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FY 2022 Application Deadline
EQIP applications are accepted at any time of the year. Applications received by the application deadline are evaluated for funding if the applicants have completed the eligibility requirements.
The first application deadline for FY 2022 funding consideration is January 7, 2022.
NRCS-CPA-1200 (PDF; 512 KB)
This application deadline applies to the following National Initiatives:
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StrikeForce, Working Lands For Wildlife Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative, NM Wildlife Initiative, Water Management Entities, Source Water, Conservation Activity Plans, Beginning Farmer Rancher, Socially Disadvantaged Farmer Rancher, High Tunnel Initiative, Organic Initiative, On-Farm Energy Initiative, National Water Quality Initiative, Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration, WaterSMART Initiative, Drought, NM Forested
The EQIP Fund Account table below shows the application and ranking deadlines for the fund accounts offered in New Mexico.
Program Overview
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary program authorized under the Agricultural Improvement ACT of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) that helps producers install measures to protect soil, water, plant, wildlife, and other natural resources while ensuring sustainable production on their farms, ranches and working forest lands. In addition, a purpose of EQIP is to help producers meet Federal, State, Tribal and local environmental regulations. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers EQIP funding and provides participants with professional conservation expertise.
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. Each EQIP contract with a person or legal entity will be limited to $450,000 over the term of the contract. A person or legal entity may not receive, directly or indirectly, payments that, in the aggregate, exceed $450,000 for all 2018 Farm Bill contracts entered into during fiscal years 2019. Payments received for technical assistance are excluded from this limitation.
The State Conservationist, with advice from the State Technical Committee and local working groups, allocates funds to various EQIP fund accounts and develops a ranking process to addresses National, State and Local priority natural resource concerns in a cost-effective manner.
State Priorities
The New Mexico State Conservationist establishes state priority natural resource concerns using recommendations of the State Technical Committee and tribal Conservation advisory councils. Local Working Groups establish local priorities.
The State Priorities (PDF; 210 KB)
Financial Assistance
Those who submit an application and are accepted into EQIP may receive payments to offset costs associated with materials and installation of conservation practices. Practices funded through EQIP may include such measures as: manure management practices, pest management treatments, irrigation systems improvements, forest stewardship plans and management practices, erosion control and buffers, range and pasture planting, brush management, fencing, watering facilities, and a wide range of other practices.
The New Mexico list of conservation practices shows approved practices and the lifespan of each practice.
The amount of financial assistance for a conservation practice is determined by practice scenarios that identify the costs of the typical installation settings. The costs used in the scenarios are regional averages and are not intended to be used as an estimate of the actual cost to install a practice. Historically underserved participants receive 90 percent of the total cost of a scenario and all other participants receive 75 percent. These percentages are captured in the payment schedule, which in the past was referred to as a cost list.
The 2022 Payment Schedule and Payment Scenarios are found in the New Mexico Field Office Technical Guide, Section 1, Cost Data, 2022 found here: LINK WILL BE COMING SOON
NRCS will select the conservation practice scenario that bests addresses the resource concern at the least-cost to the government. The least-cost scenario selected in an EQIP contract does not limit the choice of treatment options of the participant. However, the treatment option implemented must meet NRCS standards and specifications, address the identified resource concern, and be approved by an individual with NRCS job approval authority.
The practices funded by EQIP varies by EQIP fund account.
Application Evaluation and Selection
EQIP applications are evaluated and ranked for available funding based on local, state and national program priorities. Screening tools may also be used to manage workload and identify projects that will provide the most environmental benefits. All NRCS programs will utilize CART for assessing and ranking all applications received during the announced sign-up or batching periods to determine funding. The Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool (CART) is the agency’s official application used to assist conservation planners to assess site vulnerability, existing field conditions, and potential resource concerns on a unit of land. 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 an EQIP Conservation Plan/Schedule of Operations. The information collected is used to assess and rank the application which results in a numerical score. Applicants compete for available EQIP funds within a specific fund account, such as irrigated crop or grazed range or forested land, etc. Applications are selected for funding in the order of screening priority and highest ranking score. Applications may be ranked throughout the year as long as funds are available.
Screening and ranking criteria are developed separately for each EQIP fund account.
Applicants can request to be considered in all applicable fund accounts or can specify that their application be considered in just certain fund accounts.
EQIP Fund Accounts for FY 2022
The table below shows selected fund accounts and ranking deadlines. This may change and will be updated at least 30 days before new deadlines are set.
