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Press Release

North Carolina Fiscal Year 2025 Sign-up Dates

Publish Date
A herd of south poll cows grazing

The sign-up window for conservation programs in North Carolina is now open.

RALEIGH, N.C.,–The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) in North Carolina is now accepting applications for enrollment in the updated Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. Funding will cover our classic programs and initiatives along with funds that was established in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Applications are accepted on a continuous basis, however, USDA-NRCS establishes application "cut-off" or submission deadline dates for evaluation, ranking and approval of eligible applications. To be considered for FY25 available funding including IRA funds, applicants should have their applications into the local field office by the following dates:

EQIP and CSP November 1, 2024

ACEP:
- Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) & Wetlands Reserve Easements (WRE) December 2, 2024

The CSP helps agricultural producers maintain and improve their existing conservation systems and adopt additional conservation activities to address priority resources concerns. Participants earn CSP payments for conservation performance—the higher the performance, the higher the payment. Eligible lands include private and Tribal agricultural lands, cropland, grassland, pastureland, rangeland and nonindustrial private forest land.   CSP is available to all producers, regardless of operation size or type of crops produced, in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Caribbean and Pacific Island areas. Applicants may include individuals, legal entities, joint operations or Indian tribes that meet the stewardship threshold for at least two priority resource concerns when they apply. They must also agree to meet or exceed the stewardship threshold for at least one additional priority resource concern by the end of the contract.

The EQIP provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and air quality, conserved ground and surface water, reduced soil erosion and sedimentation or improved or created wildlife habitat. Eligible program participants receive financial and technical assistance to implement conservation practices, or activities like conservation planning, that address natural resource concerns on their land. Payments are made to participants after conservation practices and activities identified in an EQIP plan of operations are implemented. Contracts can last up to ten years in duration.

The ACEP protects the agricultural viability and related conservation values of eligible land by limiting nonagricultural uses which negatively affect agricultural uses and conservation values, protect grazing uses and related conservation values by restoring or conserving eligible grazing land, and protecting and restoring and enhancing wetlands on eligible land.

“Our landowners have shown time and time again how serious they are about conservation, and we couldn’t do our jobs without them, and we look forward to working with them in getting historic amounts of conservation efforts implemented this coming fiscal year," said Tim Beard, state conservationist for NRCS in North Carolina. 

To get started, please visit your local USDA Service Center. To find the nearest center visit USDA Service Center Locator.

 

 

 

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