New Jersey Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

EQIP delivers environmental benefits such as improved water and air quality, conserved ground and surface water, increased soil health and reduced soil erosion and sedimentation, improved or created wildlife habitat, and mitigation against drought and increasing weather volatility.

How It Works

This voluntary conservation programs helps producers make conservation work for them.  Together, NRCS and producers invest in solutions that conserve natural resources for the future while also improving agricultural operations.

Through EQIP, NRCS provides agricultural producers and non-industrial forest managers with financial resources and one-on-one help to plan and implement improvements, or what NRCS calls conservation practices.  Using these practices can lead to cleaner water and air, healthier soil and better wildlife habitat, all while improving agricultural operations.  Through EQIP, you can voluntarily implement conservation practices, and NRCS co-invests in these practices with you.

Benefits

Some of these benefits include:

• Reduction of contamination from agricultural sources, such as animal feeding operations.
• Efficient utilization of nutrients, reducing input costs and reduction in nonpoint source pollution.
• Increased soil health to help mitigate against increasing weather volatility and improved drought resiliency.

New Jersey NRCS FY 24 EQIP Funding Opportunities

New Jersey will be using the ACT NOW process in FY 2024 for AMA, EQIP and EQIP IRA to immediately approve and obligate a ranked application in a designated ranking pool when the eligible application meets or exceeds a State determined minimum ranking score without waiting until the NRCS field office ranks all applications in that ranking pool. When using ACT NOW, the State must post the threshold ranking score for any ACT NOW ranking pool to the website. Upon receipt of the application, the application must be date stamped to ensure the policy is met in funding applications in the order they are received in that ranking pool. Applications will be funded in the order of receipt with available funds.

EQIP Initiatives

Targeted EQIP financial assistance is available through several programmatic and landscape conservation initiatives.

Aquaculture Initiative

The Aquaculture Initiative offers technical and financial assistance to New Jersey aquaculture producers to address excessive bank erosion from streams, shorelines, or water conveyance channels, excess nutrients in surface and groundwater, degraded plant conditions, fish and wildlife habitat degradation, and inefficient energy use from equipment.

Beginning Farmer

The primary focus of this funding pool is to assist beginning farmers with addressing resource concerns on their operations. 

Conservation Activity Plans

EQIP financial assistance is available for the development of Conservation Activity Plans (CAP). A CAP can be developed for producers to identify conservation practices needed to address a specific natural resource need. Typically, these plans are specific to certain kinds of land use such as transitioning to organic operations, grazing land, forest land, or can also address a specific resource such as nutrient management. All Conservation Activity Plans are developed by a certified Technical Service Provider (TSP) to help agricultural producers and forest owners address specific natural resource concerns on their land.

Conservation Incentive Contracts

Conservation Incentive Contracts focus on Climate-Smart Forestry and Agriculture and Drought Resilience management practices. EQIP-CIC provides financial assistance to adopt conservation activities on working landscapes. Through five to 10-year contracts, producers manage, maintain and address important natural resource concerns and build on existing conservation efforts.

High Tunnel Initiative

This Initiative helps with cost of installing a high tunnel in order to extend the growing season and improve plant condition for high value crops. High tunnels protect plants from severe weather and allow farmers to extend their growing seasons – growing earlier into the spring, later into the fall, and sometimes, year-round. And because high tunnels prevent direct rainfall from reaching plants, farmers can use precise tools like drip irrigation to efficiently deliver water and nutrients to plants. High tunnels also offer farmers a greater ability to control pests and can even protect plants from pollen and pesticide drift.

On Farm Energy Initiative

NRCS and producers develop Agricultural Energy Management Plans (AgEMP) or farm energy audits that assess energy consumption on an operation. NRCS then uses audit data to develop energy conservation recommendations.

Organic Initiative

The organic initiative provides financial assistance to help implement conservation practices for organic producers or those transitioning to organic.

Socially Disadvantaged Producers

The primary focus of this funding pool is to assist socially disadvantaged producers with addressing resource concerns on their operations. 

Working Lands for Wildlife

The Working Lands for Wildlife Initiative (WLFW) focuses on combating the decline of wildlife species whose decline can be reversed. Each state targets habitat improvements for selected species to help reverse the species decline and benefit other species with similar habitat needs as well. New Jersey NRCS works in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies and organizations to select target species for WLFW. 

Local Priorities set by Local Work Groups

Funding is allocated to fund conservation activities that address resource priorities set by North, Central and South Jersey Work Groups. Applications for this fund pool are ranked according to resource priorities that have been identified by the respective local work group. Typically, these resources relate to management of Cropland, Forest Land, Livestock, and Wildlife Habitat.

National Water Quality Initiative

NRCS will help producers implement conservation and management practices through a systems approach to control and trap nutrient and manure runoff. Qualified producers will receive assistance for installing conservation practices such as cover crops, filter strips and terraces in the Upper Cohansey River and Upper Salem River Watersheds to address documented phosphorus, bacteria, and sediment impairments which may be caused by soil erosion, exposed soil, and lack of riparian buffers and filter strips.