By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

PEORIA, Ill. — Kim Smail, district conservationist for the Lewistown, Ill., field office of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), was happy just to have a reason for being present at the 2011 Illinois Pork Expo, Feb. 15-16 in the Peoria Civic Center’s Exhibition Hall.

Though President Obama’s recently announced, proposed 2012 budget threatened to trim $3 billion from the USDA’s budget, many of NRCS’ most popular programs survived the brunt of the president’s budget slashing - including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which Smail was present at the show to promote.

“With the budget the president just announced, it looks like EQIP will be fully funded in 2012,” Smail said. “Right now we have funding available for 2011. Producers who are looking to (perform) good conservation measures on their ground should look into EQIP and start planning.”

EQIP is regarded as the heart of NRCS conservation programs and is the primary resource for private landowners seeking to put soil and water conservation on the ground. The program provides technical assistance and cost-share payments to landowners who enroll through their local NRCS offices.

EQIP provides assistance in areas such as terracing, conservation tillage, nutrient management plans, animal waste management structure design, fencing materials and design, forest stand improvement and thinning, wetland restoration, grazing management plans and materials, streambank protection, grassed waterways and pest management. Funds are directed toward operations and projects that offer the greatest environmental benefit, according to EQIP literature.

“EQIP is a cost-share program that basically pays about 60 percent (of costs associated with approved soil and water conservation practices),” said Smail. “Limited resource and under-served farmers can get a higher cost share.”
Farmers who might be interested in EQIP or other NRCS-directed programs such as the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) or the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) should initiate contact with their area USDA/NRCS field office.

“All of these programs will be fully funded through 2012, and we’re taking sign-ups every day of the year that we are open; it’s a continuous process,” Smail reported.

“These programs start with good planning in the field. We work with the producer to decide what they need to do on their farm, then we determine what kind of program, such as EQIP, works for them.”

For more details on EQIP and other NRCS soil and water conservation programs in Illinois, visit http://il.nrcs.usda.gov