Delaware 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 Delaware County resource concerns to be addressed by EQIP:

1. Soil Erosion – classic gully, ephemeral gully, sheet and rill
2. Water Quality – Excess Nutrients and Organics in Groundwater and Surface Water, Excessive Suspended Sediment and Turbidity in Surface Water.
3. Animal Domestic – inadequate stock water, inadequate quantities and quality of feed and forage.
4. Fish and Wildlife – inadequate cover/shelter.        
5. Air Quality – Objectionable Odors, Particulate Matter (PM 2.5, PM 10).
6. Plant Condition – Productivity, Health, & Vigor, Forage Quality and    Palatability.
7. Soil Condition – Organic Matter Depletion

These resource concerns address the following National EQIP priorities:

1. Reduction of non-point source 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 reduction of point sources such as contamination from confined animal feeding operations;
2. The conservation of ground and surface water resources.    
3. Reduction in soil erosion and sedimentation from unacceptable high levels onagricultura11and.         
4. Promotion of at-risk species habitat conservation.   

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 to treat soil erosion, surface water quality, management of pastureland and at-risk species of plants, and animal management – including nutrition and health of domestic livestock and wildlife management to protect at-risk wildlife species.

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. Applications having only streambank stabilization practices will compete for a separate pool of funds which will be 30 percent of the initial allocation to Delaware County.

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. The work group has identified priority watersheds of: cold water trout streams, Sand Creek, Bear Creek, and water bodies identified as impaired on the state 303d list. The resource concerns listed above will be addressed in these watersheds.

For more information on EQIP and other NRCS administrated programs contact the Delaware County NRCS, USDA Service Center located at 200 South 12th Street, Manchester, IA  52057, Phone (563) 927-4590, and Fax (563) 927-4535.

The following files require Acrobat Reader.

EQIP Practice List - 2009
EQIP Application Ranking - 2009
EQIP Nutrient Management Intensity Options - 2009   

EQIP Practice List - 2008    For Archival Purposes Only
EQIP Application Ranking - 2008    For Archival Purposes Only
EQIP 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
EQIP Nutrient Management Intensity Options - 2007    For Archival Purposes Only

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