EQIP Signup for Cranberry Production - 2005

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) will once again be made available for conservation on Wisconsin cranberry marshes during 2005.  Cranberry growers interested in EQIP assistance for conservation work are encouraged to sign up from December 27, 2004, through February 4, 2005. 

Growers can apply for EQIP at any time during the year.  However, to be considered for funding in 2005, growers must have completed the necessary application procedures prior to February 4, 2005.
 

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible for financial assistance through EQIP, the applicant must be determined to be an eligible producer by USDA.  This includes a determination that the applicant is an agricultural producer, does not exceed EQIP payment or Adjusted Gross Income limitations, and is in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland conservation provisions of program rules.  The land on which the proposed EQIP practices will be applied must also meet certain eligibility requirements.  These determinations are made by USDA personnel.

Interested producers must complete and sign all necessary forms prior to the application cut-off date of February 4, 2005. The Conservation Program Application/Contract (form CCC-1200) is the official application form, and is available at USDA Service Centers or can be obtained on-line.  Note: the CCC-1200 Appendix will also need to be reviewed and signed prior to the application deadline. Additional forms from USDA may be required for the determination of producer eligibility (form CCC-502) and compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland conservation provisions of the Farm Bill (form AD-1026). 

To be eligible for EQIP financial assistance, the producer must not have started the practice(s) prior to having an EQIP contract approved.
 

Developing an EQIP Contract

Applicants who rank high enough to be selected for contracting must develop a conservation plan with a certified conservation planner.  The conservation plan will outline the practices to be included in the contract, and will include a preliminary schedule for implementing practices.  To initiate the conservation planning process, complete the Conservation on Your Land workbook, and submit it to Michael Stinebrink, at the WSCGA office.  This workbook can be downloaded from this website.  Growers are encouraged to begin development of a conservation plan prior to applying for financial assistance through EQIP or other conservation programs.  NOTE: Applicants who commit to the whole farm planning process and complete the Conservation on Your Land workbook will receive higher priority for EQIP ranking purposes.

A cost-shared practice must be started within 12 months of contract approval.  Once begun, the producer is expected to make continuous progress towards implementation.  Failure to commence a practice within 12 months of contract approval may result in contract termination unless circumstances beyond the producer’s control prevented the start of the practice.

Priority Resource Concerns

The Cranberry Work Group, an advisory group to NRCS, has identified water quality, water conservation, and soil erosion as the primary resource concerns on cranberry production systems in Wisconsin.  Available EQIP financial assistance resources will be targeted to address the following specific EQIP resource concerns:

• (WS1) Surface Water Quality – Nutrients
• (WS3) Surface Water Quality – Pesticides
• (WS10) Surface Water Quality – Other [temperature]
• (WQ9) Water Quantity – Other [inefficient use of water supplies]
• (SE2) Soil Quality – Excessive erosion [streambank/shoreline, dike/ditch banks]

Only practices that address at least one of the above listed EQIP resource concerns will be eligible for financial assistance through the Statewide Cranberry Sign-up.

Water quality and quantity are key resource issues due largely to the fact that cranberries are grown in close proximity to water.  The risk of contamination of water resources from the application of plant nutrients and pesticides is largely due to this factor.  Surface water resources can also be impacted by the release of “flood waters”, which have the potential to increase in temperature as they are used in production, before being returned to streams, lakes, or other surface water features.  Opportunities exist to improve the efficiency of irrigation water applications, and to recover and re-use “flood waters”, thereby reducing net water use.  Excessive erosion from reservoir and natural lake shorelines, streambanks, and constructed dikes and ditch banks also has the potential to negatively impact water quality. 

Ranking and Funding of Applications

Scoring of all eligible applications will be done after the application cutoff date (2/4/05) has passed.  Scoring of the applications will be based upon the EQIP FY 2005 Scoring Sheet, Cranberry Conservation, Wisconsin Statewide Signup.  Applications will be selected for plan development and contracting in ranked order according to the scoring results as available funds allow.  If insufficient funds are available to fund all eligible applications, the remaining applications will be retained and may be re-ranked with additional applications if another application ranking period is announced in FY 2005.

Applicants for the statewide EQIP sign-up for cranberry production are not prohibited from also applying for EQIP assistance through the local, county-level EQIP funding pools or other statewide funding pools.  However, separate applications for the same conservation practice(s) on the same land are not permitted.  And, the separate applications must be consistent with the requirements of the individual funding pools. 

How to Apply

Interested growers may apply at any Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office.  Applicants may also request EQIP assistance by telephone, fax, e-mail, or by letter.  Contact your local USDA Service Center for more information.  The application process may also be initiated at the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association (WSCGA) office, where an NRCS conservationist is staffed.  The street address for the WSCGA is 132 E Grand Ave., Suite 202, and the mailing address is PO Box 365, Wisconsin Rapids, WI  54495.  Michael Stinebrink is the NRCS Resource Conservationist staffed at the WSCGA office.  He can be reached via email at michael.stinebrink@wi.usda.gov, or by phone at (715) 423-2070 Ext. 4.  The WSCGA fax number is (715) 423-0275.

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