Drought assistance applications are available for farmers and ranchers impacted by ongoing drought conditions in 128 of Texas’ 254 counties, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
NRCS in Texas is making funding available through the agency’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for qualified farmers and ranchers to assist in conservation practices that help to sustain the land’s natural resources during drought or assist during recovery.
“Farmers and ranchers in Texas are no stranger to drought, which is once again slowly creeping across the state,” said Salvador Salinas, NRCS state conservationist. “Across the entire state drought conditions range from abnormally dry to pockets of extreme drought. In an effort to assist landowners during these difficult conditions, we are offering additional funding opportunities through EQIP. I encourage producers in impacted counties to reach out to their local NRCS field office.”
The sign up deadline for farmers and ranchers in the 128 counties is Aug. 30. Funding decisions will be made by Sept. 6.
Eligible counties include: Archer, Armstrong, Bailey, Bandera, Baylor, Bell, Blanco, Borden, Bosque, Bowie, Briscoe, Brown, Carson, Cass, Castro, Childress, Cochran, Coleman, Collin, Collingsworth, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Dallas, Dawson, Deaf, Delta, Denton, Dickens, Dimmit, Donley, Eastland, Edwards, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Floyd, Foard, Franklin, Gaines, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Gray, Gregg, Hale, Hall, Hamilton, Hardeman, Harrison, Hemphill, Hill, Hockley, Hood, Hopkins, Howard, Jack, Johnson, Kendall, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney, Knox, Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, LaSalle, Leon, Limestone, Lipscomb, Llano, Lubbock, Lynn, McCulloch, McLennan, Marion, Martin, Mason, Maverick, Menard, Midland, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Morris Motley, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker, Parmer Potter, Randall, Real, Red River, Robertson, Runnels, Rusk, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Somervell, Stephens, Sterling, Sutton, Swisher, Tarrant, Terrell, Terry, Titus, Tom Green, Upshur, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Wise, Yoakum, Zapata and Zavala.
To learn more about NRCS and available financial and technical assistance, visit www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov or your local USDA Service Center.