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EQIP Sign-up Options
Click on each sign-up option below for more information, including eligible practices, ranking criteria and practice caps.
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Application
Deadline
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Ranking
Deadline
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Local EQIP (EQIP Classic)
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Funds are allocated to address resource concerns at the level of the Local Field Offices.
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Jan 8, 2022
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Apr 2,
2022
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| CAPS |
Technical service providers (TSP) or other third-party service providers (Providers) for NRCS can carry out planning, design, implementation, and monitoring tasks for NRCS conservation program purposes (previously known as Conservation Activity Plans (CAPs)). NRCS has reorganized and renamed CAPs into three new categories—Conservation Planning Activities (CPAs), Design and Implementation Activities (DIAs), and Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activities (CEMAs). NRCS broke these activities out to clarify which phase of the NRCS conservation planning process the TSP/Provider will be supporting.
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Jan 8, 2022 |
Apr 2,
2022 |
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EQIP Incentive
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The 2018 Farm Bill introduced EQIP incentive contracts to expand resource benefits for producers for the implementation, adoption, management, and maintenance of incentive practices that effectively address at least one eligible priority resource concern within a State-identified high priority area.
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Mar 4, 2022
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May 6, 2022
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Joint Chief’s Landscape Restoration
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Under the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership (LRP), NRCS and the Forest Service are working together to target conservation and restoration to measurably improve the health and resiliency of forest ecosystems where public and private lands meet to provide for long-term natural resources and production benefits
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Jan 8, 2022
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Apr 2,
2022
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Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative - Working Lands for Wildlife
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Producers engaged in grazing operations with leks, or the potential for leks, are encouraged to apply for EQIP financial assistance. This initiative is intended to assist with ongoing recovery efforts for this species of concern. The initiative is available to producers in Chaves, Curry, De Baca, Eddy, Lea, Roosevelt and Quay counties.
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Jan 8, 2022
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Apr 2,
2022
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| NM High Tunnel Initiative |
A High Tunnel System, commonly called a “hoop house,” is an increasingly popular conservation practice for farmers, and is available with financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
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Jan 8, 2022 |
Apr 2,
2022 |
| National Water Quality Incentive Program (NWQI) |
The purpose of NWQI is to work with producers and landowners to implement voluntary conservation practices that improve water quality in high-priority watersheds while maintaining agricultural productivity. NWQI is designed to help individual agricultural producers take actions to reduce the runoff of sediment, nutrients, and pathogens into waterways where water quality is a critical concern. The goal is to implement conservation practices in focused watersheds so that agriculture no longer contributes to the impairment of water bodies within these priority watersheds.
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Jan 8, 2022 |
Apr 2,
2022 |
| New Mexico Socially Disadvantaged |
New Mexico sets aside a portion of EQIP funding for Socially Disadvantaged producers. |
Jan 8, 2022 |
Apr 2,
2022 |
| New Mexico Wildlife Initiative |
NM Wildlife Initiative Ranking
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Jan 8, 2022 |
Apr 2,
2022 |
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Organic Initiative
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The National Organic Initiative, funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), is a voluntary conservation program that provides technical and financial assistance for organic farmers and ranchers, or those interested in transitioning to organic. NRCS can help organic producers improve their operations or help producers transition to organic using a conservation plan tailored to their needs.
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Jan 8, 2022
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Apr 2,
2022
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Strike Force Initiative
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A multi agency program to better serve persistently impoverished communities and socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers through the coordination of activities among USDA agencies and the use of community-based organizations’ local expertise.
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Jan 8, 2022
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Apr 2,
2022
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| WaterSMART |
EQIP assistance complements WaterSMART investments by targeting assistance in areas where WaterSMART sponsors indicated that water delivery system improvements might facilitate future on-farm improvements. NRCS will work with producers in select WaterSMART project areas to offer financial and technical assistance for practices that increase on-farm efficiencies, such as improving irrigation systems and constructing structures. |
Jan 8, 2022 |
Apr 2,
2022 |
*CCPI and AWEP were not re-authorized under the Agricultural Act of 2014.
Links
Previous New Mexico EQIP Web Pages
Contacts
Please direct all questions about applying for EQIP to your local office. Click here for the location of the office nearest you USDA Service Center.
Kenneth J. Branch
Assistant State Conservationist for Programs
(505) 761-4454 voice
(855) 538-6003 fax
E-mail: kenneth.branch@usda.gov
