The EQIP program’s goals are to encourage landowners to treat all natural resource concerns on a tract or field. Contracts can be for one year up to ten years. The program has a straight payment for practices; the program does not use a percent cost share system. We accept application on continuous bases but realize once crops get to a certain height limited field work can be completed until harvest. Cut off dates are established by the State Office to assist in the ranking process. Those applications need to be reviewed with the landowner with agreements made, ranked, and entered into the computer tracking systems before allocations can be made.
All applications require a field office staff member and you to meet at the farm and review what needs to be done. Other information may need to be gathered from the landowner/operator to ensure that the ranking questions are answered correctly. Types of this information could be: copies of soil test, nutrient application, willingness to develop wildlife areas, and addressing all of the concerns identified in the field or tract. We want to emphasis that proper and concise planning can take up to six months for those tracts/fields with multiple concerns.
Categories funded in the past include: Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans, Confined Livestock Operations, Forest Management Implementation, General EQIP and Grazing Land Operations. Typical practices funded under Confined Livestock Operations include but not limited to: waste utilization, compost facilities, manure transfer, and waste storage facilities. Forest Management Implementation includes but not limited to: forest stand improvements, stream bank and shoreline protection, and tree/shrub establishment. General would include but not limited to: water and sediment control basins, grass waterways and terraces. Grazing includes but not limited to: fencing, wells, pond, watering facilities, stream crossings, and pasture improvement.
If you are interested please call the office and talk to Wyatt Junis or Cathy Olson in Monmouth. We can answer general questions on the phone or make an appointment with you to discuss what we can do for you. Our office hours are Monday-Friday 8:00am until 4:30pm or 309-924-1173 extension 3.
Earth
Team Volunteer
The mission of the Earth Team Volunteer
program is to provide an effective volunteer workforce with the Natural
Resources Conservation Service to help people conserve, improve, and sustain the
Earth’s resources and its environment. Locally
we are encouraging individuals with time to visit our local office and volunteer
their time in the effort to assist us with our duties.
The kind of work you could assist us with could be computer work,
surveying, conservation education in the schools, and clerical.
If you are interested please call the local office at 309-734-8569
extension 3.