$15M of EQIP Funding Available – Deadline Friday

The Illinois Corn Growers Association and the Illinois Department of Agriculture received a special allocation of EQIP funding. This allocation was not tied to the Inflation Reduction Act and is not impacted by any freezes, but the catch is farmers need to work with their local NRCS office by FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28th.

The two were able to bring $15M into Illinois to address the Dust Storms and Nutrient Loss Reduction efforts. Ranking for these funds will be elevated if your farm is in either the defined Dust Storm Region or a priority nitrogen or phosphorus watershed. Your local NRCS offices have the specific maps of these areas.

Priority practices are cover crops, no-till/strip-till. There have been discussions with the state office about a multi-year scenario where the famer plants cover crops ahead of soybean acres and uses no-till/strip-till ahead of corn. Again, your local NRCS office should be able to walk you through options.

The special funding pools are named Topsoil Conservation and Nutrient Loss Reduction. The funding application must be made by Friday, February 28.