Iowa farmers interested in reducing soil erosion, improving soil health and water quality, creating or protecting wildlife habitat, and treating other resource concerns on their land have until Oct. 19 to be considered for priority funding through USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program for fiscal year 2019.

Through EQIP, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service provides conservation planning and financial assistance for practices such as no-till, cover crops, nutrient management, terraces, grassed waterways, manure management facilities and pasture management.

Selection depends on funding
EQIP, one of USDA’s most popular conservation programs, is offered through a continuous sign-up, but NRCS periodically makes application selections as funding allows. In fiscal year 2018, NRCS provided a record $31 million in EQIP financial assistance to Iowa farmers.

Paul Goldsmith, EQIP coordinator for Iowa NRCS, says his agency also provides EQIP assistance for non-traditional conservation practices through statewide initiatives, including habitat for pollinators such as bees and monarch butterflies, high tunnels, on-farm energy and organics.

Iowa NRCS also sets aside 10% of the Iowa EQIP financial assistance program for the historically underserved, which includes beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, limited resource producers, tribal farmers and veterans.

Be sure you apply by deadline
Goldsmith says conservation plans through NRCS must be developed for the area included in an EQIP contract. “It’s important for farmers to get their applications completed early to speed up the process of getting these practices in place on the land and to apply conservation more strategically,” he says.

If a farmer applied for EQIP funds last year, but was not selected, Goldsmith recommends those applicants contact their local NRCS office if they wish to continue with the application. The Oct. 19 application cutoff deadline includes EQIP funding through Iowa’s Regional Conservation Partnership Projects.

Visit your local NRCS office today for more information about conservation planning and financial assistance to implement more conservation on your farm; or go to ia.nrcs.usda.gov.

Source: NRCS