Deadline for organic EQIP
Washington Ag Today March 5, 2010 Washington agricultural producers transitioning to organic production or already certified as organic, may qualify for technical and financial assistance to address natural resource concerns. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service says more than $1 million in funding will be available again this year to eligible producers in Washington as part of the agency’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP. According to Acting Assistant State Conservationist Jeff Harlow, producers must submit applications by March 12, 2010 to be included in the initial ranking for funding in fiscal year 2010, which ends Sept. 30, 2010. Sign up is continuous however, so producers may submit an application at any time. Harlow says organic producers can receive up to $20,000 per year or $80,000 over six years through this initiative. The application ranking deadline of March 12th also applies to the high tunnels pilot project under the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative. That recently released USDA 2008 Organic Production Survey showed that four conservation practices were used by over half of the producers surveyed. Joe Prusacki of the National Agricultural Statistics Service says those practices in order are green or animal manure, buffer strips, organic mulch or compost, and: Prusacki: “Some sort of management practices. And management practices talk about irrigation control, controlled drainage and special structures for water control on their operations.” Prusacki says that is not counting other well know practices such as no-till and beneficial insects. I’m Bob Hoff and that’ Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
