Cass 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 Cass County Resource Concerns to be addressed by EQIP:

Domestic Animals:       

• Inadequate Quantities and Quality of Feed and Forage
• Inadequate Stock Water

Plant Condition:           

• Forage Quality and Palatability
• Productivity, Health and Vigor

Soil Condition: 

• Organic Matter Depletion

Soil Erosion:                

• Classic and/or Ephemeral Gully
• Sheet and Rill
• Stream bank

Water Quality: 

• Excessive Nutrients and Organics in the Surface Water
• Excessive Sediment and Turbidity in Surface Water
• Harmful levels of Pathogens in the Surface Water

These resource concerns address the following National EQIP priorities:

1. Reduction of non-point pollution, such as nutrients, sediment, pesticides, or excess salinity in impaired watersheds consistent with Total Daily Maximum Loads (TMDL’S), where available, as well as the reduction of groundwater contamination and the conservation of ground and surface water resources.
2. 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.

The Cass County EQIP funding will be divided into the following three categories:  Soil Erosion, Water Quality, and Plant Condition.   

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 though 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 selection. 

The local work group made several recommendations for the 2009 EQIP program in Cass County. The first recommended a list of conservation practices that are the most cost-effective, longest duration, and address these priority resource concerns in the District.  Second, they recommended the PACS Indian Creek Watershed following be given priority status so it may receive the ranking points for priority areas. The impairments for this watershed include, Excessive Suspended Sediment and Turbidity in Surface Water and Excessive Suspended Sediment and Turbidity in Surface Water. Third, the local work group recommended the county allocation be divided into the following sub-pots: Soil Erosion, Baughman Creek Project Area, Summer Construction, Water Quality, and Plant Condition.  Applications will be divided into these sub-pots based on the practices that are applied for within the application. 

For more information on EQIP and other NRCS administrated programs, contact the Cass County USDA Service Center located at 503 West 7th Street, Suite 1, Atlantic, IA 50022.

Phone 712-243-3180      Fax 712-243-1688

The following files require Acrobat Reader.

EQIP Practice List - 2009
EQIP Application Ranking - 2009

EQIP Practice List - 2008    For Archival Purposes Only
EQIP Application Ranking - 2008    For Archival Purposes Only
Nutrient Management Intensity Options - 2008    For Archival Purposes Only

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

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