Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) offers financial and technical help to assist eligible participants install or implement structural and management practices to improve environmental quality on agricultural lands. State conservationists have discretion over the allocation of the funding within their areas. Workgroups, convened by the local Soil and Water Conservation Districts, identify the specific resource concerns to be addressed, set priority area goals, select cost-share practices, establish ranking criteria for evaluating applications, and set their own schedule for approving applications. EQIP offers contracts with a minimum term that ends one year after the implementation of the last scheduled practices, up to a maximum of 10 years. These contracts provide incentive payments and cost-share grants to implement conservation practices. EQIP may cost-share up to 75 percent of the costs of certain conservation practices. Limited resource producers and beginning farmers and ranchers may be eligible for cost-shares up to 90 percent. Farmers and ranchers may elect to use a certified third-party provider for technical assistance. An individual or entity may not receive, directly or indirectly, cost-share or incentive payments that, in the aggregate, exceed $450,000 for all EQIP contracts entered during the term of the Farm Bill.