Conservation Innovation Grants Pennsylvania State Program | USDA NRCS PA CIG 22 NOFO0001147

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS PA CIG 22 NOFO0001147

The Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) Pennsylvania State Program is a discretionary grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS). Its core goal is to spur the development and real-world adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies that work alongside agricultural production, rather than apart from it. The program is designed to move practical conservation ideas from concept to field use, helping farmers and other land managers test and prove solutions that protect natural resources while supporting working lands.

CIG is oriented toward innovation that can be replicated and scaled. Projects funded under this opportunity are expected to result in the transfer of conservation technologies, improved management systems, or novel approaches such as market-based tools. In practice, that means a successful project should not end as a one-off experiment; it should produce lessons, methods, data, or tools that can be adopted by agricultural producers, incorporated into government technical manuals and guidance documents, or taken up by private-sector partners. The emphasis is on solutions that are field-ready and can influence conservation practice beyond the immediate project sites.

The program generally supports three main project types: pilot projects, field demonstrations, and on-farm conservation research. Pilot projects are typically smaller-scale tests that explore whether an approach is feasible and effective under real operating conditions. Field demonstrations focus on showing producers and stakeholders how a practice or technology works in a realistic setting, often with an emphasis on outreach, visibility, and adoption. On-farm conservation research, as defined in the opportunity, is an applied investigation aimed at answering a specific conservation question using a statistically valid design while using farm-scale equipment on working farms, ranches, or private forest lands. This definition signals that NRCS is looking for research that is both scientifically credible and grounded in practical, operational agriculture, not purely laboratory or small-plot studies.

This Pennsylvania state competition is identified as USDA NRCS PA CIG 22 NOFO0001147, listed under CFDA 10.912, with activity areas spanning agriculture, environment, and natural resources. The funding instrument is a grant. The opportunity set an award ceiling of $75,000 per award and anticipated making about three awards, indicating a relatively focused state-level competition that prioritizes targeted, high-impact projects. The posting shows a creation date of March 2, 2022, and an original closing date of April 18, 2022.

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to many applicant types, with the caveat that applicants must follow any additional eligibility details or clarifications included in the full notice. Overall, the opportunity is geared toward applicants who can design and execute practical conservation innovation work in Pennsylvania and produce results that are transferable, adoptable, and useful to producers and the broader conservation community.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Conservation Innovation Grants Pennsylvania State Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.912.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 02, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 18, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $75,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for USDA NRCS PA CIG 22 NOFO0001147

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