OpportunityTitle: Announcement for Program Funding for NRCS&#8217; Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2020 &#8211;Maryland
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: This opportunity is open to all domestic applicants with the exception of Federal agencies.
Description: NRCS is announcing the availability of CIG to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applications are accepted from eligible entities for projects carried out in the state of Maryland. A total of up to $150,000 is available for the Maryland CIG competition in FY 2020. All non-federal entities (NFE) and individuals are invited to apply, with the sole exception of federal agencies. Projects may be between one and three years in duration. The maximum award amount for a single award in FY 2020 is $75,000.The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies in conjunction with agricultural production. CIG projects are expected to lead to the transfer of conservation technologies, management systems, and innovative approaches (such as market-based systems) to agricultural producers, into NRCS technical manuals and guides, or to the private sector. CIG generally funds pilot projects, field demonstrations, and on-farm conservation research. On-farm conservation research is defined as an investigation conducted to answer a specific applied conservation question using a statistically valid design while employing farm-scale equipment on farms, ranches or private forest lands.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: If you have any questions related to preparing application content.
GrantorContactText: Melanie  Krizmanich &lt;br/&gt;Grantor &lt;br/&gt;Phone 202-572-5805
CloseDateExplanation: Applications must be received by grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on May 15, 2020.    Due to the intermittent availability of Grants.gov on the May 11 deadline, the funding opportunity is being reopened and extended to May 15 at 5:00 pm ET. Applications submitted timely as well as those submitted between May 11 at 5:00 pm and May 15 at 5:00 pm ET will be considered submitted on-time. There will be no further extension of the deadline.