Most conservation programs pay you to install a practice that already exists in the handbook. Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) do the opposite: they fund testing conservation approaches that are new, unproven, or being adapted in a new way. And through the On-Farm Trials component, individual farmers can actually take part, not just universities and nonprofits.
If you have a conservation idea worth testing at real scale, CIG is the program built for it. Here is what it funds, how a farmer fits in, and the honest status on when you can apply.
What CIG funds
CIG, run by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), makes competitive grants for innovative conservation approaches. The point is not to pay for standard practices; it is to develop, test, and demonstrate promising new tools, technologies, and approaches so the good ones can eventually spread into the mainstream programs.
Project-level CIG grants run from $200,000 to $2,000,000, which reflects that many CIG projects are large, multi-partner efforts led by nonprofits, universities, or state and local governments. That scale is why CIG is not a program most individual farmers apply to directly at the top level.
Where individual farmers fit: On-Farm Trials
The door for individual farmers is the On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials component. On-Farm Trials are designed to test conservation practices and technologies on working farms, with individual farmers participating as part of the trial. It pairs the innovation focus of CIG with real ground and real operators, and often includes payments to participating producers for taking on the risk and the data collection of trying something unproven.
So the realistic path for a farmer is usually to participate in an On-Farm Trial, sometimes led by a partner organization running a larger CIG project, rather than to submit a standalone multi-million-dollar CIG proposal. If you have an innovative practice you want to test, ask your local NRCS office and area conservation groups whether an On-Farm Trials opportunity fits, and watch for announced trial topics. The exact payment terms and participation rules for On-Farm Trials vary by the specific trial and announcement, so confirm current details on the CIG program page.
The honest status: FY2026 is on hold
Here is the part you need before you get your hopes up. As of our last verification, no FY2026 CIG competition had been announced. CIG was explicitly excluded from the January 15, 2026 national batching deadline that covered the other NRCS programs, and NRCS stated that CIG would follow later in the year. On top of that, NRCS lost about 22% of its staff through DOGE-driven cuts, which affects how quickly a new competition gets stood up.
So right now, CIG is a program to watch, not one you can apply to today. Do not build a near-term plan around CIG money. Keep the idea ready, watch grants.gov and the NRCS CIG page for the FY2026 announcement, and confirm timing with NRCS. We track the program on our CIG page.
CIG compared to the grant that funds smaller farmer experiments
CIG’s scale and its on-hold status make it a poor fit if you want to test something small and soon. For that, a different program is usually the better first move:
- The SARE Farmer/Rancher Grant hands individual farmers $7,500 to $30,000 to run their own on-farm research, with no partner required and no match. It is the go-to for a farmer-scale experiment. See our SARE grant application guide.
A sensible path is to prove a concept at farmer scale with a SARE grant, then, if it shows promise and warrants bigger testing, look toward CIG On-Farm Trials or a partner-led CIG project to scale the evaluation.
Once a practice is proven and standard, the mainstream cost-share programs take over:
- EQIP to install it with cost-share, covered in EQIP application and deadlines.
- CSP to reward maintaining it across your operation, covered in CSP payment rates.
CIG sits at the front of that pipeline, funding the ideas before they become standard practice.
Frequently asked questions
Can an individual farmer get a Conservation Innovation Grant? Individual farmers participate mainly through the On-Farm Trials component rather than by submitting standalone project grants, which run $200,000 to $2,000,000 and are usually led by partners. On-Farm Trials test innovative practices on working farms with producers taking part.
How much does CIG fund? Project-level CIG grants range from $200,000 to $2,000,000. On-Farm Trials participation terms and any producer payments vary by the specific trial and announcement.
Is CIG accepting applications for 2026? Not as of our last verification. No FY2026 CIG competition had been announced. CIG was excluded from the January 15, 2026 national batching deadline, and NRCS said it would follow later in the year. Watch grants.gov and the NRCS CIG page.
What is the difference between CIG and SARE? CIG funds larger, innovative conservation projects, with individual farmers mostly taking part through On-Farm Trials. The SARE Farmer/Rancher Grant funds individual farmers directly, $7,500 to $30,000, to run their own on-farm research with no partner or match required.
What kinds of ideas does CIG fund? New, unproven, or newly adapted conservation approaches, technologies, and tools, the kind of thing not yet standard in programs like EQIP. The goal is to test promising innovations so the good ones can spread.
The bottom line
Conservation Innovation Grants fund the conservation ideas that are not yet in the handbook, and the On-Farm Trials component is the way individual farmers get involved. Just know two things: at the project level this is big, partner-led money, and the FY2026 competition had not been announced as of our last check. If you want to test something small and soon, start with a SARE grant; keep CIG in view for when it reopens and when your idea is ready to scale.
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