KENTUCKY 2004 EQIP OVERVIEW

Kentucky will use 14 different pooling areas for both allocations and rankings. The areas will range from 6 counties to 11 counties and will cover all of Kentucky's 120 counties. These groupings were determined to have similar resource concerns.

To include the Locally Led Conservation effort, each different pooling area held local work group meetings to identify and prioritize their natural resource concerns which EQIP can address. Some held stakeholder meetings prior to the work group meetings to gather information from other sources.

The work groups then identified and prioritized the needed practices to address those resource concerns. That prioritized practice information was put into a ranking sheet for that pooling area's use. Kentucky has 14 different sets of ranking criteria, each tailored to the local needs as identified by the local work groups. This information was submitted as the local pooling areas’ proposal for consideration.

A state allocation formula was used to allocate funds to each of the 14 areas. It includes a variety of factors that address items such as number of livestock, number of farms, acres or percentage of prime farmland, water quality concerns, wildlife concerns, etc. These factors take into consideration national and state EQIP priorities and measures. Each of the 14 areas are guaranteed funding (which won't be equal), but there is no guarantee that every county will receive funding. Each pooling area will distribute their funds to their applications based on the ranking criteria for that area. Every county will have the opportunity to compete and receive funding, but there will be no county level allocation.

Prior to the finalization of the pooling areas’ eligible practices, ranking criteria and funding, the Kentucky State Technical Committee was asked to review and make recommendations regarding these.

Kentucky NRCS will establish ranking periods to evaluate (rank) all applications taken (until the end of a given ranking period.) Applications will be funded as ranked as far down the list as the funding will allow. A cut off date will be established by the NRCS state office as to when funds must be obligated. If a pooling area’s funds are not obligated by this date, funds may be reallocated to other pooling areas.

Any producer engaged in livestock or crop production on eligible land may apply for EQIP. Eligible land includes cropland, rangeland, pasture land, private non-industrial forestland, and other farm or ranch lands as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.

Application signup is an ongoing process and can be done online or completed at your local USDA Service Center with NRCS or the Farm Service Agency. Ranking periods are identified and all applications that have been received prior to the ranking period cut-off will be ranked against each other. Applications received after the cut-off date will be held for ranking during the next ranking period.

As always, technical assistance for EQIP will be available to you at no charge through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Beginning this year, you also have the opportunity to select a certified Technical Service Provider (TSP) to perform your technical assistance. TSPs are private sector or public agencies (such as a State agency) who have one or more individuals certified by the NRCS State Conservationist to perform technical services. Technical assistance provided by TSPs is required to meet NRCS’s high technical standards. These individuals will be compensated for their services with EQIP funding.

If you are interested in using a provider other than NRCS, you can see if there is a TSP certified to perform the technical services you need for your EQIP contract by visiting http://techreg.usda.gov and click on "TSP Locator." A list of certified individuals is also available from NRCS Field Offices.

Please contact NRCS at your local USDA Service Center. 

Deena Wheby, Assistant State Conservationist
Phone: 859-224-7350
e-mail: deena.wheby@ky.usda.gov 

Map of 14 pooling areas

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