Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) 2008

EQIP General Program Description

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary conservation program administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It supports production agriculture and environmental quality as compatible goals. Through EQIP, farmers and ranchers may receive financial and technical assistance to implement structural and land management conservation practices on eligible agricultural land.

Eligible producers are individuals engaged in livestock or crop production. Eligible land includes cropland, rangeland, pasture, and private non-industrial forestland. State priorities are developed annually from input from local workgroups based on county resource assessments and individual plans to address those local needs. A State Technical Committee comprised of representation from these local work groups, Tribal groups, commodity groups, and conservation partners advise NRCS on the implementation of EQIP.

EQIP activities are carried out according to a site specific conservation plan developed in conjunction with the producer. All conservation practices are installed according to NRCS technical standards. Producers may elect to use an approved technical service provider for technical assistance.

EQIP offers contracts with a minimum term of one year after the implementation of the last scheduled practice and a maximum term of ten years. All funded contracts will be subject to the same financial assistance rates derived from a state level approved payment schedule. Total cost share and incentive payments are limited to $450,000 per individual over the period of the 2002 Farm Bill, regardless of the number of farms or contracts. Eligibility for EQIP is subject to the Adjusted Gross Income provision of the 2002 Farm Bill and highly erodible land and wetland conversion provisions.

2008 EQIP General Program Description Documents

Financial assistance rates, ranking criteria and conservation practices are the same for every Michigan county.  The following document describes how ranking criteria, conservation practices and cost-share rates were determined.

The following document requires Adobe Acrobat.

How EQIP Works in Michigan

2008 EQIP Ranking Tool & Cost List

The following documents require Adobe Acrobat.

MI EQIP Application and Evaluation Ranking Tool (AERT)
FY 2008 Payment Schedule
EQIP Practice Resource Concerns

Forms

The following documents require Adobe Acrobat.

NRCS-CPA-1200, Conservation Program Contract & Appendix

Links to Other Useful Documents for the 2008 EQIP Program

Contact

To apply for EQIP, contact your local USDA Service Center. 
Michigan Field Office Directory

For general questions about EQIP contact the Michigan NRCS EQIP Coordinator.

Last Modified 10/24/2007