The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Nevada is announcing its first-round funding signup for Conservation Incentive Contracts (CIC), a new option available through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). While applications for EQIP are accepted throughout the year, interested producers should submit applications to their local NRCS office by April 15, 2022, to be considered for the 2022 ranking funding period.
EQIP-CIC expands resource benefits for Nevada producers through incentive conservation practices such as cover crops, transition to resource conserving crop rotations, and precision agriculture technologies along with a similarly broad suite of incentive practices for ranchers and nonindustrial private forest operators. Additionally, EQIP-CIC allows producers to target priority resource concerns on their property by offering incentive payments for a five-year contract without needing to enroll the entire operation into the program.
EQIP-CIC is designed to be a stepping-stone between EQIP and the Conservation Stewardship Program, to help producers improve their level of conservation and earn benefits of longer-term conservation enhancements.
Nevada EQIP-CIC Priority Resource Concern Categories for Fiscal Year 2022 for both rangeland and pastureland uses:
- Terrestrial habitat
- Degraded plant conditions
- Livestock production limitation
“We continue to support and expand the adoption of conservation approaches to support producers in their work to participate in climate-smart agriculture and drought mitigation practices,” said NRCS Nevada State Conservationist Ray Dotson. “We are optimistic that the new option of EQIP-CIC will help bridge producers from EQIP over to CSP and ensure we’re giving Nevada farmers and ranchers the best tools to conserve natural resources.”
Applicants must meet USDA program eligibility requirements for land eligibility and person eligibility. Eligibility requirements include Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) limitations for individuals and entities. Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria to be considered for ranking and funding decisions. Farm Bill programs have strict payment limits, and the amount of financial assistance producers may receive varies by program and will depend on future allocations received under the Farm Bill authority. Limited resource producers, beginning farmers and ranchers, or socially disadvantaged agricultural producers may be eligible for up to 15 percent higher payments, not to exceed 90 percent of the estimated cost to install the practice.
More info at www.nv.nrcs.usda.gov or call your local USDA Service Center.