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Finding information through this website can hopefully expediate your next visit to the Service Center, and in the following links you can find information about our various programs. State of Iowa Programs Financial Incentives Program - State Cost Share: This is one of the most commonly known programs administered by the District. Each fiscal year, the State of Iowa allocates funds to all 100 Soil and Water Conservation Districts through Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship - Division of Soil Conservation (IDALS-DSC). These funds are used by the District as cost-share on various projects, usually terraces and waterways. Cost-share rates are 50% for this program, and funds are allocated according to a ranking system. Producers or landowners must sign up at the Service Center. Once a landowner receives funding, the job will be engineered by the Field Office staff and completed by the landowner. Once the quality of the practices has been inspected and bills are reviewed, the landowner will be reimbursed those funds for which he is eligible. For more information, visit the IDALS Financial Incentives Bureau Cost-Share page.
Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP): This Iowa-based, multi-departmental program is administered through both the Iowa DNR and IDALS-DSC. Funds from this program are used for timber stand improvements (TSI), prairie restoration and reconstruction, removal of undesirable woody vegetation (eastern redcedar, honey locust, Chinese elm, etc.), and other resource concerns. For information about the practices eligible for REAP within Mills County; contact the Field Office or District Forester Jeremy Cochran for more information.
Federal Programs Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP): EQIP is a program that has become one of the fundamental tools for the conservation. The Malvern Field Office has been using the program to build structures, terraces, and work with cattle operations for the past few years. The emphasis that Iowa NRCS has for EQIP is that of a "whole-farm" approach. Instead of doing one practice, such as terraces, the staff is now looking to improve the sustainability of all resources within the farm boundaries. This may include waterways, wildlife (prairie buffers), interior fences, etc. The same is true for cattle operations. The Natural Resources Conservation Service can help with installing wells and pasture management, but we also look at creating a paddock system for rotational grazing if it is feasible. New interior fences are a practice that can be cost-shared, so the landowner is able to improve his farm's sustainability for half the cost. NRCS also aids landowners who fall under the AFO/CAFO regulations of the Iowa DNR. Cost-share is available to design, implement, build, and inspect new waste-management systems. Applications are accepted year-round for the EQIP, but cut-off dates are applied to allow field offices to process applications in time to allocate funds for fiscal year. Conservation Security Program (CSP) - Links to our CSP Page: The Conservation Security Program is a new program developed under the last Farm Bill, known as The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–171, Title II). The program is currently in it's third year, and has yet to elect a watershed that falls within Mills county. The focus of this program is to reward producers that consider all resource concerns associated within their farm boundaries. This includes not only soil erosion and water quality, but also nutrient management, and wildlife habitat. The more involved the landowner has been in positively affecting these issues, the more likely they are to be awarded a CSP Contract. Tiers within the program offer more incentives to producers to increase their conservation work. To inquire about CSP eligibility and requirements, please contact the Malvern Field Office. The program requires a high level of conservation, and producers must be already be implementing these practice prior to acceptance into the program (2+ years). Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP): This federal program, like other Farm Bill programs, is being expanded in terms of funding. In Mills County, we've used this program to restore native prairie on the Loess Hills, mainly by removing eastern redcedar, dogwood, sumac, and other invasive woody vegetation. The program can also be used to provide financial assistance to landowners who want to manage timber for wildlife mast (food) production, improve riparian area habitat, or plant native plants to old pastures and farms. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): CRP is one of the most well know programs that USDA offers to landowners as an option to cropping. The Farm Service Agency administers the program, and NRCS offers technical assistance to FSA and producers. Landowners may install filterstrips and riparian buffers, waterways, controur buffer strips, shallow water areas for wildlife, farmable wetlands, and windbreaks under the continuous program in CRP. There are no sign-up periods for the practices, and most practices pay not only the base 50% cost share, but also a 40% practice incentive payment (PIP), allowing 90% reimbursement of the cost of installing the practice. Some of these practices also offer a one-time, sign-up payment (SIP) of $10/acre/year for 10 or 15 year contracts and/or an additional 20% of the rental rate each year. Following are some (not nearly all) of the continuous program practices, base requirements, and the incentives:
General Sign-up CRP offers the same practices as Continuous, but landowners may also enroll entire fields or farms if the land is Highly Erodible or has wetland soils. These offers are accepted through a specific sign-up period, and must pass through a bidding process.
Wetland/Floodplain Easement Programs (WRP and EWP-FP):Acceptance into either of these programs is highly competative, as the state has had a $79.5 million backlog for WRP, and $78.3 million backlog for EWP-FP. Ranking sheets are filled out at the time of application and the farm is added to the WRP or EWP-FP list according to that rank. Rankings depend on easement size; proximity to protected land, whether it be state or federally owned, or covered by an easement; as well as other factors.
Grassland Reserve Program (GRP): This program is now up and running for landowners who want to enroll at least 40 contiguous acres. Iowa NRCS is accepting applications, and the Field Office ranks the applications and sends them to the State Office. |
The Mills Soil and Water Conservation District, along with the employees of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship-Division of Soil Conservation, and Farm Service Agency deal with many programs. Practices that are funded by the state to the large, federal programs, personnel in the Malvern Field Office must have knowledge of all of these programs. 
