The Agriculture Department awarded $15.7 million in grants to 47 projects in 31 states for “cutting-edge ideas to accelerate innovation in private lands conservation.” The Conservation Innovation Grants require recipients to provide at least a dollar for dollar in matching funds. North Carolina State University received $1.1 million for two projects, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, $1 million, and National Corn Growers Association, $995,000.
NCSU was awarded $995,710 for a project to improve management of livestock pastures to improve soil health and improve forage production. It also got $121,094 to develop an “engineered windbreak wall-vegetative strip system” that uses plants to reduce odors and pollutants from livestock sheds. Other projects included a food hub in rural Mississippi and a project in Oregon to preserve woodlands. A list of the projects is available here.