USDA announces ranking dates for Conservation Incentive Contracts in Massachusetts
AMHERST, Mass., Dec. 21, 2021 – The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Massachusetts has announced application ranking dates for Conservation Incentive Contracts (CIC), a new option available through the federal Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), a voluntary conservation program available for agricultural producers.
The 2018 Farm Bill created the Conservation Incentive Contracts option to address high-priority conservation and natural resources concerns. Through five-year contracts, producers manage, maintain and address important natural resource concerns and build on existing conservation efforts.
Fiscal year 2022 ranking dates in Massachusetts are: January 21, March 18, May 20 and July 15.
Producers should submit a signed application to the local NRCS field office indicating their interest in an EQIP-CIC contract. While applications are accepted on a continuous basis, interested producers should submit applications to their local NRCS office by ranking dates to be considered for the current funding period.
For more information about EQIP CIC and other technical and financial assistance available through NRCS conservation programs in Massachusetts, visit the NRCS Massachusetts website or contact your local NRCS office.
Through EQIP, NRCS provides financial and technical assistance to install conservation practices that reduce soil erosion and sedimentation, improve soil health, improve water and air quality and create wildlife habitat. In fiscal year 2022, NRCS Massachusetts expanded EQIP to include Conservation Incentive Contracts.
“EQIP CIC enhances resource benefits for producers through incentive conservation practices such as cover crops, transition to resource conserving crop rotations and precision agriculture technologies on cropland,” said Dan Wright, NRCS Massachusetts State Conservationist. “It allows producers to apply management practices on their operation, which can then be a gateway to Conservation Stewardship Program enrollment and achievement of a higher level of conservation stewardship on their entire operation.”
NRCS is a federal agency that works hand-in-hand with the people of Massachusetts to improve and protect soil, water and other natural resources. The agency has offices in USDA Service Centers in Greenfield, Hadley, Holden, Pittsfield, Westford, Wareham and West Yarmouth, which work work with local conservation districts and other partners to serve farmers and landowners in their area.
GREENFIELD FIELD OFFICE
413-772-0384 ext 3
Serving Franklin County
HADLEY FIELD OFFICE
413-585-1000 ext 3
Serving Hampden and Hampshire counties
HOLDEN FIELD OFFICE
508-829-4477 ext 3
Serving Worcester County
PITTSFIELD FIELD OFFICE
413-443-1776 ext 3
Serving Berkshire County
WESTFORD FIELD OFFICE
978-692-1904 ext 3
Serving Essex, Middlesex and Suffolk counties
WAREHAM FIELD OFFICE
508-295-5151 ext 2
Serving Bristol, Norfolk and Plymouth counties
WEST YARMOUTH FIELD OFFICE
508-771-6476
Serving Cape Cod and the Islands