Kossuth 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 Kossuth County resource concerns to be addressed by EQIP:

1. Water Quality

   • Excessive Nutrients and Organics in Surface Water and Groundwater

   • Harmful Levels of Pesticides in Surface and Groundwater

2. Soil Erosion

   • Sheet and Rill

   • Classic Gully

   • Ephemeral Gully

3. Fish and Wildlife

   • Inadequate Cover/Shelter

4. Domestic Animals

   • Inadequate Stock Water

   • Inadequate Quantities and Quality of Feed and Forage

   • Inadequate Shelter

These resource concerns address the following National EQIP priorities:  

1. Assisting producers to voluntarily comply with regulatory requirements concerning soil, water, air, wildlife, surface and ground water conservation.

2. Assisting produces in improving soil, water, and air quality to the extent that additional regulations can be avoided.

3. Utilize 60% of the financial assistance available nationally toward livestock related conservation practices.

4. Placing additional priority to those practices that have positive impacts on multiple resource concerns on agricultural land.

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 Smith Lake, Union Slough, Burt/Goose Lake watersheds as priority areas along with the impaired stream segments of the Buffalo Creek and the East Fork of the Des Moines River from the DNR 303d list. 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.

For more information on EQIP and other NRCS administrated programs contact the Kossuth County USDA Service Center located at 605 E State St, Algona, IA  50511. Phone (515) 295-5156. Fax (515) 295-9059.

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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