The deadline to sign up for the 2011 EQIP funding is Nov. 15. This program pays producers to set aside irrigation during the contract period. Producers applying through this program are eligible for $150 per acre for a four year contract-payment for three years.
The Board of Directors, Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5, Stafford, has authorized a payment of $125 per acre for the fourth year of the program up to $150,000. This is an effort to gain participation in the Quick Response Areas of the District.
To qualify, the producer must have used water in two of the last five years and 66% of the authorized acres must have been irrigated with an average of six inches per acre. Bonus points are awarded to any producer that enters into a water right conservation agreement with the District to set aside irrigation for five to ten years.
Anyone interested in this program should contact their local NRCS office or call or come by the District office in Stafford.