Sign-up Deadline is May 19, 2017
COLUMBUS, OH, April 18, 2017 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announces a new conservation effort for Ohio agriculture producers to help combat future declines of honey bees and Monarch butterflies by providing food and habitat sources.
More than 80 percent of the world’s plants need pollinators to survive, including many that provide the food we eat. But many pollinators like honey bees and Monarch butterflies are in trouble. That’s why NRCS works with private landowners to create food and habitat for pollinators on farms and in forests.
NRCS provides technical and financial assistance through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to help producers voluntarily implement conservation practices such as planting cover crops, planting milkweed, and planting wildflowers, and native grasses in buffers and areas not in production. In total, more than 3 dozen NRCS conservation practices provide benefits to pollinators.
Applications for EQIP submitted by entities, such as agricultural producers applying as a corporation, must have a DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) number and an active SAM (System for Award Management) registration status when applying, a process that may take several weeks. Applications cannot be processed without this information. Information on obtaining a DUNS number and registering with SAM is posted here.
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To learn more about EQIP and other technical and financial assistance available through NRCS conservation programs, visit Get Started with NRCS or local USDA Service Centers.