National and State EQIP Policy
EQIP Overview
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary conservation program. It supports production agriculture and environmental quality as compatible goals. Through EQIP, farmers may receive financial and technical help with structural and management conservation practices on agricultural land. EQIP offers contracts for practice implementation from 1-10 years.
EQIP in Wisconsin offers financial assistance to help off-set the costs of eligible conservation practices. Payments may also be made to encourage a farmer to adopt land management practices, such as nutrient management, manure management, integrated pest management, or wildlife habitat management. EQIP offers many practices geared to livestock operations of all types.
Eligibility
Any producer engaged in livestock or crop production on eligible land, or owner of eligible production land, may apply for EQIP. Eligible land includes cropland; rangeland; pasture; non-industrial private forestland; and other farm or ranch lands, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.
How EQIP Works
Signup and details about eligible practices and payment rates are announced each year. NRCS will evaluate each application, with higher priorities given to applications that use cost-effective conservation practices, address local priorities, and provide the most environmental benefit.
Farmers will develop a conservation plan, if they don’t already have one, for the acreage affected by the EQIP practices. Conservation practices must meet NRCS technical standards. Farmers may elect to use an approved third-party provider for technical assistance, if available.
What Are My Chances of Being Funded?
EQIP is a competitive program. Since program inception in 1997, demand for EQIP financial assistance has exceeded the funds available. Final results for an annual sign up will depend on the number of applications and the level of funding received.
Decision Making Process for EQIP
Input from Outside Groups, Agencies, and Citizens: The list of eligible practices in Wisconsin, payment rates and limits, eligible resource concerns, and state scoring criteria are developed based on input and recommendations from the Wisconsin State Technical Committee (WSTC). The WSTC is made up of representatives from various agribusinesses, producer groups, conservation organizations, and federal, state, and tribal government agency representatives.
The Local Work Group process and scoring criteria, are based on input from the counties in the Local Work Groups (LWG).
The priorities set at the state and county level are those that the WSTC and LWG respectively determined were of the greatest need and would have the greatest positive environmental impact. The scoring process at both the state and local level was developed in order to select those projects that would provide the greatest environmental benefit, and therefore provide the greatest public good.
