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Additional EQIP Funds Available for New Practices and Flood Repair

The US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Iowa will receive an additional $10.6 million in Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funds, according to Rich Sims, Iowa NRCS state conservationist.

Most of the new EQIP funds, $6.6 million, will provide farmers financial assistance for establishing new conservation practices such as grassed waterways, no-till farming, waste storage facilities, terracing, pest management, pasture management, tree planting, windbreaks and stripcropping. The remaining $4 million will provide farmers financial assistance for repairing conservation practices damaged by heavy rainfall or flooding.

The EQIP signup also includes two new incentives:

  • New 2008 contracts are eligible for a summer construction incentive of $200 per acre on cropland to help producers with timely application of practices. To be eligible, landowners must complete construction between June 15 and Sept. 15, 2009. The incentive includes planting a cover crop, and it only includes the cropland needed to complete construction.
  • Producers who install biofilters to reduce odors from confined livestock operations will also receive an incentive. Eligible landowners will receive $2.50 per animal unit (maximum of 1,500 animal units) for three years.

Signup for EQIP is continuous. However the initial cutoff for selecting applications for funding from this recent EQIP allocation will be Aug. 1, said Sims. Farmers should contact their local USDA Service Center to apply.

EQIP was originally established under the 1996 Farm Bill. It provides technical and financial assistance to landowners to voluntarily address soil, water and related natural resource concerns on private lands. Conservation plans must be developed for the entire area included in the EQIP contract.

NRCS provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain and improve our natural resources and environment.

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Contact:
Dave Brommel
Iowa NRCS EQIP Coordinator
515-284-4353


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