

2010 represents the 75th year of NRCS "helping people help the land." Since its inception in 1935, the NRCS conservation delivery system has advanced a unique partnership with state and local governments and private landowners, delivering conservation based on specific, local conservation needs, while accommodating state and national interests. For more information about NRCS conservation programs online, visit: http://www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov, or visit the nearest USDA Service Center in your area.

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SOURCE USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service