Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

Livestock Emphasis Action Plan
 

Download and print this document (requiresAdobe Acrobat):

Livestock Emphasis Action Plan (3.37 MB) Updated 8/11/05

Historically, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has worked with all sectors of the animal agriculture industry, including grazing and animal feeding operations (AFO). For a number of reasons, however, NRCS assistance has varied from State to State and from animal sector to animal sector. But with the significant amount of concentration in most animal sectors, especially in swine and poultry, there have been increasing demands by the animal industry, environmental regulators, the public, and Congress for NRCS to provide increasing assistance, both technically and financially, to AFOs.

Congress recognized the mounting pressures in agriculture, animal agriculture specifically, and authorized new authorities and historic increases in funding through the 2002 Farm Bill. In the 2002 Farm Bill Managers’ Report, Congress articulated that the…Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a valuable tool to help producers avoid the need for future regulation, and the Secretary shall manage the program to maximize this purpose. While much of the focus was on the anticipated delivery of new regulations affecting confined animal production, the Managers also pointed to opportunities in grass-based systems to…encourage the use of grazing systems, such as year-round, rotational or managed grazing systems, that enhance productive livestock operations.

With regard to regulatory challenges, EQIP has two objectives. The first is to help producers comply with local, State, and Federal regulatory requirements. The second is to help producers address natural resource concerns in a manner that makes regulatory action unnecessary.

NRCS employees at all levels must embrace these two objectives for EQIP as well as providing ongoing technical assistance through the Conservation Technical Assistance Program. Animal agriculture is directly tied to soil, air, and water quality and NRCS sees direct conservation assistance to this sector as a critical part of its mission.

BRUCE I. KNIGHT
Chief
Natural Resources Conservation Service

 

The 2002 Farm Bill directed a significant amount of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) resources at animal agriculture operations, including 60 percent of Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding. In order to reach this goal, NRCS has developed the National Animal Agriculture Conservation Framework (December 2003). This National Framework is built from State and Basin Area efforts and presents a vision for voluntary, proactive efforts to foster environmentally sound and economically viable livestock and poultry production. It envisions collaboration among Federal, State, tribal, and local governments; producers; the public; and the private sector to bring the initiative, resources, and commitment to support environmental stewardship in animal agriculture.

Recently, NRCS has identified 22 action items to place emphasis within EQIP on meeting livestock and poultry producers’ natural resource conservation and environmental protection goals. These 22 action items have been grouped into five broad categories.

I. Determining Opportunities

II. EQIP Ranking Criteria

III. Information and Training

IV. Policy & Guidance

V. Working with Organizations

< Back to Environmental Quality Incentives Program