Environmental Quality Incentive Program

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) was reauthorized in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) to provide a voluntary conservation program for Alaskans that promotes agricultural production and environmental quality as compatible national goals. EQIP offers financial and technical help to assist eligible participants install or implement structural and management practices on eligible agricultural land.

To be eligible to participate, applicants must:

• Be an agriculture producer; (Agricultural Producer and Land Eligibility Criteria)
• Be in compliance with the highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions of the 1985 Farm Bill;
• Provide the Social Security number of all individuals who will benefit from the assistance; and
• Develop an EQIP plan of operations, including the participant’s specific conservation and environmental objectives to be achieved; one or more conservation practices in the conservation management system to be implemented to achieve the conservation and environmental objectives; and the schedule for implementing the conservation practices.

EQIP is a continuous signup program. Landowners may apply for financial assistance throughout the year. To be considered for funding, a signed CCC-1200 must be submitted to an NRCS Field Office, a Farm Service Agency Office, or to the offices of a soil and water conservation district.

Priority national, state, and local resource concerns are outlined in the Alaska EQIP policy document. Ranking criteria are based upon meeting these priority resource concerns.

EQIP has and will continue to be a competitive program for the awarding of contracts.

EQIP contracts have a minimum term that ends one year after the implementation of the last scheduled practices and a maximum term of ten years.  An individual or entity may not receive, directly or indirectly, cost-share or incentive payments that, in the aggregate, exceed $450,000 for all EQIP contracts entered during the term of the Farm Bill. These contracts provide incentive payments and cost-shares to implement conservation practices.  The practices must meet NRCS technical standards to be eligible for payment. Payment rates are based upon typical implementation costs for conservation practices, limited resource producers and beginning farmers and ranchers may be eligible for higher payment rates. Payment rates for all producers and practices for 2008 are posted below.

Participants and their local NRCS office work together to develop plans and designs that meet their need and meet NRCS technical approval requirements. After approval the participant is responsible for installation of practices to meet NRCS standards, plans and designs. Payment for implementation follows successful installation of the practice by the participant.

EQIP FY08 Information

Alaska FY08 Policy
Payment Schedule Off-Road
Payment Schedule Off-Road Beginning and Limited Resource
Payment Schedule On-Road
Payment Schedule On-Road Beginning and Limited Resource

These document requires Adobe Acrobat.

 Confined Animal Ranking (PDF; 8.55 KB)
 Cropland Ranking (PDF; 9.18 KB)
 Forestland Ranking (PDF; 7.13 KB)
 Grazing Land Ranking (PDF; 8.43 KB)

FY07 Information

 Statewide Off-Road (PDF; 192 KB)
 Statewide On-Road (PDF; 471 KB)
 Eqip FY07 Policy (PDF; 87.2 KB)
 EQIP Application (PDF; 31.4 KB)
 EQIP Ranking-Confined Animal (PDF; 8.43 KB)
 EQIP Ranking-Cropland (PDF; 9.59 KB)
 EQIP Ranking-Forestland (PDF; 6.88 KB)
 EQIP Ranking-Grazing (PDF; 8.73 KB)

Local Work Groups

Anchorage FY08 Priorities
Bethel FY08 Priorities
Delta Junction/Copper Center FY08 Priorities
Fairbanks FY08 Priorities
Homer FY08 Priorities
Juneau FY08 Priorities
Kenai FY08 Priorities
Mat-Su FY08 Priorities

Contact

Tom Hedt, Assistant State Conservationist - Programs
(907) 761-7757 
E-mail: thomas.hedt@ak.usda.gov  
 

< Back to Programs