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Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
Program Overview
The Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) is a voluntary
conservation program that provides assistance to farmers who face threats to
soil, water, air, and related natural resources on their land. Through EQIP, the
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides assistance to
agricultural producers in a manner that will promote agricultural production and
environmental quality as compatible goals, optimize environmental benefits, and
help farmers to meet Federal, State, Tribal, and local environmental
requirements. EQIP offers financial and technical help to assist eligible
participants install or implement structural and management practices on
eligible agricultural land. Additional national information can be found at
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/eqip.
EQIP is a competitive process. EQIP applications compete for funding on a
state-wide basis. A ranking process is conducted to determine which applications
will be granted EQIP funding. The
Illinois NRCS has several different EQIP ranking criteria categories that
were developed with input from the Illinois State Technical Committee. All
ranking criteria categories achieve the common EQIP objective of optimizing
environmental benefits.
Historically Underserved
NRCS Illinois continues to provide technical and financial assistance to all
eligible participants including our Historically Underserved Producers (HUP).
EQIP will serve farmers and ranchers who have been subjected to racial or ethnic
prejudices because of their identity as a member of a group, without regard to
their individual qualities. For more information about Historically Underserved
Producers, please review the
HUP Factsheet.
List of 2012 Priority Resource
Concerns/Considerations:
- Air Quality
- Domestic Animals
- Fish & Wildlife
- Plant Condition
- Soil Condition
- Soil Erosion
- Water Quality
- Water Quantity
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative Deadlines
are February 3, March 30, and June 1
Offered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for the fourth
year, the EQIP Organic Initiative is available in all 50 states for farmers who
are certified organic, transitioning to certified organic, or organic exempt
according to USDA’s National Organic Program regulations. The national ranking
deadlines for sign-ups are February 3; March 30; and June 1, 2012. Applications received after this date
will be ranked in the next funding group.
Experimenting with cover crops and crop rotations, installing intensive grazing
infrastructure (grazing plans, internal fencing, walkways, water lines),
establishing wildlife and pollinator friendly habitat, and installing seasonal
high tunnels are examples of conservation practices for which funding may be
available under this program. In addition, states offer Conservation Activity
Plans that support conservation planning for organic agriculture.
Contact your local NRCS office soon to meet with your conservation planning
professional and determine which practices could enhance your farming operation.
Steps to the EQIP Application Process for the 2012
Fiscal Year:
Prior to EQIP Sign Up:
Conservation planning
completed prior to application ranking allows the ranking process to move more
quickly, because the applicant, with help from NRCS, will already have
identified the conservation needs and concerns. Conservation plans completed
prior to ranking that address all the resource concerns on the farm can yield
more points within an application. Planning prior to applying for EQIP also
helps ensure the applicant is requesting EQIP funds for the correct practices.
Step 1: Signing up for EQIP at Your Local NRCS
Field Office:
EQIP has a continuous sign-up process; applicants can sign up anytime of the
year at their
local NRCS
field office. To sign up for EQIP, applicants must complete the NRCS-CPA-1200 form at their local field office. At the time of application,
the applicant will also be provided with a copy of the NRCS-CPA-1202 Contract Appendix, explaining EQIP contract terms and
conditions. Reviewing the contract appendix up front helps the applicant know
the contract terms and conditions.
All applicants need to meet eligibility requirements in order to apply for EQIP.
To ensure you are eligible for EQIP go to
“What Documentation is Needed to be Eligible for EQIP?”.
Step 2: FY 2012 Illinois EQIP Ranking Criteria:
Illinois uses a web-based ranking criteria tool for ranking applications,
which will be completed by your
local NRCS
field office. The web-based ranking tool includes the following:
• Yes/No questions for each ranking category;
• State and National ranking questions; and
• A Cost Efficiency Score, which is a benefit-cost calculation of the EQIP
application.
The ranking questions that are used in the web based ranking tool can
be downloaded below. Refer to the NRCS Area Map below to locate your county,
then select the appropriate Area Ranking Tool.

