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EQIP Program in Lynn 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).

Lynn County Office Information

Interested agricultural producers may apply in person at the Lynn 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 Lynn County:

Specific State Concern State Resource Concern
AFO-CAFO -Poultry  Water Quality/Air Quality
AFO-CAFO -Swine  Water Quality/Air Quality
AFO-CAFO-Beef   Water Quality/Air Quality
AFO-CAFO -Dairy Water Quality/Air Quality
Salt Cedar Invasive Species
Panhandle Lesser Prairie chicken/Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Wildlife
Limited Resource Farmer or Rancher All

Objective:

The objective of the Lynn County EQIP Local Work Group is to improve the natural resources and the environment throughout the county, with major emphasis on improving water quantity and water quality and reducing erosion by water, through the use of practices that accomplish the following: improve irrigation efficiencies; reduce the presence of invasive plant species that impact both water quantity and impact water quality; and reduce the effects of water erosion.

County EQIP Resource Concern:

The Lynn County Local Work Group has identified Water Quantity, Water Erosion, and Water Quality as the three major concerns for 2007.

Eligible Practices and Cost Share Rates:

Cost Share Rates for GSWC and BASE

Limited Resource Farmers and Ranchers - 90 percent
Beginning Farmers and Ranchers - 50 percent
Others - 50 percent

Cost Shared Practices

Practices will be cost shared based on the established costs in the 2007 Lynn County EQIP Cost Share List. The amount of cost share earned will be the number of units certified after completion, multiplied by the average cost, multiplied by the cost share percentage.

Cost sharing will be allowed for the following practices as identified in the Field Office Technical Guide.

Ground and Surface Water Conservation. For cost share consideration, these practices must be needed to significantly impact Water Quantity according to NRCS specifications and guidelines.
 

  • Irrigation Pipeline. Conservation Practices Code 430. Replacement of leaky gated aluminum delivery line, earthen ditches, leaky underground pipeline, or leaky aluminum delivery line with buried PVC irrigation pipeline = High Priority

  • Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of surface irrigation to micro or drip irrigation on 30, 40, 60, 80, or 120 inch spacing, 30 acres or less = Medium Priority

  • Center Pivot Sprinkler Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 442. Conversion of surface irrigation to new LEPA, LESA, or LPIC pivot sprinkler system or LEPA, LESA, or LPIC Mini Sprinklers = Medium Priority

  • Center Pivot Sprinkler Upgrades. Conservation Practice Code 442. Upgrade existing center pivots with more efficient nozzle packages = Medium Priority

  • Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of surface irrigation to micro or drip irrigation on 30, 40, 60, 80, or 120 inch spacing, 31 acres or more = Low Priority

  • Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of existing side roll or water drive to Micro or drip irrigation = Low Priority
     
  • Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of solid set, hand move, or big gun sprinkler to Micro or drip irrigation = Low Priority

  • Center Pivot Sprinkler Irrigation 1/. Conservation Practice Code 442. Conversion of existing side roll or water drive to new LEPA, LESA, or LPIC pivot sprinkler system or LEPA, LESA, or LPIC Mini Sprinklers = Low Priority

  • Center Pivot Sprinkler Irrigation 1/. Conservation Practice Code 442. Conversion of existing solid set, hand move, or big gun sprinkler system to new LEPA, LESA, or LPIC pivot sprinkler system or LEPA, LESA, or LPIC Mini Sprinklers = Low Priority
     
  • Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of 20 year old or older center pivot sprinkler to micro or drip irrigation
    • on 30, 40, 60, 80, or 120 inch spacing = Low Priority

  • All Other Irrigation Practices in the Field Office Technical Guide = Low Priority

  • Applicants History - Producers who previously had an approved contract and requested that the contract be cancelled without applying any practices or the contract was terminated for cause will be ranked as Low Priority
    1/ Low Energy Precision Application = LEPA
    1/ Low Elevation Spray Application = LESA
    1/ Low Pressure In Canopy Application = LPIC


    • Base Conservation. For cost share consideration, the practices must be needed to significantly impact Water Quantity, Water Quality,or Water Erosion Reduction according to NRCS specifications and guidelines.

