NRCS Announces Conservation Assistance for Air Quality on Farms

SYRACUSE, New York, April 13, 2009 - State Conservationist Astor F. Boozer of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced a new initiative to help farmers implement conservation practices that improve air quality. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Air Quality Initiative is a voluntary conservation program that provides financial and technical assistance to landowners willing to implement practices to improve air quality on agricultural land. This conservation program was authorized in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill). “The EQIP Air Quality Initiative allows us an opportunity to expand the level of assistance we can provide to help reduce air quality impacts from farming activities,” said Boozer.

The special Air Quality Initiative will be offered in 26 New York counties where ozone levels have exceeded desired levels. Those counties include Albany, Chautauqua, Dutchess, Erie, Essex, Genesee, Greene, Jefferson, Livingston, Monroe, Montgomery, Nassau, New York, Niagara, Ontario, Orange, Orleans, Putnam, Rensselaer, Richmond, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Suffolk, Wayne, and Westchester.

Practices that are available under this initiative are: Manure Storage Covers with a Methane Flare, Solid-Liquid Manure Separators, and Agricultural Chemical Handling Facilities. Eligible agricultural producers in the identified counties will have until May 1 to apply for practices under the EQIP Air Quality Initiative.

Applications are competitive and are ranked based on national and state resource priorities and their overall benefit to the environment. Interested landowners can apply for the program at their local USDA-NRCS office. For sign-up details or additional conservation program information contact your local local USDA NRCS office or visit the NRCS New York - Programs Web page.
 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.