News Feature                                                            6/15/2009

EQIP Ring Dike Initiative Announced

In an effort to improve water quality in flood prone areas, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is targeting a minimum of $2 million in financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for the installation or enhancement of “ring dikes” around farmsteads.

“After this most recent flooding, I asked NRCS Chief David White to come out to my district and look at some of the flooding issues to see if his agency could help,” Congressman Collin Peterson (MN-7) said. “I was very pleased with their response and I think this initiative will do a lot of good.”

“These are important projects that will help keep farmsteads from flood damage and our water safe for farmers and area residents,” said U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). “This will provide the resources this area needs to help rebuild and recover.”

“Ring dikes are earthen structures that protect the farmstead from overland flooding, hence reducing potential chemical, hydrocarbons, and ag wastes from entering flood waters, and therefore, impairing water quality”, says William Hunt, Minnesota NRCS State Conservationist. Technical assistance is also available for designing the ring dikes and for installing the dikes. Farmstead

Agricultural producers will be eligible to receive up to 75 percent of the cost of building the dike to protect their farmstead. Beginning, limited resource, and socially disadvantaged farmers are eligible to receive up to 90 percent of the cost of dike installation.

According to Glen Kajewski, Assistant State Conservationist-Field Operations, Thief River Falls and Colleen Oestreich, Assistant State Conservationist-Field Operations, Fergus Falls, the period to sign-up for this special initiative will be conducted June 15 – July 15, 2009. Interested agricultural producers should submit applications at their local NRCS field office located within your county USDA Ag. Service Center.

Voluntary Farm Bill programs such as EQIP, which provide financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers, are the key to helping producers meet their conservation goals and for providing the public with important benefits such as cleaner water, improved air quality, healthy soils and abundant wildlife. EQIP was reauthorized in the 2008 Farm Bill.

To find out more information about EQIP in Minnesota, contact your local NRCS office or please visit the MN NRCS website:  www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip

 Photo Courtesy: Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed District

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