Environmental Quality Incentives Program

From weather to pests, each American farmer faces a unique set of challenges. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural and forestry 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, and improved or created wildlife habitat.

Benefits

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 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.

Program at a Glance

To get started, NRCS first works one-on-one with you to develop a conservation plan that meets your goals and vision for the land. This becomes a roadmap for which conservation practices best meet your needs. 

Financial assistance covers part of the costs from implementing conservation practices. These practices are geared towards working farms, ranches and forests and provide producers with many options for conservation. 

Learn more about How EQIP Works.

How to Apply

Have a resource concern you are ready to address or a management system you want to try? We are ready to help. 

The local NRCS conservation planner will have a one-on-one consultation with you to evaluate the current condition of the natural resource conditions or concerns on your land.  An NRCS conservation planner will present you with a variety of conservation practices or systems to address your concerns or management goals while improving and protecting the natural resource condition of your land.  Together you and the NRCS conservation planner will develop a Conservation Plan - a tool designed to help you better manage the nature resources on your farm. 

A conservation plan includes an aerial photo of your fields, a list of your management decisions, the location and schedule for applying new conservation practices, a soil map (where available), implementation sheets explaining how to carry out your specific management decisions, and a plan for operation and maintenance of practices.

Applications must at a minimum must address one resource concern and are accepted throughout the year. Specific deadlines are set for ranking and funding opportunities within each state.

Applications will be accepted for all eligible lands and persons.  Eligible land includes:

• Cropland and Hayland
• Rangeland
• Pastureland
• Non-industrial private forestland
• Other farm or ranch lands
• Environmentally sensitive areas

Eligible person(s) include:

•    Agricultural producers
•    Owners of non-industrial private forestland
•    Indian Tribes
•    Those with an interest in the agricultural or forestry operations

Additionally, farm records must be established or updated with the Farm Service Agency for both the person(s) and the land for your application to be eligible and evaluated. Farm records for the person must indicate the applicant:

• Controls or owns eligible land;
• Meets adjusted gross income (AGI) and payment limitation provisions;
• Is in compliance with highly erodible land and wetland conservation requirements
• If you are an Historically Underserved Farmer or Rancher, you may be eligible for the advance payment option.

Application Evaluation

Alaska utilizes a screening tool to manage workload and identify projects that will provide the most environmental benefits.  Applications screened low will not be ranked.  The local Field Office collects information about the applicants’ agricultural operations through existing information, on-site visits, and/or personal communications and works with the applicant to develop a Conservation Plan. The information collected is used to rank all eligible applications which results in a numerical score.  Applications for conservation practices and systems that will result in greater environmental benefits for national, state, and/or local natural resource priorities will receive a higher score and higher priority to receive an offer for a financial assistance contract. Learn more about the evaluation process.

EQIP Contract

If your application is funded, NRCS will offer you an EQIP contract to receive financial assistance for the cost of implementing practices.  An EQIP contract is a legally binding agreement and the participants’ responsibilities are considerable. The best place to learn about these responsibilities is to thoroughly review the NRCS-CPS-1200 (Application) with Appendix (PDF) which set forth the terms and conditions of the contract.

Practices & Payment Rates

FY21 Fund Pools, Ranking Questions, and Conservation Practices

Alaska EQIP Requirements and how EQIP is used with specific practices.  

Payment rates for conservation practices are reviewed and set each fiscal year. 

Socially Disadvantaged, Beginning, and Limited Resource Farmers/Ranchers, Military Veteran Farmers

The 2018 Farm Bill continues to address unique circumstances and concerns of Historically Underserved producers: socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, as well as beginning and limited resource farmers and ranchers and Veteran Farmers. It provides for voluntary participation, offers incentives, and focuses on equity in accessing USDA programs and services.

Alaska strives to insure that historically underserved producers are well informed about EQIP and have every opportunity to participate. Do you qualify as a Historically Underserved Producer?

Historically underserved clients may receive a higher payment rate or may be eligible for the advance payment option. Limited resource or beginning farmer or rancher participants may be required to provide certain tax documents to verify eligibility. 

Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Application Deadline - Friday, November 20th 2020

NRCS accepts EQIP applications year-round, but establishes cutoff dates for applications to be evaluated and ranked for current year funding. 

To be ready for EQIP funding consideration, interested applications will need to:  (1) Develop a conservation plan, (2) Submit an application, (3) Meet program eligibility requirements, and (4) Approve their EQIP schedule of operations

The time needed to complete a conservation plan and program eligibility can vary.

Funding Priorities

Alaska NRCS with the guidance of the State Technical Committee has established the following funding priorities for FY2021:

National and State Priorities

National Priorities

The following national priorities, consistent with statutory resources concerns that include soil, water, wildlife, air quality, and related natural resource concerns, may be used in EQIP implementation:

1. Reductions of nonpoint source pollution, such as nutrients, sediment, pesticides, or excess salinity in impaired watersheds consistent with total maximum daily loads (TMDL) where available; the reduction of surface and groundwater contamination; and the reduction of contamination from agricultural sources, such as animal feeding operations
2. Conservation of ground and surface water resources
3. Reduction of emissions, such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and ozone precursors and depleters that contribute to air quality impairment violations of National Ambient Air Quality Standards
4. Reduction in soil erosion and sedimentation from unacceptable levels on agricultural land
5. Promotion of at-risk species habitat conservation including development and improvement of wildlife habitat
6. Energy conservation to help save fuel, improve efficiency of water use, maintain production, and protect soil and water resources by more efficiently using fertilizers and pesticides and
7. Biological carbon storage and sequestration

State Priorities

1. Increasing fresh water fish habitat and populations.
2. Protection and enhancement of traditionally and culturally used resources
3. Forestland health and wildfire hazard reduction
4. Soil health

More Information

If you want to learn more about EQIP, you can contact your local NRCS office. Your NRCS conservationist will visit you and evaluate the natural resources on your land. NRCS will then present a variety of conservation practices or system alternatives to help you address those concerns or management goals to improve or protect the natural resource conditions on your land.

Once you have chosen the right conservation practices for your land, you may be offered an EQIP contract to receive financial assistance for the cost of implementing certain practices.  Payment rates for conservation practices are reviewed and set each fiscal year. 

State EQIP Contact: Amanda Crowe, Phone: 907-761-7757, E-mail: Amanda.Crowe@usda.gov

NRCS is an equal eligibility provider.  EQIP is open to all eligible agricultural and substance producers without discrimination or bias.

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