The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Alabama (NRCS-AL) wants to remind producers and landowners that signup continues for FY ‘24 easement and financial assistance programs. This includes the:
- Agricultural Conservation Easement Program–Wetland Reserve Easements (ACEP-WRE)
- Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
- Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
- (EQIP) Conservation Incentive Contracts (CIC)
- Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP within EQIP)
Land eligible for ACEP–WRE easements include farmed or converted wetland that can be successfully and cost-effectively restored. The program helps to provide habitat for fish and wildlife, improve water quality, reduce flooding, recharge groundwater, and protect biological diversity.
CSP assists agricultural producers in maintaining and improving their existing conservation systems and adopt additional conservation activities to address priority resources concerns. Participants earn CSP payments for conservation performance—the higher the performance, the higher the payment.
EQIP provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and air quality, conserved ground and surface water, increased soil health and reduced soil erosion and sedimentation, improved or created wildlife habitat, and mitigation against increasing weather volatility.
EQIP–CIC provides financial assistance to address priority resource concerns, including sequestering carbon and improving soil health in high-priority areas. The focus within Alabama is to increase the adoption of cover crops, native warm season grasses, prescribed grazing, and residue and tillage management on cropland and pastures.
RCPP–EQIP promotes coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to expand our collective ability to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns. Practices include Riparian Buffer establishment, exclusion fencing, livestock watering systems, and other supporting practices. This is the final year of this project.
While applications for these programs are accepted on a continuous basis, selecting applications for funding is completed periodically through batching periods with specific cutoff dates. The first cutoff date is November 3, 2023.
For more information, contact NRCS at your local USDA Service Center.