EQIP offers contracts with a minimum term of one year and commonly for three years. Cost share for individual practices will vary, but they will not exceed 75%. Cost share for limited resource farmers and beginning farmers, for individual practices will vary, but they will not exceed 90%. Incentive rates will be established that are appropriate to facilitate an environmentally beneficial land management change.

View more information at
ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/MI/programs/EQIP/2007/FY07_EQIPCostList_readable_format.pdf

For reference: 2004 to 2006 incentive rates for pest management in Michigan

Some of the IPM techniques farmers include in their contracts include conversion to reduced risk technologies (such as adding electronic canopy sensing technologies to orchard sprayers, use of flamer and steamer weed control technology and use of pesticides with low potential for ground and surface water contamination); removal of wild host plants that harbor pests, mulching of legume hay in young plantings for improved plant health and reduced use of herbicides with high leaching potential; and establishment of sod centers in orchards with a legume and grass blend to provide plant nutrients, reduce erosion and provide alternate hosts for beneficial insects.

The NRCS pest management practice can be used to address the following concerns:
- Riparian Corridor Management Systems
- Groundwater Resource Protection Systems
- Air Quality Protection Systems, and
- Integrated Conservation Cropping Systems.

The strongest applications for EQIP utilize a variety of NRCS practices and address multiple conservation concerns. These resource concerns and NRCS practices to address the concerns are described by NRCS at its web site.

Applications to participate are made through NRCS offices. To learn more about participating in EQIP, see the getting started section of our web site and the following article by Michael Brewer, Michigan State University IPM Coordinator.

Is EQIP a beneficial program for you?
by Michael Brewer, Michigan State University IPM Coordinator

Of course, only you can answer this question, but here is some information that may be useful as you consider it. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary federal program administered by USDA NRCS that supports the use of structural and land management practices by growers on their land with the aim to address environmental and key resource concerns and to improve the farm's economic outlook at the same time. For plant production, their agrichemical containment facility "structural practice" has been beneficial to many growers interested in minimizing problems in storing their pesticides and fertilizers.

Other structural practices, such as hedgerow planting, field borders and filter strips, also have promise from a crop and pest management perspective, but they have been less utilized. For these practices, the program provides payments at a specific percent of the cost of implementing the practice.

Other practices called land management practices that need to be implemented yearly also seem well suited for use by plant-based agriculture. These include IPM, cover crops, nutrient management, residue management and strip cropping.

The program provides incentive payments on a dollar per acre rate for a set number of years (most commonly for three years) and with a possible total acreage limit for any one practice. Identifying practices that you want to try and that suit your needs is, of course, fundamentally important, but also remember that the practices must address one or more identified resource concerns such as groundwater protection (Do you have leachable soils?) and riparian protection (Do you have potential for agricultural water runoff?). Local district conservationists (your local representatives of USDA NRCS) may be especially helpful in this area. They are well aware of their district's resource concerns and can help identify practices (structural and land management) that can aid your farm's economic outlook and address key resource concerns. They have access to information from many sources, like IPM information from MSU (http://www.ipm.msu.edu), and they often work with your local MSU Extension agent.

To raise your application high on the priority list, it is wise to identify at least two resource concerns and identify a number of practices to address these concerns. Again, your district conservationist can be very helpful. In many cases, it is the combination of practices that can really help: payments increase for you and more practices are implemented to address resource concerns and better your farm's economic outlook. For example, it may be very appropriate to link up IPM, cover crop and residue management incentive payments to address a couple of resource concerns related to water.

If you want to explore your options with EQIP, you should contact your district conservationist to learn more about deadlines and procedures. An NRCS staff and office directory is available on the Michigan NRCS website at: http://www.mi.nrcs.usda.gov/contact. Click on "Find a Service Center" on the left side of the web page.

back to top