Opportunities are available for Oregon farmers, ranchers and forest owners to perform voluntary conservation activities with financial assistance from Oregon’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
NRCS Oregon announces new sign-up deadlines for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
Applicants must apply by November 18, 2022 to be considered for the first round of fiscal year 2023 funding.
To apply for EQIP, contact your local USDA Service Center or apply online at farmers.gov. To apply for RCPP, contact your local USDA Service Center.
The November 18 deadline applies to the following funding pools:
- General EQIP: In Oregon, general EQIP dollars are available to producers within a Conservation Implementation Strategy (CIS) area. CIS’s are locally-led projects developed by farmers and partners through the NRCS Local Work Group process.
- Organic EQIP: Offers assistance to USDA certified organic producers and to producers wishing to transition their operation to obtain an organic certification.
- Seasonal High Tunnel EQIP: Offers assistance to install a seasonal high tunnel (hoop house) to extend seasonal crop production to strengthen local and regional food markets while reducing pesticide use and energy inputs.
- On-Farm Energy EQIP: Assists producers to conserve energy on their farms through an on-farm energy audit and provides assistance to implement various recommended measures identified in an energy audit.
- Sage Grouse Initiative EQIP: Focuses on making measurable and significant progress toward treating threats to rangeland health including sage grouse habitat on private lands.
- Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Initiative: These projects focus on reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire on private forestlands and adjacent federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Funding is available in Deschutes, Jefferson and Lake counties.
- National Water Quality Initiative: NRCS works closely with conservation partners to select priority watersheds where on-farm conservation investments will deliver the greatest water quality improvements.
- National Air Quality Initiative (NAQI): In Oregon, NAQI funding is available to farmers in Hood River County to help orchard producers reduce the use of high-emission, diesel-fuel smudge pots which are commonly used to protect crops from damaging spring frosts. NRCS is providing a financial incentive to help growers remove smudge pots from their operations, so they can be replaced with cleaner, more efficient systems. Funding is available in Hood River and Wasco counties.
- WaterSMART: Through the WaterSMART Initiative, NRCS Oregon collaborates with the Bureau of Reclamation to coordinate investments in priority areas for improving our cumulative impact in water conservation and drought resilience.
- Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP): RCPP promotes the coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to expand our collective ability to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns. Farmers, ranchers and forest owners who manage property within a current RCPP project area may be eligible for conservation assistance from NRCS and other partners.
Original source can be found here.
