Applicant and Land Eligibility for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

Applicant Eligibility for EQIP

To be eligible to participate in EQIP, an applicant must meet all of the following criteria -

1. Be a producer. To be considered a producer, the applicant must be:
   1. A person, legal entity, Indian Tribe, or joint operation with signature authority; and
   2. Engaged in agricultural production or forestry management or have an interest in the agricultural or forestry operation associated with the land being offered for enrollment in EQIP.

• Interest in the farming operation means one of the following:

1. Owner or renter of the land in the farming operation;
2. An interest in the agricultural products, commodities, or livestock produced by the farming operation; or
3. A member of a joint operation that either owns or rents land in the farming operation or has an interest in the agricultural products, commodities, or livestock produced by the farming operation.

2. Have control of the land for the term of the proposed contract period.
3. Be in compliance with the provisions for protecting the interests of tenants and sharecroppers, including the provisions for sharing EQIP payments on a fair and equitable basis.
4. Be in compliance with the highly erodible land and wetland conservation compliance.
5. Be within appropriate payment limitation requirements, as specified in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.

Exception: Federally-recognized Indian Tribes are exempt from payment limitation requirements. The $300,000 contract limitation remains applicable to Indian Tribes, but there is no limit on payments so an Indian Tribe could have multiple $300,000 contracts. Individual tribal members must be within appropriate payment limitations.

6. Be in compliance with adjusted gross income requirements.

Exception: Federally-recognized Indian Tribes are exempt from adjusted gross income requirements.

Land Eligibility for EQIP

To be eligible for EQIP, the land being offered for application into the program must meet all of the following criteria:

1. Be agricultural land, non industrial private forest land, or other land on which agricultural products, livestock, or forest-related products are produced.

1. Agricultural products include but are not limited to the following:

Grains or row crops; Tobacco; Seed crops; Vegetables or fruits; Hay, forage, or pasture; Orchards or vineyards; Flowers or bulbs; Ornamentals; Plant materials, including those grown in greenhouses or seasonal high tunnels; Trees; Other agricultural commodities; Other crops used for subsistence.

2. Livestock production is defined as farm or ranch operations involving the production, growing, raising, or reproducing of livestock or livestock products, including but not limited to, the following:

Alpacas; Beef cattle; Bison; Dairy cattle; Fish or other animals raise through aqua-cultural methods; Horses; Llamas; Ratites; Poultry; Sheep or goats; Swine; Turkeys; All other livestock or fowl produced as part of agricultural operations on farms or ranches identified by the State Conservationist, considering the advice of the State Technical Committee.

3. Non industrial private forest land is rural land that -

• Has existing tree cover or is suitable for growing trees.
• Is owned by any non industrial private individual, group, association, corporation, Indian Tribe, or other private legal entity.

4. Permanently submerged lands may be eligible only if all of the following apply:

• The EQIP practices to be implemented are land-based.
• The Farm Service Agency establishes farm records, common land unit (CLU information, and completes HEL/WC determinations for the submerged land area.
• The proposed EQIP practice(s) addresses an identified natural resource concern.
  Note: By statute and regulation (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-1; and §1466.8), EQIP may only be used to implement practices or support activities on eligible land. As such, areas of water in which no land-based conservation practice(s) will be implemented are not eligible.

2. Be privately owned or Indian land. Publicly owned land may be eligible if -

1. The land is a working component of the participant’s agricultural and operations.
2. The participant has control of the land for the term of the contract.
3. The conservation practices to be implemented on the public land are necessary and will contribute to an improvement in the identified resource concern.

3. Have permission of the landowner to install a structural practice on land not owned by the applicant.
4. Have an identified resource concern that may be addressed.
5. Have irrigated two out of the last five years to install a water conservation or irrigation related practice.

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