Natural Resources Conservation Service

1. Natural Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Updates

2. FY 2012 Kentucky Pooling Areas

3. FY 13: Fewer and Larger Geographical Pooling Areas “General” EQIP

4. Local Working Group (LWG) Meetings • Each Lead District Conservationist Area held a LWG meeting in November-December (6-8 per EQIP area) • LWGs are similar to the State Technical Committee but on a local level • Prior to the last Farm Bill, these groups were “governmental” in nature • Last Farm Bill made open to the public • Meetings were advertised locally • Their task was to recommend “local” questions for application evaluation and ranking • Their recommendations were fed up the line to the Pooling Area level and were merged to become the “local” questions for the ranking tool. • National Questions account for 25 percent of the ranking score • State Questions: 40 percent • Local Questions: 25 percent • Efficiency Score: 10 percent

5. FY 13 “General” EQIP Plus Initiatives • Historically Underserved • Socially Disadvantaged • Limited Resource Producer • Beginning Farmer • EQIP Conservation Activity Plans (CAPS) (written by TSPs) • On Farm Energy • CNMP • Forestland • Nutrient Management • Others General EQIP National Initiatives (with specific funding) Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative Energy Initiative Organic Initiative National Water Quality Initiative MRBI (Landscape Initiative) State Initiatives Wildlife Forestland SE Kentucky Early Successional Habitat

6. FY 13 Funding = $12.37 million • General EQIP: Just under $8 million • MRBI: $2,450,000 • Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative: $1.3 million • Organic Initiative: $150,000 • National Water Quality Initiative: $471,000 • Energy Initiative: $30,000

7. Payment Schedule • Regionalized 15 practices in FY 2012 • All practices will be regionalized in FY 2013 • Kentucky is in the Appalachian region with TN, WV, VA and NC.

8. Two Kentucky Ranking Periods • January 18, 2013 • Ranking Deadline: February 22 • Extended two weeks due to AGI issues • Obligation Deadline: March 22 • April 19, 2013 • Will consider all new applications received by this date • And applications not funded under first ranking period

9. Applications Received in First Ranking Period • 1,611 Applications • 781 Eligible (as of 2/8/13) • 429 “High” priority • 521 “Medium”priority • 266 “Low” priority • 552 Pending Eligibility Determination • Recommendation of the EQIP Subcommittee • Save some of the funding for the second ranking period

10. National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) • Initiative under EQIP • Began in FY 2012 • Will assist producers to address high-priority water resource concerns in small watershed with streams or water bodies in one or more of the following categories (targeted waters): • Impaired – a stream or water body documented to be impaired, and identified on a state’s 303(d) list of impaired waters as designated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); • Threatened – a stream or water body with water quality data documenting and impairment, but does not have a TMDL Implementation Plan and is not listed on the 303(d) list of impaired waters as designated by the US EPA; • Total Maximum Daily Loads – a stream or water body that has been on EPA’s 303(d) list of impaired waters but may have been removed because there is a TMDL plan for implementation; or • Critical – a stream or water body upstream of an impaired segment or area, and is known to be a contributing source of the downstream impairment for a stream in one or more of the three categories above.

11. Selected with input from DOW, DOC, and a State Tech Co subcommittee All three selected HUCs have impairments due to both nutrient and sediment/turbidity • Clarks Run • Boyle County • 258 farms • 18,000 acres (11,000 in farms) • 7 contracts ($193,250) • Headwaters Hinkston Creek • Montgomery, with a little in Bath • 298 farms • 24,000 acres (15,700 in farms) • 2 contracts ($84,200) • Bennettstown-Little River • Christian, with a little in Trigg • 234 farms • 24,600 acres (15,500 in farms) • 6 contracts ($92,400)

12. FY 13 NWQI • NRCS national office will be approving only a limited number of changes from the existing FY 2012 watersheds. • States are highly encouraged to select the same watersheds as last year. • In general, States will be held to the three watershed limit for FY 2013 NWQI. • If a State Conservationist requests to discontinue funding in one or more watersheds, he or she may request to add one to two watersheds, to equal three watersheds total, but there must be good justification for a change.

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