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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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