State Conservationist Dr. William Puckett with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced June 19, 2009, as the cutoff date for an additional signup for the new Precision Farming Incentive under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Applying for EQIP is continuous; however, selecting applications for funding is completed periodically through batching periods with specific cutoff dates.
The Precision Farming Incentive is designed to encourage the adoption of variable-rate application of nutrients and pesticides and promote the use of GPS-enabled precision agricultural technology and equipment. The goals of the Precision Farming Incentive include improving water quality by targeting areas for reduced nutrient and pesticide application, reducing runoff and leaching of pesticides, enhancing soil quality through reduced erosion and soil compaction and energy conservation through accurate and efficient application of crop inputs.
Under the new Precision Farming Incentive, cropland producing annually planted crops in the following counties is eligible for 2009: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Blount, Cherokee, Coffee, Colbert, Covington, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Franklin, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, and Montgomery.
Information and eligibility requirements on EQIP are available on the Alabama NRCS website under Programs.