Montana NRCS Announces EQIP Special Initiative Funding Projects

CRP Transition, Fuel Breaks (in Specific Counties) and Seasonal High Tunnels

November 8, 2010

For More Information:
Carrie Mosley 406-587-6967

Bozeman--Natural Resources Conservation Service in Montana will start accepting applications for three Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) special initiatives that target funds for specific natural resource issues on private agricultural land in Montana.

A quarter of a million dollars have been set aside for the first special initiative specifically for lands with expiring contracts in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Cropland acres that are enrolled in CRP have been planted to grass and rested for the past 10 or more years. After the contracts expire, landowners are faced with the decision whether to plow up the grass and resume planting crops or to keep the land in grass. This special initiative offers landowners the opportunity to receive funding to install fences and livestock water developments encouraging them to keep the land in grass and utilize an appropriate grazing system. By keeping the land in grass, Montana benefits by increasing grazing land capacity, reducing grazing pressure on native rangelands, and retaining the benefits of established permanent cover.

The second special initiative, first offered in 2010, again sets aside $100,000 for seasonal high tunnels. The high tunnel is a structure of a metal bow frame at least 6 feet high, covered with a single layer of polyethylene. These structures differ from greenhouses in that seasonal high tunnels have no electrical, ventilation or heating systems. Popular among smaller farming operations, seasonal high tunnels allow the ability to extend the growing season for various produce in Montana’s climate. Conditions for eligibility include that the structure must be erected on land that is currently cultivated and applicants must demonstrate that they have already been earning at least $1,000 per year producing agricultural products.

The third special initiative sets aside $1 million for fuel break practices in the following counties:

• Broadwater
• Southern portion of Powell
• Jefferson
• Granite
• Lewis and Clark
• Meagher

The initiative is designed to help private forest landowners remove hazardous fuels such as trees killed from pine beetles to improve forest health and reduce wildfire potential

Applications for each of these special initiatives must be received at the local NRCS field office no later than December 23, 2010. For additional information or an application form, contact your area NRCS Natural Resource Conservationist or your local USDA Service Center office or contact your local USDA Service Center.

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