NRCS extends deadline for environmental projects

The Natural Resources Conservation Service announced Wednesday it had extended its application deadline for the Environmental Quality Incentives program until Aug. 14. The applications will fund projects for fiscal year 2010.

The program provides voluntary, technical and financial assistance to farmers to improve irrigation efficiency, manage nutrient runoff and animal waste, improve the health of native plant communities and reduce soil loss. Typically, producers pay half the costs of such practices.

“We realize that area growers are moving into harvest and we know that this is a very busy time of year for them,” said Ben Letourneau, NRCS resource conservationist in the Colfax field office. “For this reason, and because of some new eligibility requirements, we encourage those interested to submit their applications early.”

Whitman County growers have used EQIP funding in recent years to implement mulch till systems, no-till systems, nutrient management and pest management practices.

In 2007 and 2008, Washington farmers qualified for more than $34 million from the program.

“Anyone interested in EQIP for 2010 needs to have a signed application filed by the Aug. 14 deadline,” said Letourneau.

Interested farmers can contact the NRCS at its offices in Colfax and St. John. Farmers can also consult the agency’s web site for more information:www.wa.nrcs.usday.gov