Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Eligibility

• Be an agricultural producer;
• Be in compliance with the highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions of the Farm Bill; and
• Develop an EQIP plan of operations, including:

• The participant’s specific conservation and environmental objectives to be achieved;
• One or more conservation practices in the conservation management system to be implemented to achieve the conservation and environmental objectives; and
• The schedule for implementing the conservation practices.

If an EQIP contract includes an animal waste storage or treatment facility, the participant must implement a comprehensive nutrient management plan (CNMP). If an EQIP plan of operations addresses non-industrial private forestland, the participant must implement a forest management plan.

NRCS works with the participant to develop the EQIP plan of operations. This plan becomes the basis of the EQIP contract between NRCS and the participant. NRCS provides conservation practice payments to landowners under these contracts that can be up to 10 years in duration.

The EQIP objective to optimize environmental benefits is achieved through a process that begins with National priorities that address:

1. Impaired water quality;
2. Conservation of ground and surface water resources;
3. Improvement of air quality;
4. Reduction of soil erosion and sedimentation; and
5. Improvement or creation of wildlife habitat for at-risk species.

These priorities are used by the NRCS Chief to allocate available EQIP funds to State Conservationists. The State Conservationist, with advice from the State Technical Committee, identifies the priority natural resource concerns in the State that will be used to help guide which applicants are awarded EQIP assistance. After identifying the priority natural resource concerns, the State Conservationist, with advice from the State Technical Committee, decides how funds will be allocated, what practices will be offered, what the payment rates will be, the ranking process used to prioritize contracts, and which of these authorities will be delegated to the local level. The local designated conservationist, with the advice of local work groups, adapts the State program to local conditions. As a result, EQIP can be different between States and even between counties.