EQIP Program in Palo Pinto 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).

Palo Pinto County Office Information

Interested agricultural producers may apply in person at the Palo Pinto 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 Palo Pinto County:

Objective:

 The objective of the Palo Pinto County EQIP Local Work Group is to promote the use of conservation practices for improving the natural resources throughout the county. An emphasis will be placed on conservation practices to promote grassland improvement, grazing distribution, and increase the quality and quantity of desirable vegetation.

County EQIP Resource Concern:

In Palo Pinto County for 2007, the Local Work Group has identified Plant Health as the major resource concern. Invasive brush, primarily mesquite and juniper is a major concern in the county. In addition, deteriorating range and pasture conditions have resulted in declining forage quality and quantity. Practices have been selected to address these resource concerns. Controlling brush will also affect water quantity, which has become a recent concern.

Priority for Funding:

High Priority Applications- applicant requests eligible practice(s), meets all USDA eligibility criteria, and has applied for USDA cost-share.

All other applications will be considered medium or low priority and will not be ranked.

Eligible Practices and Cost Share Rates:

Limited Resource Producers - 90 percent
Beginning Farmers or Ranchers - 50 percent
Others - 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 percentage. Prescribed grazing incentive will be based on 100% flat rate

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

Brush Management 314 Mechanical grub/treedoze mixed brush, aerial spraying or individual plant treatment. Mechanical brush management includes grubbing resprouting species such as mesquite, dozing, root plowing, stacking and piling. The target species for mechanical brush management will be mesquite and juniper. Individual plant treatment can be applied where brush densities exceed 10% crown canopy and are in excess of 50 plants per acre – primarily mesquite. Densities must be less than 400 plants per acre to make IPT economically feasible. An onsite observation will determine whether or not an area is eligible. Aerial spraying will be primarily for mesquite, prickly pear or other invasive brush species. Pastures will be deferred a minimum of 90 days during the growing season, following brush management. No cost share for brush management will be approved on cropland or on land to be converted to cropland.

Fencing 382 Four-wire barbed wire or electric fencing will be constructed according to NRCS specifications. The purpose of this practice is to allow better grazing distribution and rotation to allow pastures a rest during the growing season. Boundary fences will not be cost-shared.

Pasture Planting 512 Includes seedbed preparation, sprigs or seed cost, sprigging operation or seeding operation. Nutrient Management and Pest Management will be planned with this practice.

Range Planting 550 Includes seedbed preparation, seed cost and seeding operation.

Nutrient Management 590 For establishment only

Pest Management 595 For establishment only

Pipeline 516 For livestock water use only

Prescribed Grazing Incentive 528 Will be planned on pastures as determined to be needed by NRCS personnel. 100 percent FR per acre. This practice will also apply to pastures affected by wildfires.

Ranking Criteria:

Resource Concerns – Plant Health, Water Quantity

100 points – Is brush management planned to address the needs of both plant health and water quantity?
90 points – Has the applicant suffered a loss of grazing land and/or cross fencing from wildfire in 2006?
30 points – Is range planting and pasture planting planned to increase the quality and quantity of forage?
20 points – Are practices such fencing and/or livestock pipeline planned to increase grazing distribution?
10 points - As of October 1, 2006, did you have an updated (within the last three years) conservation plan on file with NRCS that has all information necessary to rank the application?


Practices are supported by the Conservation Practice Standards in the Field Office Technical Guide that are needed to solve the identified resource problem as set forth by the Palo Pinto County Local Work Group. Practices cost shared must meet identified criteria in the conservation practice standard. Only the practices listed will be eligible for cost-share. Applications will be ranked using the national ranking tool and points will be awarded according to how the application addresses National,State,and Local issues along with cost efficiency of the practices needed to solve the resource concerns.
The following criteria will be used for all applications. Applications with no eligible practices will not receive a ranking score. High priority applications will be funded based on highest total offer index score. Applications with lower offer index scores are funded as funds are available. The application with the highest tracking number, randomly assigned by Protracts, will be funded first in the case of ties.