Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
Nevada FY 2006

Draft and subject to changes

EQIP Overview

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary USDA program, managed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).  The objective of EQIP is to promote agricultural production and environmental quality as compatible goals.  EQIP offers financial and technical assistance to eligible private landowners, tribes and groups to install structural, vegetative and management practices on eligible agricultural land.

EQIP is now a NRCS program.  Applicants must be made with local NRCS field offices.  

Eligibility

Program participants and land must meet all program eligibility requirements.  Eligibility includes but is not limited to:

• Applicant must be actively engaged in livestock or crop production. Production has been defined by a minimum income or production level and is further defined by supplemental Nevada definitions. 

• Adjusted Gross Income limit may apply.

• Eligible land includes: cropland, range land; pasture; private non-industrial forestland; and other farm or ranch lands, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.

• Natural resource concerns must be present and eligible practices must solve resource concerns.

• Irrigated practices may be cost shared based upon irrigation history and self certification of that history.

• Individuals who lease or rent land must have concurrence of the landowner to install structural practices at time of contract application.  Applicant must have control of the land for length of the contract period.

• Group projects are encouraged.  All applicants receiving a program cost share must meet all program eligibility requirements

 How EQIP Works

• Contracts must include conservation practices and systems that meet NRCS standards and specifications, conservation plan and state program requirements.

• Contracts are awarded based upon an approved state screening and ranking processes and  sub-account fund availability.  Funds will be swept after initial contract approval and will be reallocated based upon priorities established by the State Conservationist.  If funds are not available to meet all application needs, applications are deferred for future program consideration.

• Contracts range in length from 2 to 10 years. An individual may have more than one contract on the same tract of land, however, the practices must be different. Those individuals with multiple contracts that are behind practice implementation will only be screened to a low priority for future contracts until their contracts are current. 

• Contract payment limits are $450,000 per person or entity during the term of the Farm Bill.  Caps may be established by local work groups to limit contract amounts.

• Eligible practices and maximum cost share rates and incentive payments will be set at the state level.   All local work group and funding area proposals are reviewed and approved by the State Conservationist or designed to ensure that they meet both national and state policy and program guidelines.

• Local work groups may elect to reduce rates and disapprove practices for contracting.  In some circumstances, local work groups can increase their unit costs by demonstrating local circumstances require increased costs. 
• Self owned equipment and self labor rates are established on a statewide basis using input from the local work groups.
• Limited resource farmers (LRF) and beginning farmers (BF)  may be eligible for higher cost share rates.  Those individuals who self certify themselves as LRF/BF  will be spot checked by the state to ensure that they qualify this provision of the program.
• Incentive payments have been made available to encourage adaptation of land management practices such as nutrient and pest management, manure management, and wildlife habitat management.
• Failure to implement an approved EQIP contract can result in non-compliance of program requirements and the participant may be subject to recovery of costs associated with the contract.

Statewide and County Signups

THE CUT-OFF DATE FOR THE FIRST APPLICATION PERIOD IS January 13, 2006.

Program signups for all statewide and county programs are taken continuously at NRCS and Farm Services Agency field offices and service centers.  All contract obligations are required to be completed no later than June 1, 2006.

The following locations are also included in Nevada 's EQIP program:

• Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation (serviced from the Winnemucca Service Center)
• Duck Valley Indian Reservation (serviced from the Elko Service Center)

The following locations are provided EQIP program support following California program rules, policy and schedules.

• Northern part of Mono County and Alpine Counties are provided technical service from the Minden Service Center.

 Funding Allocations, Ranking Criteria, Eligible Practices & Cost Share Rates

Limited Resources Person and Beginning Farmer

Cost share rate of for qualified persons have not yet been determined.   Persons must self certify that the meet all limited resource person or beginning farmer definitions at time of program contract application.  All certifications are subject to NRCS required spot checks of 5% or more by state policy prior to contract approval.    This will ensure that persons receiving increased cost share benefits are entitled to such benefits.    

Statewide Program Information

Funding pools are set aside to address special emphasis projects around the state. Applications for these special emphasis project areas may either be funded or ranked statewide or funded and ranked at the local level.   

