The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Texas has established two special Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) sign ups to help farmers and ranchers who suffered damage to working lands and livestock mortality as a result of Hurricane Harvey.
EQIP is available to help farmers and ranchers treat the on-farm and ranch problems caused by the high winds, rainfall and flood waters due to Hurricane Harvey along the Texas Gulf Coast.
Declared disaster counties and eligible under these sign ups include: Austin, Aransas, Bastrop, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Hardin, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Karnes, Kleberg, Lavaca, Lee, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Tyler, Victoria, Walker, Waller and Wharton.
An EQIP special sign-up specific to agricultural livestock mortality and carcass disposal is now open and available to immediately assist ranchers in disposal of livestock carcasses on their farm or ranch. This special sign up ends Sept. 22, 2017.
NRCS is also now accepting EQIP applications from farmers and ranchers in the Harvey disaster-declared counties to apply conservation practices and to address resource concerns due to Harvey, as well as agricultural livestock mortality carcass disposal.
The first funding deadline is Oct. 6, 2017, with additional funding dates of Nov. 3, 2017 and Dec. 3, 2017.
Farmers and ranchers seeking NRCS financial and technical assistance can sign up for EQIP at their local NRCS office or if already a USDA client, on-line via Conservation Client Gateway (CCG).
CCG can be accessed at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/cgate/. Conservation practices available through this EQIP funding are specifically designed to address flood and wind damage and excessive runoff to address natural resource concerns caused by the hurricane and provide future protection from exceptional storm events.
For more information contact your local USDA Service Center office in your county, call 1-888-489-8732 or visit the Texas NRCS website. Information regarding EQIP can be found here.