The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has a vision statement of a world of clean and abundant water, healthy soils, resilient landscapes, and thriving agricultural communities through voluntary conservation. The NRCS provides agricultural producers and landowners with programs funded within the Farm Bill. Through these Farm Bill programs, NRCS fulfills their moto of “helping people help their land.”
Within the Farm Bill is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which is administered by the NRCS to private landowners and producers. The EQIP provides financial cost-share payments for implementation of conservation practices to eligible producers and landowners. Applications are currently being accepted for continuous sign-up at your local USDA Service Center. Although applications are accepted continually, each state has a deadline for both ranking and funding. When your application is submitted will determine which funding period you will be entered in. If you are not sure where your local service center is located, or how you can contact them, please search for USDA NRCS Mississippi. Once you reach the NRCS Mississippi webpage click the tab “contact us,” select local service centers, and select the county in which your property or farm is located.
Any farmer, producer, or landowner is eligible for assistance through the EQIP. These producers can be row crop producers, specialty and/or organic producers, livestock producers, or landowners interested in wildlife and/or forestry. Producers interested in the EQIP must also have farm records established with the Farm Services Agency (FSA). Also, new in the 2018 Farm Bill, historically underserved producers can receive both increased and advanced payments in aid of implementing these conservation practices to their operation. Historically underserved producers include farmers and producers that are beginning, limited resource, socially disadvantaged, and/ or military veterans.
Over 200 various practices are available to producers and landowners through the EQIP to meet national resource concerns such as sedimentation and soil erosion, water quality, air quality, soil health, livestock production and efficiency, and wildlife habitat. The NRCS provides financial and technical assistance to landowners and producers with the initiative to implement these conservation practices. Staff from the NRCS will work with producers one-on-one to develop a conservation plan based on the producer’s goals, needs, and vision for their property, as well as help with the implementation of the practice selected by the landowner. The goal of these plans is to incorporate practices that will both benefit the environment and boost productivity and efficiency of agricultural and/or forestry production systems.
If you are interested in the EQIP for your property or have any questions about the EQIP, please contact your local USDA office.