  • Terraces. Conservation Practices 362 and 600. Construction of a new system of terraces or replacement of an existing system of terraces, that is beyond the service life of the practice, with a different system of terraces, i.e. a system of parallel terraces replaced with a system of basin terraces = High Priority

  • Brush Management. Conservation Practice 314. Brush Management-chemical- Limit cost share to a maximum of 1000 acres per tract = High Priority. Brush Management-mechanical- Limit cost share to a maximum of 160 acres per tract = High Priority

  • Waterways. Conservation Practice 412. Construction of new waterways = Medium Priority

  • Flowmeters and Chemigation Valves. Irrigation Water Management - Incentive. Conservation Practice 449. Install chemigation valves, that meet Texas Administrative Code 76.1007, at irrigation wells or irrigation systems = Medium Priority
     
  • Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of surface irrigation to micro or drip irrigation on 30, 40, 60, 80, or 120 inch spacing, 20 acres or less = Medium Priority

  • All other practices in the Field Office Technical Guide = Medium Low Priority

  • Applicants History - Producers who previously had an approved contract and requested that the contract be cancelled without applying any practices or the contract was terminated for cause will be ranked as Low Low Priority

    • Ranking Criteria:

    GSWC Screening Criteria. Must address ground and surface water conservation.

    Must address the top priority natural resources concern Water Quantity.
    Irrigation system must be able to apply 3 gallons per minute per acre.
    Land included in the application must have been irrigated 2 out of the last 5 years.
    The practice that the producer is sign up for must be a practice included in the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide.

    GSWC Ranking Criteria.

    All applications surviving the screening criteria will be ranked using the following procedure.
    1. Applications will be ranked using the Lynn County Ground and Surface Water EQIP Ranking Worksheet.

    2. All applications for high priority practices will be ranked first.
    3. In the event of a tie a 12 digit computer generated number will break a tie.

    Irrigation Pipeline. Conservation Practices 430. Replacement of the following with buried PVC pipe.
    - leaky gated aluminum delivery line with .5 soil intake = 600
    - earthen ditches with .5 soil intake = 500 points
    - leaky underground pipe = 500 points
    - earthen ditches with .3 soil intake = 500 points
    - leaky aluminum delivery line = 470 points

    4. If funds remain, applications for Medium Priority will be ranked and funded following the procedures described in 1 and 2 above.

    a. Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of surface irrigation to micro or drip irrigation on 30, 40, 60, 80, or 120 inch spacing, 30 acres or less = 465 points

    b. Center Pivots Sprinkler Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 442. Conversion of surface irrigation to new LEPA, LESA, or LPIC pivot sprinkler system with one of the following configurations.

    - LEPA or LEPA Sprinkler = 460 points
    - LESA or LESA Sprinkler = 454 points
    - LPIC or LPIC Sprinkler = 452 points

    c. Center Pivots Sprinkler Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 442. Conversion of surface irrigation to new LEPA, LESA, or LPIC pivot sprinkler system with one of the following configurations.

    - LEPA or LEPA Mini Sprinkler = 460 points
    - LESA or LESA Mini Sprinkler = 454 points
    - LPIC or LPIC Mini Sprinkler = 452 points

    d. Center Pivot Sprinkler Upgrades. Conservation Practice Code 442. Upgrade existing center pivots with more efficient nozzle packages.

