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Florida 2005 State EQIP Sign-Up and Application Information

General Program Description

Environmental Quality Incentives Program Sign-ups Underway  

District Conservationist meets with customer.EQIP provides cost sharing to help farmers with  conservation practices. All sign-ups are conducted at USDA Service Centers in Florida.

Farmers can apply for cost-sharing for many types conservation practices.

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary conservation program from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. It supports production agriculture and environmental quality as compatible goals. Through EQIP, farmers may receive financial and technical assistance with structural and management conservation practices on agricultural land.  EQIP was reauthorized in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 Farm Bill.

EQIP offers contracts with a minimum term that ends one year after the implementation of the last scheduled practices and a maximum term of ten years.  These contracts provide incentive payments and cost-shares to implement conservation practices.  Persons who are engaged in livestock or agricultural production on eligible land may participate in the EQIP program.  EQIP activities are carried out according to an environmental quality incentives program plan of operations developed in conjunction with the producer that identifies the appropriate conservation practice or practices to address the locally identified resource concerns.  The practices are subject to NRCS technical standards adapted for local conditions.  The local conservation district approves the plan.  State Resource Concerns include:  Confined Livestock Operations, Water Quality, Water Quantity, Soil Erosion & Animal/Plant Health.

EQIP may cost-share up to 75 percent of the costs of certain conservation practices.  Incentive payments may be provided for up to three years to encourage producers to carry out management practices they may not otherwise use without the incentive.  However, limited resource producers may be eligible for cost-shares up to 90 percent.  Farmers and ranchers may elect to use a certified third-party provider for technical assistance.  An individual or entity may not receive, directly or indirectly, cost-share or incentive payments that, in the aggregate, exceed $450,000 for all EQIP contracts entered during the term of the Farm Bill.

Application Ranking and Selection

This process generally occurs between October 1 and March 28.  Annually, NRCS establishes a cutoff date for applications to be evaluated and ranked for current year funding.  The evaluation cutoff date for Fiscal Year 2005 is December 15, 2004.  Any applications received after that date will be held for evaluation for Fiscal Year 2006 funding.

Once an application is received by NRCS:

  1. NRCS will contact the applicant to conduct an evaluation and ranking of the application.
  2. The application will be ranked against all of the other applications within the local work group area/county or tribal area.  Applications received to address resource concerns related to confined livestock operations will be ranked in a statewide pool.
  3. After the cutoff date, NRCS will notify the applicant in writing of selection, deferment, or cancellation of the EQIP application.
  4. If selected for funding, the contract development process will be initiated.

Applicants selected for funding are not authorized to begin the installation of a conservation practice until they have a CCC-1200, Conservation Program Contract, signed by a CCC representative (NRCS Contracting Officer)

NEW FOR THE FY05 EQIP PROGRAM

  • In addition to the technical responsibilities for EQIP, NRCS now has administrative responsibilities as well.  This change occurred October 1, 2004, prior to that date Farm Service Agency (FSA) was in charge of the administrative responsibilities of EQIP.  Therefore new for FY05 EQIP Program, NRCS will need additional information from the EQIP applicant that has in the past been submitted to the FSA Office.
  • Producer Eligibility – In order to be considered an Agricultural Producer, there must be a minimum of $1,000 or more of Agricultural products produced & sold, or that normally would have been sold for two of the last five years or IRS Schedule F showing profit or loss from farm operations. 
  • Cost Effectiveness – Is currently being addressed in each counties ranking criteria by utilizing the following methods: cost sharing on practices with longer life spans, utilizing additional partners to stretch cost share dollars further, addressing multiple resource concerns.

 IMPORTANT EQIP INFORMATION FOR PRODUCERS

  • A practice must be started within the first 12 months of a signed contract.
  • An EQIP contract stays with the land; therefore, to prevent the possibility of having to pay liquidated damages &/or cost recovery a participant wishing to terminate a EQIP contract due to the sale of the land must acquire a Successor-In-Interest through the proper documentation to transfer the contract to the new owner of the land.
  • For additional information - EQIP Sign-Up Information document.

Documents on this page may require Adobe Acrobat  or  Microsoft Excel

2005 EQIP Conservation Practice, Sign-Up, and Ranking Documents

All Ranking documents are provided for guidance only.  The only persons approved to rank an application are NRCS employees.  For additional information please contact your local NRCS Office.

Countywide EQIP Conservation Practice Sign-Ups

Adobe Acrobat DocumentArea I EQIP FY2005 Cost List    Final Version
Adobe Acrobat DocumentArea II EQIP FY2005 Cost List    Final Version
Adobe Acrobat DocumentArea III EQIP FY2005 Cost List    Final Version
Adobe Acrobat DocumentArea IV EQIP FY2005 Cost List    Final Version
Adobe Acrobat DocumentPortions of Okeechobee County Within Kissimmee and Northern Okee. Inflow Subbasins-Final Version
Adobe Acrobat DocumentEligible EQIP Practices   
Adobe Acrobat DocumentEQIP Approved List of Shrubs, Trees, Wetland and Other Plants
Water Quality Concern Related to Animal Confined Livestock Feeding Operations, Ranking Criteria and Evaluation Worksheet

 Limited Resource Farmer Self Determination Tool 

Florida Small-scale/Limited Resource Farmer Fact Sheet
  Florida Small-scale/Limited Resource Farmer Ranking Sheet

Forms Needed to Signup:

Adobe Acrobat DocumentCCC-1200, Conservation Program Contract and Appendix
Adobe Acrobat Document1199a, Electronic Financial Transfer
Adobe Acrobat DocumentCCC-36, Payment Assignments
Adobe Acrobat DocumentCCC-526 AGI Certification
Adobe Acrobat DocumentCPA-09 Power of Attorney Form  New 8/05
Adobe Acrobat DocumentCCC-501a Entity & Joint Operation Information
Adobe Acrobat DocumentCCC-502b Farm Operating Plan for Payment Eligibility-Joint Venture or General Partnership

Florida Program Contact

Jeffrey Woods, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs, 352-338-9515

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