USDA conservation program now offering grant funding for farming projects

Farmers and landowners in the north country have until Feb. 17 to apply for a 2012 round of grant funding from the state U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which is offering $9.1 million for its Environmental Quality Incentives Program for projects in the areas of livestock waste, cropland and grazing.

Last year, 353 farmers from Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties received a total of about $1.3 million in conservation funding from the EQIP program. The program funds a wide range of farm projects with grants covering 75 percent of project costs, said Ivy A. Allen, public affairs specialist for the USDA. Applications are competitive and ranked based on state and local priorities.

Farmers in Jefferson County received $724,624 last year, while Lewis and St. Lawrence counties were awarded $334,139 and $247,494, respectively.

All of the projects are “centered around building better, efficient farm operations,” Ms. Allen said.

Projects funded by the program change each year, she said, and farmers are encouraged to stop by the closest NRCS office to find out what’s available.

Top projects funded by the program last year included waste storage facilities to improve water quality; heavy-use protection systems like concrete areas and storage tanks to stop erosion and waste at barnyards and feed areas; waste facility covers to help air and water quality; fencing areas to keep animals out of streams and reduce grazing, and irrigation management systems, Ms. Allen said.

Farmers can receive free technical assistance at NRCS offices to develop long-term conservation plans, she said, or submit an application to receive funding for a particular project. Offices in the tri-county area: 21168 Route 232, Watertown; 1942 Old DeKalb Road, Canton, and 5274 Outer Stowe St., Lowville.