With support from a $700,000 USDA Conservation Innovation Grant, Croatan Institute will lead a two-year $1.5 million project to unlock new financing to expand regenerative agricultural systems and improve rural resilience across the United States.

On December 17th, 2019, the US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced the awarding of approximately $12.5 million in Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) to support organizations and universities that are developing the next generation of tools and technologies to boost conservation on private agricultural lands. 

As part of this announcement, NRCS awarded $700,000 in funding for a $1.5 million multi-stakeholder initiative led by Croatan Institute aimed at developing an innovative, place-based financing model to support the adoption of farming systems that improve “soil wealth.” 

The 2019 NRCS funding pool for conservation innovation focused on four priority areas: water quantity, urban agriculture, pollinator habitat, and accelerating the pace and scale of conservation adoption. NRCS selected 19 projects for CIG awards, and Croatan Institute was one of 10 organizations awarded grants for accelerating conservation adoption.

Read the full announcement here.

For more information about the Institute’s pioneering work on Soil Wealth, visit www.soilwealth.org

For more information about this project, please contact Christi Electris at christi@croataninstitute.org.