Crawford 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 Crawford County resource concerns to be
addressed by EQIP:
-
Soil Erosion – Sheet and Rill
-
Soil Erosion – Ephemeral Gully
-
Soil Erosion – Classic Gully
-
Water Quality – Excessive Nutrients and Organics in
Groundwater
-
Water Quality – Excessive Nutrients and Organics in
Surface Water
-
Water Quality – Harmful Pathogens in Surface or
Groundwater
-
Plant Condition – Productivity Health and Vigor
-
Plant Condition – Forage Quality and Palatability
-
Domestic Animals – Inadequate Quantity/Quality of
Feed/Forage
-
Domestic Animals – Inadequate Stock Water
-
Fish & Wildlife – Inadequate Cover/Shelter
-
Fish & Wildlife - T & E Species Promotion
-
Air Quality – Objectionable odors
-
Air Quality - Particulate matter (PM 10 and PM 2.5).
-
Air Quality - Excessive greenhouse gas (CO2)
-
Soil Condition – Organic Matter Depletion
These resource concerns address the following National EQIP
priorities:
-
Reduction of soil erosion and sedimentation from
unacceptable high levels on agricultural land.
-
Reduction of non-point source 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 reduction of point sources such
as contamination from confined animal feeding operations.
The goal of the locally led group was to recommend a
ranking system that rewarded and gave priority to those producers that address
the above resource concerns and priorities listed below:
-
Assist producers with open feedlots to improve manure
collection and management.
-
Improve erosion control on cropland.
-
Provide additional land treatment above existing
recreational water bodies and organized watershed projects in the county.
-
Encourage multiple resource benefits.
-
Encourage producers to try long term no-till or nutrient
management, both cost efficient and effective practices.
-
Establish examples of modern improved grazing systems to
educate and promote the use of less erosive land uses.
-
Assist producers that want the guidance of a
comprehensive nutrient management plan (CNMP) for their livestock operation.
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 selection.
The local work group also recommended a list of
conservation practices that are the most cost-effective, longest duration and
address these priority resource concerns in the district. It is the intent of
the Crawford County local work group to assist producers with resource concerns
relating to existing animal feeding operations, not new feeding operations. If
relocating open feedlots to a less environmentally sensitive or easier to treat
location, expansion to 150% of existing numbers is allowed. Applications that
score negative or minus points will not be approved.
The work group has approved a higher payment rate for
limited resource producers.
For more information on EQIP and other NRCS administrated
programs, contact the Crawford County USDA Service Center located at 3707
Timberline Drive, Suite 1, Denison Iowa 51442. Phone (712) 263-4123. Fax (712)
263-5918.
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
Nutrient Management Intensity Options - 2007 For Archival Purposes Only
EQIP
Prescribed Grazing Intensity Options - 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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