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Montana Organic Production Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Special Initiative

Overview

Montana NRCS is offering an Environmental Quality Incentives Program special initiative to assist producers address resource concerns associated with organic production and transitioning to organic crop production. Applications for financial assistance are being accepted from May 11, 2009 to June 12, 2009.

Legislative Changes

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) makes financial and technical assistance available to producers of all commodities meet their conservation goals, including producers transitioning to organic farming and currently certified organic producers. The assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helps producers plan and implement conservation practices to allow their organic operations to be environmentally sustainable.

Program Eligibility – Organic Funding

  • Applicants must be pursing an organic certification or in compliance with their organic certification
  • Applicants must be in compliance with highly erodible land and wetland conservation.
  • Applicants must certify that the average adjusted gross off-farm income is less than $1,000,000.
  • Program participants are required to develop and carry out an organic system.

Payment Limitations

Financial assistance is limited to $20,000 per year and $80,000 during the six year period between 2009 and 2014 per individual or entity under the organic funding provisions.

EQIP Assistance

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is primarily used to provide financial and technical assistance to implement conservation practices to address soil, water, air, plant, animal, and energy resources. A new organic provision targets organic producers and producers transitioning to organic production for conservation practices related to organic production.

Potential Practices for Organic Production

This list of practices is not all inclusive when developing a conservation plan to address Organic Resource Concerns.

  • 328 Conservation Crop Rotation
  • 340 Cover Crop
  • 386 Field Border
  • 393 Filter Strip
  • 511 Forage Harvest Management
  • 412 Grassed Waterway
  • 797 Herbaceous Weed Control
  • 590 Nutrient Management
  • 512 Pasture and Hay Planting
  • 590 Pest Management
  • 516 Pipeline
  • 528 Prescribed Grazing
  • 533 Pumping Plant
  • 550 Range Planting
  • 345 Residue and Tillage Management, Mulch Till
  • 610 Salinity and Sodic Soil Management
  • 574 Spring Development
  • 587 Structure for Water Control
  • 633 Waste Utilization
  • 614 Watering Facility
  • 642 Water Well
  • 380 Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment
  • 650 Windbreak/Shelterbelt Renovation

More Information

Please contact NRCS at your local USDA Service Center for more information or to apply for funding.

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Montana Organic Production EQIP Special Initiative (PDF; 193 KB)

Last Modified: 09/20/2007