Adams County EQIP

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary conservation program of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that promotes agricultural production and environmental quality. This program is available to farmers and offers financial and technical assistance to install or implement structural and management practices on eligible agricultural land.

The following are Adams County Resource Concerns to be addressed by EQIP:

1. Air Quality
   Excessive Greenhouse Gas-CO2
   Particulate Matter less than 10 micrometers and/or 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM 10/2.5)
   Reduced Visibility
   Undesirable Air Movement

2. Domestic Animals
   Inadequate Quantities and Quality of Feed and Forage
   Inadequate Shelter and/or Stock Water
   Stress and Mortality

3. Fish and Wildlife
   Habitat Fragmentation
   Imbalance Among and Within Populations
   Inadequate Cover/Shelter/Food/space/Water
   T&E Species: Declining Species, Species of Concern
   Threatened and Endangered Fish and Wildlife Species

4. Plant Condition
   Forage Quality and Palatability
   Noxious and Invasive Plants
   Plants not adapted or suited
   Productivity, Health and Vigor
   T&E Plant Species: Declining Species, Species of Concern
   Threatened and Endangered Plant Species
   Wildfire Hazard

5. Soil Condition
   Compaction
   Contaminants-Residual Pesticides; Salts and Other Chemical
   Contaminants-Animal Waste, Other Organics, and Commercial Fertilizer-N, P, and K
   Damage from Sediment Deposition
   Organic Matter Depletion
   Subsidence

6. Soil Erosion
   Classic and/or Ephemeral Gully
   Mass Movement
   Sheet and Rill
   Shoreline
   Streambank
   Wind

7. Water Quality
   Excessive Nutrients and Organics in the Ground and/or Surface water
   Excessive Suspended Sediment and Turbidity in Surface Water
   Harmful levels of Pathogens in Ground and/or Surface water
   Harmful Temperatures of Surface Water

8. Water Quantity
   Excessive Runoff, Flooding, or Ponding; Seepage; Subsurface Water
   Inadequate Outlets
   Inefficient Water Use on Non-irrigated Land
   Insufficient Flows in Water Courses
   Reduced Capacity of Conveyances by Sediment Deposition
   Reduced Storage of Water Bodies by Sediment Accumulation

These resource concerns address the following National EQIP priorities:

• Reduction of non-point pollution, such as nutrients, sediment, pesticides, or excess salinity in impaired watersheds consistent with Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), where available, as well as the reduction of groundwater contamination and the conservation of ground and surface water resources.

• Reduction in soil erosion and sedimentation from unacceptable high levels on agriculture land.

The goal of the locally led group was to recommend a ranking system that rewarded and gave priority to those producers that help most to address the above resource concerns. Adams County has three lakes, Lake Binder, Lake Icaria and Corning West Lake, that have been included on the 303d List of Impaired Water Bodies. Conservation practices on land that drains into one of these lakes are encouraged.

The Adams County EQIP funding will be divided to allocate approximately 70% to the plant condition and domestic livestock resources and approximately 30% being allocated to the soil erosion resource concern. The ranking will be completed for the specific practices to be applied through the EQIP contract. Sign-up is continuous at the NRCS field office. Application ranking will be done periodically as funding allocations become available, will be announced through the NRCS State Office, and will be publicized by all levels of NRCS. The NRCS may establish local, minimum ranking cut-off levels for funding selections.

The local work group also recommended a list of conservation practices that are the most cost-effective, longest duration, and help most to address these priority resource concerns in the District.

For more information on EQIP and other NRCS administrated programs, contact the Adams County USDA Service Center located at 2243 Loomis Avenue, Suite2, Corning, IA  50841. Phone (641) 322-3116. Fax (641) 322-3593.

The following files require Acrobat Reader.

EQIP Practice List - 2008    New!
EQIP Application Ranking - 2008    New!
EQIP Nutrient Management Intensity Options - 2008    New!

EQIP Practice List - 2007    For Archival Purposes Only
EQIP Application Ranking - 2007    For Archival Purposes Only

EQIP Practice List - 2006    For Archival Purposes Only
EQIP Application Ranking - 2006    For Archival Purposes Only

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