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NRCS announces conservation grants

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced its latest round of Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG).

The agency is giving out 15.7 million dollars in matching grants to 47 awardees.

NRCS chief Jason Weller says “soil health” is a big focus of this year’s CIG program.  And Weller says one of the organizations receiving a CIG grant is the National Grazing Lands Coalition.

“There’s been a lot of focus on cropland and we’ve made great advancement on our knowledge on how to improve the health of the soils on croplands,” Weller says. “But last I checked there’s also soil underneath grazing and pasture lands, and also forested lands.

“So what the National Grazing Lands Coalition is going to help us do is, they’re going to go out and pilot test new ways—different, effective practices—we can use on range and pasture land to ultimately improve the health of the soils.”

Also receiving major grant awards were the National Corn Growers Association and the National Association of Conservation Districts. Their projects will demonstrate the use of best management practices such as conservation tillage, cover crops and advanced nutrient management to address soil health concerns.

To find a complete list of this year’s CIG grants, click here.

AUDIO: Jason Weller-excerpt from telephone news conference (12:00 MP3)