EQIP Program in Mills 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).

Mills County Office Information

Interested agricultural producers may apply in person at the Mills County USDA Service Center. Applicants may also request EQIP assistance by telephone, fax, e-mail, or letter.
 
Rodney Duus, District Conservationist

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

Objective:

County Base Funds

The objectives of the Mills County EQIP LWG are to promote the use of conservation practices for improving the natural resources throughout the county.

County EQIP Resource Concerns:

In Mills County for 2007, the LWG has identified Plant Health, Forage Quality and Quantity on grazing lands and Water Quality, Excessive Erosion and Sedimentation on cropland as the highest priority concerns. Ranking will be by predominance of planned practices.

Eligible Practices and Cost Share Rates

County Base Fund

Limited Resource Producers -90 percent
Beginner Farmer/Rancher - 50 percent
All other Producers - 50 percent

Practices 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 after completion multiplied by the average cost multiplied by the cost share rate.

• Brush Management 314
  
• Range Planting 550
  
• Pasture Planting 512
• Fence 382
• Pond 378
• Well 642
• Water Storage Facility 614
• Livestock Pipeline 516
• Terraces 600
• Grassed Waterway 412
• Diversion 362
• Critical Area Treatment 432

Practices not on practice list are not eligible for cost share.

Limit acres to be cost shared to a maximum of 250 acres per application for chemical practices.

Limit acres to be cost shared to a maximum of 250 acres per application for mechanical practices.

Limit fence only for cross fencing between permanent vegetation.

Limit ponds and/or well to be eligible only if no permanent water source in pasture. Limit cubic yards to be cost shared to a maximum of 4000 cy.

Limit water storage gallons to be cost shared to a maximum of 2000 gallons.

Predominance of planned practices in the ranking process will be the practices that earn the most total cost-share.

Management Incentives for 2007 Include:

Prescribed Grazing - $5.00/acre

Application Screening Criteria

High Priority Applications will be applications for which an RMS plan has been developed for the entire operating unit. The RMS plan must be developed and actively been applied prior to September 30, 2006.

Medium Priority Applications will be applications in which a Progressive plan has been or will be developed for the entire operating unit. The development of the conservation plan must be completed by September 30, 2007.

Low Priority Applications are all applications that do not meet the criteria for High or Medium priority.

Ranking Criteria

100 Points- Does the predominance of planned cost share practices address plant health resource concerns?

80 Points- Does the predominance of planned cost share practices address water quality resource concerns?

20 Points- Is the applicant interested in applying prescribed grazing following the brush management?

10 Points- Does the applicant have a current (up to date) conservation plan on the entire operating unit?

Applications will be ranked using the national ranking tool and points will be awarded according to how your application addresses National, State and Local issues with the cost efficiency of the practices needed to solve the resource concerns. Applications will be ranked from the highest to the lowest score until all allocated funds have been exhausted or until there is not enough funds available to fund the next application with the highest score. In the case of a tie, a tracking code randomly generated by the computer software program, Protracts, will be used to break the tie scores. The highest tracking code number will be funded first. Applicants not funded will have a choice to defer or cancel their applications.