Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2024 - South Carolina | USDA NRCS SC CIG 24 NOFO0001375

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS SC CIG 24 NOFO0001375

The Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) opportunity for FY 2024 in South Carolina is a competitive, discretionary grant program run by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Its core goal is to spur the development, testing, and adoption of new or improved conservation approaches and technologies that work alongside agricultural production. The emphasis is not on paying producers to implement standard practices, but on proving and moving forward innovations that can be replicated and scaled, ultimately reaching more producers and acres across a region or the state.

CIG funding is designed to support projects such as pilot efforts, field demonstrations, and on-farm conservation research. In this context, on-farm conservation research means applied, real-world investigation that answers a specific conservation question using a statistically valid study design and farm-scale equipment on working farms, ranches, or private forest lands. A key expectation is that the work will produce outcomes that can be transferred into practice, whether through direct adoption by agricultural producers, incorporation into government technical references like manuals and guides, or uptake by private-sector partners. Because of that, proposals should be built around clear deliverables and a plan for moving results beyond a single operation.

For this South Carolina competition, NRCS states that projects should create benefits at a broader level, meaning the results should be useful to a region of the state or statewide rather than primarily benefiting one farm. NRCS is also explicitly prioritizing "climate-smart" conservation activities. Projects that directly improve soil carbon, reduce nitrogen losses, or reduce, capture, avoid, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions (including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) tied to agricultural production are positioned as higher priority. The intent is to back innovations that measurably improve environmental outcomes while remaining practical for producers and nonindustrial private forestland owners.

Eligibility and participation requirements are an important part of this opportunity. All projects must involve producers who are eligible for EQIP (the Environmental Quality Incentives Program) and who meet EQIP eligibility requirements referenced in 7 CFR 1466.6(b)(1) through (3). Applications must meet eligibility criteria by the application deadline to be considered, so partnerships and producer involvement need to be in place early. While the opportunity is broadly open, it is limited to U.S. applicants that are non-Foreign and non-Federal, and projects must be carried out in South Carolina. Federal agencies cannot apply, and they also cannot shift their work into the non-federal portion of the project budget. In addition, individuals who are business owner/operators cannot apply as individuals, which typically means those applicants should apply through an eligible organization rather than in a personal capacity.

Applicants should also be aware of federal compliance screening tied to SAM.gov. Any entity that appears in the SAM.gov exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted, or otherwise excluded from receiving federal contracts or certain types of federal assistance will not be considered for funding, consistent with 2 CFR 200.206(d). In practice, that makes registration and status in SAM.gov an essential pre-submission checkpoint.

Key administrative details for this notice include the official title and identifiers: the opportunity is "Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2024 - South Carolina" with Funding Opportunity Number USDA NRCS SC CIG 24 NOFO0001375, and it falls under CFDA 10.912. The application deadline listed is July 9, 2024. The award ceiling is $150,000 per award, and NRCS expects to make about 6 awards under this South Carolina announcement.

• The Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2024 - South Carolina" 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 2024-05-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-09. (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 $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for USDA NRCS SC CIG 24 NOFO0001375

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