CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — State Conservationist Ivan Dozier announced that the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will offer funding in Macoupin, Morgan and Sangamon counties for the Otter Lake Source Water Protection project through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). NRCS has partnered with Illinois Corn Growers Association to help producers address resource concerns such as degraded water quality and soil erosion.
Producers can apply for assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to implement practices such as denitrifying bioreactors, saturated buffers, cover crops, nutrient management, and no-till. The project focus is to improve water quality in the Otter Lake Watershed located in portions of Macoupin, Morgan and Sangamon counties. The application cutoff date will be January 7, 2022.
Financial assistance will be available to producers whose land is located in the Otter Lake Watershed. While applications are accepted throughout the year, interested producers should submit a signed application (NRCS-CPA-1200 form) to the local NRCS field office, or through the http://www.farmers.gov website using their account, by the cutoff date of January 7, 2022, to ensure their applications are considered for 2022 funding. A blank NRCS-CPA-1200 application form may be obtained from the local office or on the Illinois NRCS website. Producers wishing to use Farmers.gov, can sign in or create an account by clicking on “Sign up” in the upper right of the website.
To see if you are eligible to participate in the program, producers should contact their local NRCS field office or visit the Illinois NRCS website at www.il.nrcs.usda.gov.
— USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service