The following
documents require either
Adobe Acrobat 6.0 or higher, and
Microsoft
WORD
|
EQIP 2012 Web-Based
Ranking Criteria Tools |
Format |
Date Issued |
Ranking Criteria |
Primary Focus |
Description of Typical EQIP Purpose |
DOCX
216 kb
215 kb
220 kb
218 kb
216 kb
|
2/12 |
General EQIP
Area 1 (Traditional)
Area 2 (Traditional)
Area 3
(Traditional)
Area 4
(Traditional)
Area 5
(Traditional)
|
Cropland |
Soil erosion reduction, water quality improvements,
and wildlife habitat creation |
DOCX
207 kb
206 kb
209 kb
207 kb
208 kb
|
2/12 |
Grazing Land Operation
Area 1 Grazing
Area 2 Grazing
Area 3
Grazing
Area 4 Grazing
Area 5 Grazing
|
Prescribed Grazing for Livestock |
Improvement of water quality, soil condition,
and
plant and animal health |
DOCX
216 kb |
2/12 |
Confined Livestock Operations |
Waste Management for
Confined Livestock Operations |
Improvement of water quality, soil condition,
and
plant and animal health |
DOCX
198 kb
198 kb
201 kb
196 kb
200 kb
|
2/12 |
Forest Management Implementations*
Area 1 Forest Mgt. Imp.
Area 2 Forest Mgt. Imp.
Area 3 Forest Mgt. Imp.
Area 4 Forest Mgt. Imp.
Area 5 Forest Mgt. Imp.
|
Forestland |
Improvement of water quality, soil
quality, plant vigor
and health, and wildlife habitat |
National Initiative Ranking Criteria
Activity Plans must be developed prior to the installation of
the practice according to requirements and schedule. |
DOCX
468 kb |
2/12 |
Air Quality |
Air - Focus on addressing ozone, particulate matter,
greenhouse gases and energy conservation concerns. |
Primary counties are the designated non-attainment
counties and applications will be funded first to address air quality
resource concerns. |
DOCX
198 kb |
2/12 |
On-Farm Energy |
Energy - Identify ways to conserve energy on the farm |
To develop an Ag Energy Management Plan and the use of
conservation practices. |
DOCX
219 kb |
2/12 |
Organic Operations |
Cropland - Organic Production Systems and Plans for 2012 |
Improvement of water quality, soil quality, plant vigor
and health, and wildlife habitat. |
DOCX
203 kb |
2/12 |
Seasonal High Tunnel
|
Cropland - Assist producers to extend the growing season
through the use of Seasonal High Tunnel System for Crops and other
supporting practices |
The initiative is to ensure the resource concerns are
addressed while implementing and managing the Seasonal High Tunnel. |
Conservation Management Activity Plans
Activity Plans must be developed prior to the installation of
the practice according to requirements and schedule. |
DOC
187 kb |
2/12 |
EQIP Guidance and Screening |
Includes List of activity plan guidance and screening
for general and national initiative EQIP |
Development of a detailed management plan |
|
* Consulting Foresters and Forestry Contractors can be found
in the Technical
Service Providers web site and at the
Illinois Department
of Natural Resources web site.
**Technical Service providers to write Forest Management Activity Plans can
be found in the Technical Service Providers web site.
Additional forestry information and links can be found at the following web
site: IL Extension
Reference Material:
EQIP Forestry Payment Fact Sheet and
EQIP Forestry Quick Guide Fact Sheet |
Ranking Criteria-Supporting Documents EQIP 2012
| Format |
Date Issued |
Document Name |
Description of Typical EQIP Purpose |
|
The following document is available in
Adobe Acrobat
format, Microsoft WORD,
and Microsoft Excel |
|
National Issues |
DOCX
138 kb |
2/12 |
Traditional
National Issues |
Definitions and scoring of National Issues. National
Issues are questions found on each ranking criteria. National Issues do
not change state to state. |
DOC
144 kb |
2/12 |
2012 National Initiative Issues |
Definitions and scoring of National Initiative Issues.
