Money for Producers Part III

If you are trying to become a more sustainable operation it seems like there are a lot of funding opportunities for you. Here is one more. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program or (EQUIP). This is funded through the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. This program is a matching funds program that helps producers cost share to protect the natural resources located within the farm. Projects like grassed waterways, irrigation retrofits, tailwater ponds, water conveyance or energy conservation are some of the things they can help you with. This program will also work with the SWFWMD FARMS program to cover some of the engineering or earth moving that the FARMS grant doesn't cover. The EQUIP program will cover projects up to $300,000 to producers that have produced $1000 of ag products in the last 2 of 5 years. To get more information on this program contact myself or Juan Vega with the NRCS 813-759-6450 ext.2. you can also visit the EQUIP website http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/PROGRAMS/EQIP/