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Landowners can apply for assistance through
RCPP to implement practices such as silvopasture establishment,
tree/shrub establishment, and cover crops. Landowners can also
receive a rental payment to help offset lost income while
transitioning to organic farming or installing tree and berry
crops. Funding is also available for landowners interested in
protecting and preserving their farmland through an entity-held
easement that will keep the land in agriculture.
According to State Conservationist Ivan Dozier, the focus of the
Working Lands, Water and Wildlife Partnership project is to
improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat, and preserve
farmland in the following 26 counties: Boone, Cass, Champaign,
DeKalb, Ford, Iroquois, Jackson, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee,
Kendall, LaSalle, Lee, Madison, Mason, McHenry, McLean, Ogle,
Perry, Peoria, Piatt, Tazewell, Vermilion, Will, Winnebago, and
Woodford.
Financial assistance from NRCS will be available to producers in
portions of Illinois with land in the above-mentioned counties.
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. Submit by the cutoff date of
March 4, 2022, to ensure applications are considered for 2022
funding.
Farmers can obtain a blank application form from the local
office or visit the Illinois NRCS website. Producers who wish to
use Farmers.gov, can sign in or create a new account by clicking
on “Sign up” in the upper right of the website. To see if you
are eligible to participate in the program, contact your local
NRCS field office or visit the Illinois NRCS website at
www.il.nrcs.usda.gov.
[Paige Buck
Public Affairs Officer
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service]
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