EQIP Program in Jack County

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) offers cost share assistance to agricultural producers to implement on-farm conservation practices.  The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) determines eligible producers for the EQIP program and determines eligible land.  Eligible producers may apply for cost share assistance on conservation practices that will address the identified resource concern identified by the Local Work Group (LWG).

Jack County Office Information

Interested agricultural producers may apply in person at the Jack County USDA Service Center. Applicants may also request EQIP assistance by telephone, Fax, e-mail, or letter.

State Resource Concerns Priority Areas that include part of Jack County:

Objective:

The objective of the Jack County Local Work Group is to promote the use of conservation practices for improving natural resources throughout the county. Major resource concerns as determined by the Local Work Group include plant health, water quality, water quantity, and soil erosion by water.

County EQIP Resource Concern:

The Primary Resource Concerns for 2007 will be Plant Health and Water Quality. Practices used to address these concerns will include Brush Management (314),  Range Planting (550)Fencing for Grazing Management (382), Pasture Planting (512), Nutrient Management (590), Prescribed Grazing (528), Pond (378), Livestock Pipeline (516), and Water Well (642).

Applications requesting any of the above listed practices will be considered high priority.

Applications requesting any practice other than those listed above will be considered low priority.

Eligible Practices and Cost Share Rates:

Limited Resource Producers -90 percent
Beginning Farmer or Rancher - 50 percent
All other Producers - 50 percent

Practices including brush management, range and pasture planting, fencing, ponds, wells, and pipelines will be cost shared based on the established average cost of the practice. The amount of cost share earned will be the number of units certified not to exceed the number of units planned multiplied by the average cost of the practice multiplied by the cost share rate. Nutrient management and prescribed grazing will be cost shared multiplying the number of acres times the listed flat rate of the practice. All practices submitted for cost share must meet the requirements for the practice as stated in the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide.

Ranking Criteria:

Ranking Procedure - High priority applications will automatically receive full ranking and consideration for funding. Low priority applications will not be ranked in 2007. All ties will be broken using the random number in ProTracts.

Conservation Practices - Brush Management, Range Planting, Pasture Planting, Fencing, Livestock Water Development.

Brush Management – Mechanical w/ 35%+ Canopy – 100 points
Brush Management – Mechanical w/ 10-35 percent Canopy or Aerial Spraying – 90 points
Range Planting – Heavy Seedbed Preparation – 95 points
Range Planting – Light Seedbed Preparation – 90 points
Fencing or Livestock Water Development (Ponds, Wells, Pipelines) – 75 points
Ponds limited to 4000 cubic yards
Pasture Planting – 60 points

Prescribed Grazing will be offered as an optional part of rangeland planting and will be defined as resting rangeland planting acres for the second growing season after planting. An additional 5 points will be awarded in conjunction with Range Planting – Heavy if a producer chooses this optional deferment.

*Points will only be awarded for the highest ranking practice on the application unless the optional prescribed gazing/deferment is part of the application.

Management Practices

A deferred grazing period as described in the Field Office Technical Guide will be required on all acres where brush management, range planting, or pasture planting practices are applied. Range Planting will be deferred the first growing season following planting and should be deferred the second growing season if needed to insure establishment. Pasture planting will be deferred until all plants are established. All brush management will be deferred the remainder of the growing season following treatment.

Pasture planting will be cost shared for applying Bermuda grass seed and/or sprigs. Nutrient Management (590) based on a current soil analysis is recommended to aid in pasture establishment and will be available for cost share on an optional basis. Pest Management (595) will be carried out during the establishment period of pastureland as needed by use of approved chemical, biological or mechanical methods in accordance with the Pest Management standard but will not be cost shared.