National Initiative Issues are questions found on each ranking criteria.
National Issues do not change state to state. |
|
Payment Schedules |
XLS
139 kb |
2/12 |
EQIP
Payment List
(Traditional) |
EQIP practices and components (all inclusive list). |
XLS
135 kb |
2/12 |
EQIP
Payment List
(HU) |
EQIP practices and components for Historically
Underserved Producers (HU) (all inclusive list). |
XLS
134 kb |
2/12 |
National Initiative
Payment List
(Traditional) |
National Initiative EQIP practices and
components (all inclusive)
|
XLS
132 kb |
2/12 |
National Initiative
Payment List
(HU) |
National Initiaitive EQIP practices and components for Historically
Underserved Producers (HU) |
|
References |
PDF
1,095 kb |
2/12 |
EQIP
Map References |
Maps referenced in the ranking criteria include: •
EQIP Soil Erosion Quality Criteria Exceptions (Map 1) •
12-Digit Watersheds for 303(d) Stream Segments Impaired by Agriculture
(Map 2) •
EQIP Locally Led Resource Planning Projects (Map 3)
• EQIP National Air Quality Issues #3a (Map 4)
• National EQIP Ranking Question 2a: Potential Groundwater Depletion Area (Map
5)
|
PDF
62 kb |
2/12 |
National Initiatives Practice List |
List of practices available for for all National
inititatives |
|
Step 3: Practices Available for EQIP Funds:
Practices available for EQIP funds can be found in the “EQIP Conservation
Practices and Payment Method” lists within each of the ranking criteria and in
the FY2012 EQIP Payment list found in Ranking Criteria-Supporting Documents EQIP
2012.
FY 2012 EQIP Practices for Ranking Criteria
Practices selected for the EQIP application must address the resource concerns
identified by the applicant with assistance from the NRCS field office. EQIP
applications must include all planned practices that contributed to the ranking
score. All practices must meet NRCS standards and specifications, which can be
found in section
IV of the Illinois eFOTG. Additional practice(s) may be included in the EQIP
contract without receiving ranking points as long as the practice(s) address one
or more of the resource concerns identified, are listed in the current Illinois
eFOTG, and approved by NRCS Area Assistant State Conservationists.
When completing the application process, the field office will explain the
payment rate that the applicant will receive for each practice. The applicant
will then need to decide if they want to proceed with an EQIP contract, if
funded.
Step 4: Funding EQIP Applications:
All applications for EQIP will compete on a state-wide basis, within each of the
ranking criteria categories. Applying for EQIP is continuous; however, selecting
applications for funding is done periodically through batching periods with
specific cutoff dates. Applicants should visit your local field office as soon
as possible to begin the application process.
In order for an application to be considered for funding during a particular
batching period the applicant must have the following items completed by the
batching period cutoff date:
• Completed and signed EQIP application (NRCS-CPA-1200)
• Eligibility requirements
• Completed and signed ranking criteria
• List of practices that address the resource concerns identified
• Schedule for implementation of the practices selected
• Adjusted Gross Income form
Applications for EQIP will be taken continuously, however; batching periods
will be announced to process applications. The cutoff dates for the Fiscal Year
2012 batching periods will be as
follows:
• February 3, 2012 is the next cutoff date for EQIP batching
period.
• Cutoff dates for later batching periods will be established if funding is
available.
Archived EQIP Information: earlier EQIP
information can be obtained by Eric Gerth at
Eric.Gerth@il.usda.gov
EQIP FY 2011
EQIP FY 2010
Contact Information:
For help with the EQIP program in Illinois contact your
local NRCS
office.
Download Forms and Factsheets
This document requires
Adobe Acrobat software.
FORMS:
NRCS-CPA-1200 & NRCS-CPA-1202 - See your local NRCS
field office staff.
Update 2/9/2012
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