    - Mid Elevation Spray Application to Low Energy Precision Application = 450 points
    - Mid Elevation Spray Application to Low Elevation Spray Application = 450 points
    - Mid Elevation Spray Application to Low Pressure In Canopy Application = 430 points
    - Low Pressure In Canopy Application to Low Energy Precision Application = 420 points
    - Low Elevation Spray Application to Low Energy Precision Application = 430 points
    - Low Pressure In Canopy Application to Low Elevation Spray Application = 410 points


    5. If funds remain applications for Low Priority will be ranked and funded following the procedures described in 1, 2, and 3 on previous page.

    a. Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of surface irrigation to micro or drip irrigation on 30, 40, 60, 80, or 120 inch spacing, 31 acres or more = 350 points
    b. Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of existing side roll or water drive to micro or drip irrigation on 30, 40, 60, 80, or 120 inch spacing, 31 acres or more = 336 points
    c. Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of existing solid set, hand move, or big gun sprinkler system to micro or drip irrigation on 30, 40, 60, 80, or 120 inch spacing, 31 acres or more = 333 points
    d. Center Pivot Sprinkler Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 442. Conversion of existing side roll or water drive sprinkler system to a new center pivot system with one of the following configurations.

    - LEPA or LEPA Mini Sprinkler = 330 points
    - LESA or LESA Mini Sprinkler = 299 points
    - LPIC or LPIC Mini Sprinkler = 298 points

    e. Center Pivot Sprinkler Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 442. Conversion of existing solid set, hand move, or big gun sprinkler system to a new center pivot system with one of the following configurations.

    - LEPA or LEPA Mini Sprinkler = 300 points
    - LESA or LESA Mini Sprinkler = 297 points
    - LPIC or LPIC Mini Sprinkler = 200 points

    f. Micro or Drip Irrigation. Conservation Practice Code 441. Conversion of a center pivot sprinkler that is 20 year old or older to micro or drip irrigation on 30, 40, 60, 80, or 120 inch spacing, 20 acres or less = 75 points
    g. All other irrigation practices in the NRCS electronic Field Office
    Technical Guide (eFOTG) = Low Priority = 50 points.
    h. Applipants history of contract cancellation or termination = Low Priority = 25 points.

    Base Screening Criteria

    Must address the top priority natural resources concerns Water Quantity, Water Quality, and/or Water Erosion.
    The practice that the producer is sign up for must be a practice included in the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide.

    Base Ranking Criteria

    All applications surviving the screening criteria will be ranked using the 2007 Base Allocation Ranking Worksheet depicted below.
    In the event of a tie a 12 digit computer generated number will break a tie.

    1. All applications ranked as high priority will be ranked first.
    2. If funds remain, applications ranked as Medium Priority will be ranked.
    3. If funds remain, applications ranked as Low Priority will be ranked.

    Category A (High Priority)
    Terraces 500
    Category B ( High Priority)
    Brush Control (1000 acres or less of Chemical control on brush with > 40 percent Canopy) 500
    Category C ( High Priority)
    Brush Control (160 acres or less of Mechanical control on brush with > 40 percent Canopy) 500
    Category D ( High Priority)
    Brush Control (1000 acres or less of Chemical control on brush with 31 - 40 percent Canopy) 450
    Category E ( High Priority)
    Brush Control (160 acres or less of Mechanical control on brush with 31 - 40 percent Canopy) 450
    Category F ( High Priority)
    Brush Control (1000 acres or less of Chemical control on brush with 21 - 30 percent Canopy) 400
    Category G ( High Priority)
    Brush Control (160 acres or less of Mechanical control on brush with 21 - 30 percent Canopy) 400
    Category H ( High Priority)
    Brush Control (1000 acres or less of Chemical control on brush with 11 - 20 percent Canopy) 325
    Category I ( High Priority)
    Brush Control (160 acres or less of Mechanical control on brush with 11 - 20 percent Canopy)* 325
    Category J (Medium Priority)
    Waterways 225
    Category K (Medium Priority)
    Chemigation Valves and Flowmeters 200
    Category L (Medium Priority)
    Microirrigation (20 acres or less) 175
    Category M (Low Priority)
    All other Practices in the NRCS electronic Field Office Technical Guide 50
    Category N (Low Low Priority)
    History of previous contract cancellation or termination 25