Natural Resources Conservation Service

Environmental Quality
Incentives Program
Conservation Incentive Contracts
Overview
The Environmental Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP) is a voluntary conservation
program administered by the USDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS) that offers farmers, ranchers, andnonindustrial private forest landowners
financial and technical assistance to help
plan and implement conservation practices
and activities on working agricultural andforestry landscapes.

What Are EQIP
Conservation IncentiveContracts?
Incentive contracts are an option available
through EQIP that offers producers
financial assistance to adopt conservation
management practices on working
landscapes. Producers may use incentive
contracts as a “steppingstone” fromcorrecting resource issues on specific land
units through EQIP to achieving sustainablestewardship on their entire operation.
Conservation Incentive Contracts areavailable nationwide and help producers
address priority resource concerns, likesequestering carbon and improving water
quality in high-priority areas.
Incentive contracts now offers newconservation evaluation and monitoring
activities (CEMA) to help report outcomesof practices.

Key Incentive Contract
Features
Incentive contracts:• Require producers to address at least
one priority resource concern during thecontract period.
• Have an initial length of five years.
• Have a payment limitation of $200,000
for the life of the 2018 Farm Bill which
expires in 2023.
JANUARY 2022

Other details include:• Offers two types of payments:• Implementation payments, which arepaid after certification of practice.
• Annual payments, which include
management practices that will serveas annual payments and are paid assoon as practicable, after October 1of each fiscal year.
• NRCS offers higher payment rates
and advance payments to historicallyunderserved (HU) producers who
implement conservation practices in an
EQIP Conservation Incentive Contract.
HU producers include Beginning Farmers,
Socially Disadvantaged Farmers, Limited
Resource Farmers, and Veterans.

Who Is Eligible?
Farmers, ranchers, and forest
landowners who own orlease agricultural land maybe eligible. EQIP assistancecan be used on many typesof operations, including, but
not limited to:•Conventional andorganic•Specialty crops andcommodity crops•Forestry and wildlife•

Livestock operations

Get Started with USDA
USDA provides technical assistance at no
cost to agricultural and forestry producers
from more than 2,300 USDA Service Centers
across the nation. Our Service Centers
are currently open for business, including
those that restrict in-person visits or requireappointments. Visit farmers.gov/servicelocator to find the contact information foryour local FSA or NRCS office. Check thestatus of your local USDA Service Center,then make an appointment to determine next
steps for your conservation goals.
Visit NRCS programs web page to learn
more about USDA’s financial and technicalconservation assistance.

How to Apply
NRCS accepts applications for EQIP yearround, however producers and landowners
should apply by state-specific, signup dates
to be considered for each year’s funding. To
apply, producers should contact their local
USDA Service Center.
Helping People Help the Landnrcs.usda.gov

CONSERVATION INCENTIVE CONTRACTS								2FY2022 EQIP-CIC Eligible Practices
CODE ASSETUNITSLIFESPAN

328

Conservation Crop Rotation

Ac

1329

Residue and Tillage Management, No Till

Ac

1333

Amending Soil Properties with Gypsum ProductsAc

1338

Prescribed Burning

Ac

1340

Cover CropAc

1345

Residue and Tillage Management, Reduced Till

Ac

1368

Emergency Animal Mortality Management

No

1373

Dust Control on Unpaved Roads and Surfaces

SqFt

1375

Dust Management for Pen Surfaces

Ac

1376

Field Operations Emissions Reduction

Ac

1399

Fishpond Management

Ac

1400

Bivalve Aquaculture Gear and Biofouling Control

Ac

1449

Irrigation Water Management

Ac

1450

Anionic Polyacrylamide (PAM) Application

Ac

1484

Mulching

Ac

1511

Forage Harvest Management

Ac

1528

Prescribed Grazing

Ac

1548

Grazing Land Mechanical Treatment

Ac

1554

Drainage Water Management

Ac

1590Nutrient Management

Ac

1591

Amendments for Treatment of Agricultural Waste

AU

1592

Feed Management

AU

1595

Pest Management Conservation SystemAc

1609

Surface Roughening

Ac

1610

Salinity and Sodic Soil Management

Ac

1633

Waste Recycling

No

1644

Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management

Ac

1645

Upland Wildlife Habitat Management

Ac

1647

Early Successional Habitat Development-Mgt

Ac

1808

Soil Carbon Amendment

Ac

1810

Annual Forages for Grazing Systems

Ac

1817

On-Farm Recharge

Ac

1207

Site Assessment and Soil Testing for Containments
ActivityNo

1216

Soil Health Testing

No

1217

Soil and Source Testing For Nutrient Management

No1

218

Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas MitigationAssessment

No1

Helping People Help the Land
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