New EQIP funding opportunity

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois State Conservationist Tammy Willis announced a new statewide funding opportunity for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.

The new EQIP-IRA ranking pool will offer five management practices to include conservation crop rotation, cover crop, no-till, reduced tillage and nutrient management.

To address a natural resource concern, the management practices may be planned and contracted for up to five years.

The EQIP-IRA ranking for management practices will be administered with the ACT NOW process. Through ACT NOW, the Natural Resources Conservation Service can quickly fund a ranked application when it meets or exceeds a determined minimum ranking score.

ACT NOW is a funding process where applications will have a much shorter turnaround time and contracts developed in a few weeks compared to the traditional process.

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis; however for EQIP-IRA ACT NOW, applications will be accepted through Jan. 26.

Illinois NRCS will begin funding eligible applications after Jan. 5 and make funding decisions every two weeks as funds are available.

Producers who have an application on file with their NRCS field office should contact the office if they are interested in competing for EQIP-IRA funding.

More Illinois NRCS application deadlines will be announced in the future, but applicants are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible.

For information on EQIP or other NRCS programs, contact your local NRCS field office or visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/il.