The Environmental Quality Incentives Program

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a federal program that helps farmers and ranchers who want to protect natural resources on their farms. Producers can apply for funds and technical assistance through this program. EQIP has a new Organic Initiative available only for organic producers and those transitioning to organic.

Update! The deadline for applying to the 2010 EQIP Organic Initiative is March 12, 2010.

We will regularly update this page with new information about EQIP and the Organic Initiative. If you want to receive updates about EQIP and other federal agriculture programs by email, join the Organic Farmers Action Network. If you have any questions, contact Tracy Lerman, Policy Organizer at (831) 426-6606 x 108 or tracy@ofrf.org.

General Information
The EQIP Organic Initiative
Eligibility
Practices
Payments
The Application Process
Deadlines and Ranking
Resources

General Information
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, an agency within USDA). EQIP provides financial and technical assistance to growers who face threats to soil, water, air, and related natural resources on their land. Through EQIP, NRCS develops contracts with agricultural producers to implement conservation practices that address environmental natural resource problems. Payments are made to producers once conservation practices are completed according to NRCS requirements. EQIP is open to applications from all agriculture producers, regardless of whether or not they are organic.

The EQIP Organic Initiative
In 2009, NRCS created the EQIP Organic Initiative, a targeted program in EQIP which provides financial and technical assistance specifically to existing organic farmers and to growers transitioning to organic production systems. The Organic Initiative funds conservation measures specific to organic production systems. USDA allocated $50 million for the Organic Initiative in 2009, and has the same amount for 2010. Sign-up for the 2010 Organic Initiative is open until March 12, 2010.

Certified organic growers and those transitioning to organic can apply to both the regular EQIP and the EQIP Organic Initiative. The regular EQIP has higher payment limitations but is a much more competitive program. The EQIP Organic Initiative has lower payment limitations, but the pool of applicants will be smaller and less competitive. Visit the EQIP webpage on the NRCS website for more information on the non-organic EQIP.

Eligibility
The EQIP Organic Initiative is open to agricultural producers who are:

• Interested in transitioning to organic.
• In the process of transitioning to organic.
• Already certified organic and interested in transitioning more acreage to organic.
• Already certified organic and interested in adopting conservation measures on their farm.
• Already certified organic and interested in transitioning more acreage to organic AND adopting conservation measures on their farm.

Organic producers who are exempt from certifying are still eligible to participate in the program. Other eligibility requirements include the following:

• The applicant must be either an agricultural producer with at least $1,000 in farm income or a private, non-industrial owner of working forest land.
• The applicant must be the owner or operator on record and must have documentable control over the land for the EQIP contract period.
• The applicant's average annual adjusted gross income must not exceed $1 million, unless two-thirds of that income is from agriculture, ranching, or forestry operations.
• The applicant is in compliance with provisions to protect highly erodible land and wetlands. For more information, read the NRCS webpage on these compliance provisions.

Practices
In 2009, the EQIP Organic Initiative had six core conservation practices related to organic farming. Producers applied to NRCS for financial and technical assistance for implementing these six practices on their farms. In addition to the six, some states offered facilitating practices for which producers could receive assistance.

This year, states must select which practices they will offer to growers under the initiative. States have until February 19, 2010 to decide which practices they will offer. NRCS Headquarters has provided state offices with a comparison chart identifying conservation practices that align with requirements of the National Organic Program. Contact your state NRCS office or your local NRCS Service Center to find out which practices your state will offer.

Payments
State NRCS offices must develop payment schedules for each of the practices they offer through the Organic Initiative by February 19, 2010. In developing the FY 2010 Organic Initiative payment schedules, states must take into consideration increased costs and income foregone as a result of implementing a practice on an organic or transitioning operation.

Producers who receive contracts through the initiative will receive 75 percent of the cost of implementing the conservation practices. Beginning, socially disadvantaged, and limited resource farmers (those considered historically underserved by the USDA) will receive 90 percent of the cost of implementing the conservation practices.

Participants in the EQIP Organic Initiative can receive a maximum of $20,000 per year, and no more than $80,000 over six years.

The Application Process
Producers interested in applying for the EQIP Organic Initiative should visit their local NRCS Service Center to begin the application process. Below are the basic steps for applying to the program. Please note that there are different requirements depending on whether you are a certified organic producer or are transitioning to organic production.

All applicants have to fill out a Conservation Program Application (form NRCS-CPA-1200). Applicants also need to establish a record with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) at their local FSA Service Center, if they have not already done so. The FSA Service Centers are often in the same building as the NRCS Service Centers.

Certified organic producers must submit a copy of their current Organic System Plan and the name and contact information of the USDA-accredited certifying agent for their operation.

Producers transitioning organic production must submit a "self-certification" letter that states the applicant "agrees to develop and implement conservation practices for certified organic production that are consistent with an organic system plan." Transitioning producers must also have contacted a USDA-accredited certifying agent that you plan to certify with and provide NRCS with the name. The USDA National Organic Program has an online list of USDA-accredited certifying agents.

If you applied to the EQIP Organic Initiative in 2009 and your application was deferred, you will receive a letter from NRCS informing you of your options for 2010. If you do not receive a letter, please contact your local NRCS Service Center.

Deadlines and Ranking
Although the application process for EQIP is continuous, NRCS establishes periodic deadlines (typically once a year) where they rank all of the applications they have received to determine who will get a contract. The ranking cutoff date for the 2010 EQIP Organic Initiative is March 12, 2010. Applications received after this date will be ranked at the next ranking cutoff date.

NRCS established two separate ranking pools for applications, one for transitioning farmers without any current certified organic production, and one for existing certified organic farmers who are either adding new transitional production or adopting new conservation measures on existing organic production.  In both cases, those in these special ranking pools will be competing only against applicants in the same pool, and will not compete with applicants in the much, much larger general EQIP pool.  Each State Conservationist will decide how to split that state’s allocation between the two ranking pools.

The ranking cutoff date for the regular EQIP varies by state. Call your state NRCS office or visit your state NRCS webpage to find out any state specific information about EQIP.

Resources
Organizations Providing Assistance to Farmers
This list will be updated as needed, so please check back. If your organization has web-based information and/or expertise in assisting farmers applying for EQIP and wants to be listed here, contact Tracy Lerman, Policy Organizer, at tracy@ofrf.org.

NRCS Organic Point of Contact List (pdf) - The list of organic point persons in each NRCS state office (updated January 2010)

The EQIP Organic Initiative Guidance for 2010 (pdf) - This document is the instructions developed by the NRCS headquarters on how the 2010 EQIP Organic Initiative must implemented.

The NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program Organic Initiative Information Page - the official program information page from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The site explains the eligibility requirements, provides guidance on how to participate and lists resources on organic production.

NRCS Organic Initiative 2010 - the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition's (NSAC) webpage with in-depth information about the EQIP Organic Initiative.

Accessing the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative for Conversion or Expansion - the National Center for Appropriate Technology's (NCAT) webpage with comprehensive information on the EQIP OI.

The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) webpage on the EQIP OI - this page has a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the EQIP OI.

Page updated February 1, 2010.