State offices of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) have established application deadlines for the 2014 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Deadlines for your state are listed below. Ranking periods for other states will be published when they are announced by NRCS. Applications are being accepted at all USDA Service Centers. EQIP is a voluntary program that helps growers address critical environmental concerns with NRCS financial and technical assistance for more than 80 basic conservation practices, including Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
IPM Conservation Activity Plans (CAPs) and Herbicide Resistance IPM CAPs are available nationwide. These options provide a onetime financial assistance payment to growers to work with qualified Technical Service Providers (TSP) to design an IPM plan to address key natural resource concerns.
NRCS accepts applications for EQIP on a continuous basis, but producers must file applications by the deadlines below to be considered in these initial ranking periods. Applications filed after the deadlines will be considered in the next ranking period if funds remain available. More information is available from NRCS in your state: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/sitenav/national/states/.
Note: Ranking deadlines are for general state 2014 EQIP signup. Separate deadlines for special local, state or national EQIP initiatives may exist.
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Southern States |
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| Alabama | October 18, 2013 |
| Florida | November 15, 2013 |
| Louisiana | November 15, 2013 |
| Mississippi | November 1, 2013; January 17, 2014; April 18, 2014 |
| Oklahoma | Tentatively December 20, 2013 |
| South Carolina | December 20, 2013 |
| Texas | Tentatively January 1, 2014; March 1, 2014; May 1, 2014 |
| Virginia | November 15, 2013 |
Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee have not announced batching deadlines.
Since 2006, the NRCS and IPM Working Group (http://nrcs.ipm.msu.edu/) has been working to increase access to EQIP for growers interested in IPM. The Working Group is composed of both NRCS and IPM professionals who meet monthly by conference call. Activities have been funded by three of the four USDA Regional IPM Centers, with primary funding from the North Central IPM Center. Questions or comments, please contact Katherine Mumm, IPM Institute of North America, kmumm@ipminstitute.org.
Reprinted by request from Katherine Mumm, IPM Institute of North America.
