EQIP Funds Available to Help Dade Residents With Variety of Agricultural Improvements

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

The USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service has announced the application deadline for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which may be of interest to Dade County residents who hope to improve a variety of land-related matters.

According to Stephen Bontekoe (executive director of Limestone Valley Resource Conservation & Development Council), EQIP will help with “anything from improving your wildlife habitat to gardening better.”

The deadline to apply is November 17 of this year, and applications are submitted through the local field office. In Dade County, the local office is Bontekoe due to the federal part of his role. Interested residents can call him at 423-421-2543 or email him at stephen.bontekoe@ usda.gov to find out if they are good candidates for the program.

It is a competitive program with a scoring process and a limited amount of funds. Applicants do not have to own land; you can be managing property or renting a field and still apply for the program.

Bontekoe explained, “EQIP helps land overseers of any operation size manage their resources better, whether that’s reducing erosion or extending their growing season with greenhouses and high tunnels or managing forest land. My office is in the business of helping people help the land and manage their resources better.”

The USDA’s press release explained that the “statewide opportunity for agricultural and forest producers…will utilize 2018 Farm Bill and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding.” In Bontekoe’s words, “These are our tax dollars being reinvested into our community.” At the federal level, funds are allocated to each state, and Bontekoe works to help some of that money come back to Dade.

The USDA further explained, “EQIP provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers and non-industrial forest managers to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and air quality, conserved ground and surface water, increased soil health and reduced soil erosion and sedimentation, improved or created wildlife habitat, and mitigation against drought and increasing weather volatility.”