Helping People Help the Land

Other details include:

• Offers two types of payments: 

• Implementation payments, which are 

paid after certification of practice. 

• Annual payments, which include 

management practices that will serve 

as annual payments and are paid as 

soon as practicable, after October 1 

of each fiscal year.

• NRCS offers higher payment rates 

and advance payments to historically 

underserved (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. 

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, and 

nonindustrial private forest landowners 

financial and technical assistance to help 

plan and implement conservation practices 

and activities on working agricultural and 

forestry landscapes.

What Are EQIP 

Conservation Incentive 

Contracts?

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” from 

correcting resource issues on specific land 

units through EQIP to achieving sustainable 

stewardship on their entire operation.

Conservation Incentive Contracts are 

available nationwide and help producers 

address priority resource concerns, like 

sequestering carbon and improving water 

quality in high-priority areas.

Incentive contracts now offers new 

conservation evaluation and monitoring 

activities (CEMA) to help report outcomes 

of practices.

Key Incentive Contract 

Features

Incentive contracts: 

• Require producers to address at least 

one priority resource concern during the 

contract 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. 

Environmental Quality 

Incentives Program 

Conservation Incentive Contracts

nrcs.usda.gov

Natural Resources Conservation Service

JANUARY 2022

Who Is Eligible?

Farmers, ranchers, and forest 

landowners who own or 

lease agricultural land may 

be eligible. EQIP assistance 

can be used on many types 

of operations, including, but 

not limited to:

• Conventional and 

organic

• Specialty crops and 

commodity 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 require 

appointments. Visit farmers.gov/servicelocator to find the contact information for 

your local FSA or NRCS office. Check the 

status 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 technical 

conservation 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.
CONSERVATION INCENTIVE CONTRACTS 2

CODE ASSET UNITS LIFESPAN

328 Conservation Crop Rotation Ac 1

329 Residue and Tillage Management, No Till Ac 1

333 Amending Soil Properties with Gypsum Products Ac 1

338 Prescribed Burning Ac 1

340 Cover Crop Ac 1

345 Residue and Tillage Management, Reduced Till Ac 1

368 Emergency Animal Mortality Management No 1

373 Dust Control on Unpaved Roads and Surfaces SqFt 1

375 Dust Management for Pen Surfaces Ac 1

376 Field Operations Emissions Reduction Ac 1

399 Fishpond Management Ac 1

400 Bivalve Aquaculture Gear and Biofouling Control Ac 1

449 Irrigation Water Management Ac 1

450 Anionic Polyacrylamide (PAM) Application Ac 1

484 Mulching Ac 1

511 Forage Harvest Management Ac 1

528 Prescribed Grazing Ac 1

548 Grazing Land Mechanical Treatment Ac 1

554 Drainage Water Management Ac 1

590 Nutrient Management Ac 1

591 Amendments for Treatment of Agricultural Waste AU 1

592 Feed Management AU 1

595 Pest Management Conservation System Ac 1

609 Surface Roughening Ac 1

610 Salinity and Sodic Soil Management Ac 1

633 Waste Recycling No 1

644 Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management Ac 1

645 Upland Wildlife Habitat Management Ac 1

647 Early Successional Habitat Development-Mgt Ac 1

808 Soil Carbon Amendment Ac 1

810 Annual Forages for Grazing Systems Ac 1

817 On-Farm Recharge Ac 1

207 Site Assessment and Soil Testing for Containments 

Activity

No 1

216 Soil Health Testing No 1

217 Soil and Source Testing For Nutrient Management No 1

218 Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation 

Assessment No 1

FY2022 EQIP-CIC Eligible Practices

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Helping People Help the Land

nrcs.usda.gov