农业部投入6500万美元支持34个保育创新项目 帮农场主改进经营、保护自然资源
华盛顿——美国农业部（USDA）10月23日宣布，将投入 6,500 万美元支持 34 个「保育创新拨款」（Conservation Innovation Grants, CIG）项目，帮助农场主与牧场主开发新工具、新方法与新技术，在私人土地上推进自然资源保育。
农业部下属自然资源保护局（NRCS）负责执行这批拨款：其中最高 5,000 万美元用于 16 个「农场实地试验」（CIG On-Farm Trials）项目，最高 1,500 万美元用于 18 个「经典项目」（CIG Classic）。实地试验项目与农业生产者合作，推动创新保育方法的大范围采用与评估，并向生产者提供激励付款，抵消尝试新方法的风险；经典项目则开发新工具、新技术与新策略，支持在用土地上的下一代保育工作，并为资源难题寻找市场化解决方案。保育创新拨款的资金来自《工薪家庭减税法》（Working Families Tax Cuts Act）对农业法案保育项目的增资，经环境质量激励计划（EQIP）拨付。
NRCS 局长 Colton L. Buckley 表示：「保育创新拨款帮助把创新想法变成美国农场主与牧场主用得上的实际保育方案。通过投资这些新技术，NRCS 借助合作伙伴开发新工具、新技术与新策略，支持下一代保育努力，让耕作土地世代留在耕作者手中。」
获拨款项目中，Idaho 州一个项目使用不依赖 GPS、靠本地无线电信标的虚拟围栏系统，服务中小型牲畜经营者，研究该技术如何改善畜群管理、让放牧格局更精准；Illinois 州一个项目将结合田间试验、传感器与气象数据，开发一个「决策工具」，帮助农民判断何时、何地施氮肥，提高收益、减少浪费并改善土壤健康。农业部说，自 2004 年以来，NRCS 已通过保育创新拨款投入 5.94 亿美元，资助 957 个创新项目与 480 个合作伙伴。34 个项目的完整名单见 CIG 官网。
来源：GSM·美国
USDA Invests $65 Million in 34 Conservation Innovation Projects to Help Farmers Improve Operations and Conserve Natural Resources
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on October 23 that it is investing $65 million in 34 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) projects, which support the development of new tools, approaches, practices and technologies to further natural resource conservation on private lands.
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is awarding up to $50 million for 16 CIG On-Farm Trials projects and up to $15 million for 18 CIG Classic projects. Through On-Farm Trials, partners focus on widespread adoption and evaluation of innovative conservation approaches in partnership with agricultural producers, with incentive payments provided to producers to offset the risk of trying new approaches. Through CIG Classic, partners develop new tools, technologies and strategies to support next-generation conservation efforts on working lands and develop market-based solutions to resource challenges. CIG is supported by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which increased funding for farm bill conservation programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which funds CIG.
"Conservation Innovation Grants help turn innovative ideas into practical conservation solutions for America's farmers and ranchers," said NRCS Chief Colton L. Buckley. "By investing in these new technologies, NRCS is leveraging partners to develop new tools, technologies and strategies that support next generation conservation efforts to keep working lands in working hands for generations to come."
Among the awarded projects, one in Idaho uses an innovative virtual fencing system that relies on locally deployed radio beacons rather than GPS to support small and mid-sized livestock operations, examining how the technology improves herd and flock management and grazing control. Another project in Illinois will use field experiments, sensors and weather data to develop a decision tool to help farmers determine when and where to apply nitrogen to increase profitability, reduce waste and improve soil health. Since 2004, NRCS has invested $594 million through CIG to fund 957 innovative projects and 480 partners, USDA said. A full list of the 34 projects is available on the CIG website.
Source: GSM · United States
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：Montana 州农田水域与湿地景观（资料图）。Lance Cheung 摄，美国农业部（USDA）公共领域图片，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。 / Farmland water and wetland landscape in Montana (file photo). Photo by Lance Cheung, U.S. Department of Agriculture, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
