SPENCER, Iowa, Sept. 15, 2004 –- Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced the selection of 41 projects in 29 states that will receive $14,250,000 in Conservation Innovation Grants. Including the cost sharing from nonfederal partners, the total investment in these projects is more than $63 million. The grants will fund the development and adoption of innovative conservation technologies and approaches through pilot projects and field trials.

    "These grants provide opportunities for public-private partnerships to accelerate technology transfer and implement promising technologies," said Veneman. "These approaches will help farmers and ranchers protect the environment and comply with federal, state and local regulations."

   USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service administers the grants as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Nearly 150 project proposals were submitted from eligible governmental and nongovernmental organizations as well as from individuals for single or multi-year projects involving producers who qualify for EQIP. Selected projects address issues such as agricultural air emissions, water quality improvement, water management, livestock nutrient management and market-based approaches to conservation.

   Grant recipients include 13 universities, 10 nongovernmental organizations, eight agribusinesses, four state governments, two resource conservation and development councils, two conservation districts and two individuals. Selected proposals receive grants for up to 50 percent of the total project cost and must provide nonfederal matching funds for at least 50 percent of the project cost. The federal contribution may not exceed $1 million for a single project.

   A list of the 41 selected projects and the dollar amount funded is on the Conservation Innovation Grants website at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/cig

Conservation Innovation Grants--Proposals Selected for Funding (sorted by State)
Project Title	State	CIG Funds Awarded
On-Farm Demonstrations of Low Cost Alternatives for Temporary Litter Storage Facilities	AL	462,220.00
Management Intensive Grazing Project for Limited Resource Farmers	AL	37,500.00
Reducing Nutrient Runoff and Ammonia Emissions from Poultry Litter with Pasture Renovation and Litter Incorporation	AR	66,000.00
Arizona BMPs: Agricultural  Water Conservation Program	AZ	503,092.00
Erosion Prevention Through Vegetated Swales for Water Infiltration	CA	99,000.00
Dairy Waste Lagoon Irrigation Water Management	CA	1,000,000.00
Conservation Tillage for Reduced Agricultural Air Emissions in the San Joaquin Valley	CA	166,426.00
Peach Resource Renewal Project: An Incentive Based Approach	CA	999,982.00
California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices - Innovations for Air and Water Quality	CA	475,000.00
Treatment of Hog Manure Utilizing the Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Disgestion (ADAT) Technology	CA, NC	450,000.00
Native Seed Restoration for Range and Agricultural Lands	CO	150,000.00
Site Specific Nitrogen Management in an Intensified No-Till Dryland Cropping System	CO	21,274.00
Demonstration of Variable-Rate Irrigation for Water Conservation and Application Optimization	GA	501,850.00
Using Cropping Alternatives to Improve Water Quality in High-Nutrient Status Farms	GA	60,000.00
Outcomes-Based Nitrogen Efficiency Project for Corn Production	IA	1,000,000.00
Non-Basin Technologies for Open Feedlot Runoff: Demonstration, Implementation, and Modeling	IA	415,000.00
Recycling Digested Manure Solids from Dairies	IA	90,600.00
Quantitive Comparison of the Effects of Controlled Drainage vs. Constructed Wetlands on Water Quality at a Watershed-Scale	IL	127,050.00
An Information and Assessment Project for Improving EQIP Performance	IN	496,701.00
Protecting Groundwater Quality from Nutrients and Pathogens in Lagoons by Utilizing a Water Balance Method of Testing Lagoon Structural Integrity	KS	190,500.00
Demonstration of Enhanced Technologies for Land Application of Animal Nutrient Sources in Sensitive Watersheds	KY	354,572.00
Design and Implementation of a Closed Recycling Water Management System to Provide an Alternative Use for Milkhouse Wastewater, Storm Water Runoff and Silage Leachate	MI	84,500.00
Invasive Species Management for Restored Wetlands and Native Prairie Uplands	MN	93,750.00
Conservation Drainage Demonstrations: Improving Impaired Watershed	MN	316,000.00
Demonstration of Innovative Technology for Optimizing Nitrogen Application of Corn	MO	355,983.00
Adaptation of Exisiting Agricultural Product Machine to Manufacture Encapsulated Grass Seeds for Use in Rehabilitation of Wildfires on Tribal and Non-Tribal Lands	MT	143,676.00
Limited Irrigation Cropping Systems for Conserving Water in the Pumpkin Creek Watershed	NE	119,700.00
Implementing Solar Energy Technologies on Farms	NM	34,289.00
Transferring Innovative Manure Management Technology in the Northeast	NY	182,991.00
Guaranteed Performance of Nutrient and Tillage BMPs	OH, IL, WI, MN, IA	191,800.00
Sawdust / Chicken Litter Boiler and Dry Kiln with Fertilization Recovery System	OK, AR	523,362.00
Thermaphilac Anaerobic Digestration Process	OR	1,000,000.00
Oregon Water and Economics Optimization Project	OR	303,118.00
No-Till Plus: A One-Pass Cover Crop Roller/Planter System that can Reduce or Eliminate Herbicide and Chemical Fertlizer Use on Most No-Till Acres	PA	541,050.00
Designing, Evaluating, and Implementing a Market-Based System for Delivery of Conservation Practice Funding	PA	939,734.00
Marketing Carbon Sequestration Credits from Reduced Grazing and Soil Conservation	SD	183,819.00
Cost-Effective and Reliable Anaerobic Digestion for AFOs	UT	369,000.00
Innovative Cropping Systems Environmental Credit Program	VA	237,969.00
Innovative Conservation of Compost for Nutrient Management and Production of Energy	VT	198,572.00
High Quality Fiber and Fertilizer as Co-Products from Anaerobic Digestion	WA	683,920.00
Application of Phoslock to Control Phosphorus Release from Aquaculture and Other Agricultural Practices	WA, OK, MO	80,000.00
Total CIG Funding		14,250,000.00