United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Iowa Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content





Page 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 Page County resource concerns to be addressed by EQIP:

Soil Erosion

  • Streambank
  • Sheet and Rill
  • Ephemeral Gully
  • Classic Gully

Water Quality

  • Harmful levels of pathogens in surface water
  • Excessive nutrients and organics in surface water
  • Excessive sediment and turbidity in surface water

Soil Condition

  • Organic matter depletion

Plant Condition

  • Noxious and invasive plants
  • Forage quality and palatability
  • Productivity Health and Vigor

Domestic Animal

  • Inadequate stock water
  • Inadequate quantities and quality of feed and forage

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 Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), 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 agricultural lands.
  3. The following watersheds have been identified locally as high priority watersheds due to excessive nutrients and organics in surface water and excessive sediment and turbidity in surface water:
  • West Tarkio Creek Watershed
  • Pierce Creek Pond Watershed

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.

In Page County, the county allocation will be divided into three separate accounts.  These will be maintained for the following resource concerns:

  • Soil erosion/Summer Construction 2010
  • Water quality
  • 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 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 Page County USDA Service Center located at 1003 South 8th Street, Clarinda, IA  51632. Phone (712) 542-5484. Fax (712) 542-3612.

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

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

< Back to Iowa EQIP