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Ida County EQIPThe 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 Ida County resource concerns to be addressed by EQIP:
These resource concerns address the following National EQIP priorities:
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 as listed on the Ranking Worksheet. 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. Funded applications will result in a contract that lists the practices to be applied along with an application schedule and the funds obligated for each practice. Practice design and implementation are subject to NRCS technical standards. Producers may elect to use a Technical Service Provider, if available, for assistance. All conservation practices have a design life which may be longer than the EQIP contract period. The applicant will be responsible for maintenance and operation for the service life of each practice. Farmers qualifying as Limited Resource Farmers receive a higher payment rate for vegetative and structural practices. Funds may be leveraged with other available cost share programs. For more information on EQIP and other NRCS administrated programs, contact the Ida County USDA Service Center located at 5973 State Highway 175, P.O. Box 237, Ida Grove, Iowa 51445. Phone (712) 364-2124. Fax (712) 364-4173. The following files require
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