Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the availability of up to $20 million in competitive grants through the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program.
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The program aims to spark the development and adoption of cutting-edge conservation technologies and approaches for farmers, ranchers and other landowners.
Administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), CIG is part of the Environmental Quality Incentives ProgramThis is an external link or third-party site outside of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website.
(EQIP) and is designed to focus on innovative conservation projects that promote science-based solutions to benefit both producers and the environment. Projects may include on-farm pilot projects and field demonstrations, and are funded to accelerate the transfer and adoption of promising technologies to landowners in order to address critical natural resource concerns.
Up to $2 million of this fiscal year's CIG funding has been set aside for projects targeted to historically underserved and veteran farmers and ranchers, beginning farmers and ranchers, and those with limited resources.
In 2015, for example, the Minnesota Food Association was awarded funds to assist with the transfer of proven conservation technologies used in organic systems to historically underserved producers in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and to assist those producers with implementing conservation practices by addressing land tenure issues and accessing NRCS programs.
As schools around the county take part in School Breakfast Week celebrations this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) commemorates the 50th anniversary of its School Breakfast Program by shining a light on the positive impacts of school breakfast.
Over the course of this administration, participation in school breakfast programs has increased by almost 27 percent; over 14 million students are now eating school breakfast each day.
To help support the ongoing success of the School Breakfast Program and other child nutrition programs, Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon announced that USDA will award up to $6.8 million in competitive Team Nutrition Training Grants to help schools and child care sites sustain the successful implementation of the healthier meals made possible by the bipartisan Healthy Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010. ■