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Montana NRCS Announces Conservation Initiatives for 2017

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering additional funding through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to target specific resource concerns in Montana in 2017: On-Farm Energy, Organic, High Tunnel Systems, Honey Bee Pollinators, Sage Grouse Initiative Invasive Conifer Removal, and Sage Grouse Initiative Cropland Seeding.

While NRCS accepts applications for EQIP on a continuous basis, NRCS has set a deadline of Feb. 24, 2017, to apply for 2017 initiatives funding.

Below is an overview of each initiative:

National On-Farm Energy Initiative (NOFEI): NOFEI has two components. In the first component, agricultural producers work with an NRCS-approved Technical Service Provider to develop Agricultural Energy Management Plans or farm energy audits that assess energy consumption on an operation. In the second component, NRCS may also provide assistance to implement various recommended measures identified in the energy audit through the use of conservation practice standards offered through this initiative.

National Organic Initiative (NOI): NRCS will assist producers with installation of conservation practices on agricultural operations related to organic production. Producers currently certified as organic, transitioning to organic, or National Organic Program exempt will have access to a broad set of conservation practices to assist in treating their resource concerns while fulfilling many of the requirements in an Organic System Plan.

High Tunnel Systems: NRCS helps producers implement high tunnels that extend growing seasons for high value crops in an environmentally safe manner. High tunnel benefits include better plant and soil quality and fewer nutrients and pesticides in the environment.

Honey Bee Pollinators: NRCS will work with agricultural producers to combat future declines by helping them to implement conservation practices that provide forage for honey bees while enhancing habitat for other pollinators and wildlife and improving the quality of water, air and soil.

Sage Grouse Initiative Invasive Conifer Removal: Conifer encroachment into sagebrush rangelands affects the sustainability and productivity of grazing lands and can be detrimental for sage-grouse and other species that depend on sage-bush-steppe habitat. Private landowners will be able to mitigate these threats by implementing science-based conservation practices. The most cost-effective approach for conifer treatment is to target early encroachment stands, where small trees can be completely removed and the existing sagebrush community sustained. This funding opportunity will assist private landowners with targeting early stages of encroachment in intact sagebrush landscapes to improve the habitat for wildlife and the sustainability and productivity of grazing lands.

Sage Grouse Initiative Cropland Seeding: Loss and fragmentation of sage-grouse habitat is the primary threat to sage-grouse and Montana has recently seen large tracts of rangeland cultivated for crop production. Through this funding opportunity, landowners can work with the NRCS to seed cropland in sage-grouse habitat back to perennial species to improve the connectivity for not only sage-grouse, but the many other species that depend on large, intact landscapes.

EQIP offers financial and technical assistance to eligible participants to install or implement structural and management practices on eligible agricultural land. Conservation practices must be implemented to NRCS standards and specifications. In Montana, socially disadvantaged, limited resource, and beginning farmers and ranchers will receive a higher payment rate for eligible conservation practices applied.

Applicants that operate as an entity are required to have a DUNs number and have that number registered with SAM.gov prior to submitting their application for consideration.

For more information about EQIP, or other programs offered by NRCS, please contact your local USDA Service Center or visit http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov.

 

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