This news item expired on Friday, February 17, 2017 so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is now accepting applications for enrollment in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), from livestock producers in western North Carolina who have been impacted by drought. Livestock producers with natural resource concerns associated with grazing lands have until February 17, 2017, to apply for funds that are available for drought impacted counties.
Counties eligible include: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey.
Though NRCS accepts program applications throughout the year, applications received by February 17, 2017, from eligible livestock producers in the identified drought affected counties, will be considered for available assistance through EQIP. EQIP is a voluntary conservation program administered by the NRCS. The program supports North Carolina farmers who have set compatible goals in both production agriculture and environmental quality. Through EQIP, farmers may receive financial and technical help to plan, design, and install structural conservation practices, and to plan and implement management practices on eligible agricultural land.
For more information on NRCS and Farm Bill natural resource conservation assistance, please contact your local NRCS field office today. NRCS is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. All programs administered by NRCS are authorized by the Farm Bill, are voluntary, and are available to all eligible landowners. Learn more about our programs and our field offices by visiting our website at www.nc.nrcs.usda.gov.
