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Etowah County 2004 EQIP Program


Executive Summary

The Natural Resources Conservation Service of USDA in Etowah County, Alabama, will hold a signup for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for the 2004 Fiscal Year. This signup will be held on a continuous basis. Any eligible landuser who has a resource concern or problem on pastureland, hayland, or cropland may apply for assistance through this program. Applications may be made at the NRCS office of the Etowah County USDA Service Center located at 312-B South Third Street, Gadsden, Alabama. Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. The telephone number is (256) 546-4841 Ext. 110. The local contact person is Kenneth Howell, District Conservationists.

The USDA work group has prioritized the following resource concerns for Etowah County as follows:

  1. Erosion/Soil Quality - Priority Ranking 1
  2. Water Quality (Animal Waste) - Priority Ranking 2
  3. Grazing Lands - Priority Ranking 2
  4. At Risk Species Habitat - Priority Ranking 5
  5. Water Conservation - Priority Ranking 5

Approvals will be given to those applications that will provide the greatest environmental benefits, i.e.: those receiving the most environmental points. Contracts will be developed for approved applications in order of descending environmental points, until all funds are obligated. Due to the large number of applications under Erosion/Soil Quality for conservation tillage, the Etowah County EQIP work group has set a limit of 100 acres per producer for the practice conservation tillage for 2004.

Applications will be “batched” and ranked two times per year. The first batching period for ranking and prioritizing applications will be May 28, 2004. The second batching period will be 30 days after first batching period (if additional funds become available).

If applications rank out equally on resource concerns, then the Etowah County Soil and Water Conservation District Board will select between tied applications by random drawing. The Etowah County USDA work group approved to implement the practice list and cost-share percentages (below) as approved by the State Conservationist for 2004 EQIP. Plans will be developed using conservation practices and cost-share percentages to address resource concerns.

Applications may also be taken on-line at: http://www.sc.egov.usda.gov. Additional information is available at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/.  

 These documents require Adobe Acrobat.
Adobe Acrobat DocumentConservation Program Application - CCC1200 (330 KB)
Adobe Acrobat DocumentState Ranking Tool (76 KB)
Adobe Acrobat DocumentState Practices, Cost-Share Rates, and Restrictions (100 KB)

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