NEWS

United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
9173 W. Barnes Dr., Suite C
Boise, Idaho 83709
 
For More Information:
Contact:  Jody Fagan, 208.685.6978


conservation program offers contract completion incentive

February 7, 2006, Boise, ID—Idaho agricultural producers who are offered a 2006 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) contract will also have another incentive opportunity this year.  

EQIP contract holders could receive up to an extra $4,000 for completing all their conservation structural practices by Dec. 31, 2007, and up to $2,000 for completing the practices by Dec. 31, 2008.

"The funding for EQIP has risen steadily since the 2002 Farm Bill," says Richard Sims, state conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Idaho. "However, over half of EQIP’s structural practices are not complete. This incentive will help get the 2006 practices accomplished in a shorter timeframe."

The incentive applies to 2006 EQIP contracts only with 70 percent or less cost share rates for general participants, or 85 percent or less cost share for limited resource and beginning farmers and ranchers. The contract must include at least one structural practice—practices that involve site-specific engineering, construction or installation, or planting of site-specific vegetation.

“When contract completion lags behind schedule, the dollars appropriated for conservation are not achieving their purpose,” Sims says. “This incentive will help ensure the public’s conservation dollars are going to work right away.”

Applicants for 2006 EQIP will want to follow up with their local NRCS office to determine their contract amounts and feasibility for the contract completion incentive.

The incentive payments are as follows:

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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