Environmental Quality Incentives Program 2007

Program improves 190,000 acres across state

Through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employees and landowners installed more than $18.8 million of conservation practices on almost 190,000 acres throughout Arkansas in 2007.

The practices addressed water quality, water quantity, plant health and wildlife concerns. Addressing these concerns helps the landowner maintain productive land and benefits the environment by protecting and improving natural resources.

The Arkansas EQIP resource concern goals are to reduce erosion; reduce pollution from animal waste, nutrients and sediments; improve irrigation efficiencies and reduce dependence on ground water for irrigation; improve the health and diversity of forests; improve the management of grazing lands; and improve wildlife habitat associated with agricultural production land.

Funding totals for the resource concerns were:

• Water quality, animal waste – 184 contracts for $2.902,079

• Water quality, cropland – 14 contracts for $62,820

• Water quality, forests plant health – 149 contracts for $1,082,655

• Water quality, grazing land – 634 contracts for $5,608,213

• Water quantity, irrigation – 175 contracts for $5,966,526

• Water quantity, irrigation (ground and surface water conservation) – 87 contracts for $2,799,079 dollars

Four funding categories were also established to treat special needs beyond the basic statewide concerns. The categories and there funding were:

• Alternative Crop/Small Farm Initiative – for producers who own or operate between five and 100 acres of cropland or grassland. At least 10 percent of the land must be used to plant an alternative crop – 19 contracts for $232,113

• L’anguille Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Project – for land falling within the boundaries of a 319 project addressing the L’Anguille River TMDL status. Practices that provide or support specific erosion control and sediment reduction measures are the only practices available for contracts in this category. – one contract for $1,782

• Small Grassland Farms – for producers who own or operate no more than 100 acres of grassland and who can document that at least 60 percent of their household income for the past two years comes from farming activities, that household income is no more than two times the counties medium income – two contracts for $11,048

• Waste Systems Closure – to help producers who close a liquid animal waste system to meet permit requirements because they have lost their production contract through no fault of their own and no other contract is available – eight contracts for $122,147

Before filing an EQIP application, landowners work with the NRCS field office staff to develop a conservation plan identifying the resource concerns to be treated, the practices to be used and the amounts of each practice needed. This information is used to rank the application and to estimate the cost shares need to fund the contract.

Cost share rates for practices range from 40 percent to 75 percent. Applicants who can certify they meet the Limited Resource Farmer standard are eligible for an additional 15 percent cost share provided they rank high enough for funding. A few incentive payment practices are available at 100 percent payment for no more than three years if eligible.

Arkansas EQIP Quick Facts for 2007

Last Modified: 12/11/2007

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