• Animal Feeding and Confined Feeding Operations. The intent of this emphasis area is to encourage operators to make necessary improvements to improve water and air quality concerns, meet animal needs and to voluntarily comply with federal and state permitting requirements. Major emphasis is placed on those practices that address animal waste, storage and utilization. Individuals interested in this program may also enroll other concerns in the regular EQIP program at the same time.

• Ground and Surface Water Conservation. The intent of this emphasis area is to fund only irrigation water management related projects where irrigation efficiencies can be improved to an identified threshold level. Individuals interested in this program may also enroll other concerns in the regular EQIP program at the same time.   Participation in this funding pool requires the use or installation of a water metering devise and development of an irrigation water management plan, which includes the collection of water usage data.

• Nevada Indian Reservation Pool.   Applications received for projects on various Indian reservations around the state are ranked within the local work group area.   Funds are they distributed to the various applications based upon original screening priority and ranking score.  

• Nevada Pest Management (Noxious, invasive and weeds of local concern) Pool.

State/County/Multi-County/Tribal Signups Local Work Groups

Based upon input from locally led conservation activities, local work groups, the State Technical Committee and its EQIP work group, the following state, county, multi-county and/or watershed groups, and tribal programs will be utilized for local signups and fund allocations.

Statewide screening and ranking criteria templates and a Nevada Approved Conservation Practice List and cost share rates have been approved for use by all local work groups for all programs.   These statewide lists will be used for statewide programs and by the local work groups.  Local work groups may select practices from the state approved practice list that will be offered within the county, multi-county or tribal program and may lower the cost-share percentage if less than the percentage approved at the state level, without State Conservationist approval.  Unit costs for practices may be increased by a local work group, with State Conservationist approval.

Approved Work Groups or statewide Programs and Materials

• Statewide Program Materials
  • Carson River watershed Group (includes  Douglas , Carson City , and the portion of Carson River located in Lyon County)
  • Churchill County
  • Elko/Eureka Counties (does not include Duck Valley Indian Reservation)
  • Pershing County
  • Walker River Watershed Group (includes Lyon County , the portion of Mineral County not in Walker River Indian Reservation)
  • Vya Conservation District (Northern Washoe County)
  • Washoe/Storey Conservation District ( Southern Washoe county, Storey County , and Fernley area of Lyon county and does not include Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation)
• South Central Area (includes White Pine, Lincoln , Clark , Esmeralda, and Nye Counties).
•  Humboldt (does not include Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation)
• Statewide Ground & Surface Water Conservation
• Statewide AFO/CAFO and water quality
• Statewide Pest Management
• Statewide Tribal Funding Pool
  • Duck Valley Indian Reservation
  • Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation
  • Walker River Indian Reservation
  • Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation

Statewide Program Materials and Ranking Worksheets

The following materials must be used by all NRCS field offices to carry out program determinations, screening, ranking and contract development, unless replaced by state approved local material.   Local material approved for use will appear under the local area heading.

Statewide AFO/CAFO and Water Quality

Statewide Ground and Surface Water

Statewide Pest Management

Carson River Watershed Group (includes Alpine county, CA; Douglas , Carson City , and the portion of Carson River in Lyon County )

Churchill County

Elko/Eureka Counties (does not include Duck Valley Indian Reservation)

Humboldt (does not include Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation)

Pershing County

South Central Area (includes White Pine, Lincoln , Clark , Esmeralda, and Nye Counties )

Vya Conservation District ( Northern Washoe County)

Walker River Watershed Group (includes Mono County , CA ; Lyon County , the portion of Mineral County not in Walker River Indian Reservation)

Washoe/Storey Conservation District ( Southern Washoe County, Storey County, and Fernley area of Lyon County that does not include Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation)

Lander County

Duck Valley Indian Reservation

Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation

Walker Lake Indian Reservation

EQIP Application Forms 

Forms are available at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/index.html

State Contacts:

Peggy Hughes
Assistant State Conservationist, Programs
Phone (775) 857-8500, ext 103
E-mail: peggy.hughes@nv.usda.gov

Rodney Dahl
Resource Conservationist, Programs
Phone (775) 857-8500, ext. 146
E-mail:  mailto:rod.dahl@nv.usda.gov

Last Modified: 05/29/2008