Whos dropped out of EQUIP?

[gjs4]

I may catch some chit for this.....but I think I am done with EQUIP. I got in , after 2+ yrs of being dog and ponied around. Way more difficult than it needed to be (back to to this in a bit). The majority of my funds were for clearing on invasives on our out of state parcel. Got a forestry plan last yr (which was great) and cleared 5 ac (during October!). The payback was about 60% of the cost on the clearing. I am supposed to be clear 10+ more ac this yr, and then spray everything this fall. The same next year.

sort of rounded a few corners here.
First- I cant stand anyone dictating anything on my place. I wanted things cleared in the summer and the program admin pushed it to fall time.
Second- The program admin ether appears focused on other things, is overworked, or just doesn't care kind of underworked. Hes also forgot to add some other discussed options/dollars, and told me i had to own it a year prior to getting in which is not true and there is always a delay on things. (And I see interns walking there every 2-3wks on cam)
Third- 60% beats nothing.. but not with what I am giving up...and it lost its incentive when I have to put everything up to the contractor....then get paid back half.
Fourth- (and here comes the hate)- I didn't buy the place to tie it, or my funds, up with invasives removal. I strive to leave everything better than I found it- and have been beating down some of the invasives on my own. I bought it for hunting and have been working there (at least) 10x more than enjoying. Ive also negated my cover, at a critical time, for this and watched the deer leave.

I know the issue is if i drop before the end of the contract,, there will be no more govnt programs for me. There is a not a penalty otherwise (and i have asked). I feel crummy doing it....but i just want a hunting piece. This isnt my forever place. Anyway...rant over.

So.....who's dumped a government incentive program?

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I have not dropped for one simple reason, I’ll never ever not ever enroll in a government program on my land

 

[SwampCat]

Not really something like that. Bought a piece of land that had been cropland and I stopped the row cropping. The crop subsidy payment was transferred to my name on purchase of property. I told them I wanted them to discontinue the crop payments. I told them I was not going to plant ag crops for ag purposes. They said it didnt matter - it had been classified as row crop. We went back and forth awhile before they ever agreed to pull my name.

 

[Mortenson]

I'm out of all govt contracts. Won't do any more. My dad's last waterway (crp) expired and he decided last second to re-enroll the 1 acre for $300. Couldn't believe it. The 300 wasn't life or death for him, but I guess it was too good to pass up. We still rebuild and maintain waterways at our expense.

 

[goatman]

I despise them. Not for me. They even sent a person out one year one day to listen for birds. That was on the CREP program my father-in-law signed up for. They also told me that I couldn't plant oak trees that I had started from acorns without their approval. And CREP is a tree program.

 

[Lucky_P]

Almost every 'government' program I ever enrolled in cost me more than it paid... I usually had to go back and re-do things correctly 'on my own dime'.
Only bright spot was a 10-yr 100-ft wide CRP riparian bufferstrip deal back in 2000; almost a mile long, 7 acres total. At the time, we were a 'targeted watershed', and at the time I was anticipating the Feds mandating that we move fences/crops back from the creek's edge. Gave me a place to plant about 500 pecan and black walnut, with 4 spots left open for small wildlife foodplots. I'm not sure that they ever checked back to make sure that I'd fenced it off or adhered to their edicts on what to plant.

 

[meyerske]

I tried controlling stiltgrass on a few acres of my property per a portion of an EQIP contract. I was only going to get something like $300 for the work but I figured that I was going to do it whether or not part of EQIP. I bought a fogger/mister and multiple herbicides and tried for two years to control the stiltgrass. But by the time it was formally inspected, it had grown back to the point of not passing the requirements. I had invested too much time and money. I was just going to let that portion of contract expire, but was warned that I'd not get into future programs. However...it was recommended that I write a letter of explanation for the withdrawal and if it was accepted (and acceptance is common), I would not be punished. I simply explained that due to the increased price of herbicide, it was no longer feasible for me to do the work for the contract price. It was accepted and I got out of that portion of the contract. I was later accepted into the CSP program for other work, confirming that I was not blacklisted. You might consider doing something similar, explaining that due to the excessive inflation over the time frame from when you joined EQIP, to today, the costs have risen excessively and so you must withdraw.

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[BenA]

I've had a great experience with EQIP, the biologists, the forester, the contractors, etc. I've done pollinator plantings, a forest management plan, prescribed fire, fire breaks, mid-story control, and invasive species control. Everything has been covered by cost share dollars (taxes I get back to do habitat work). The programs don't last that many years, so I don't give up any kind of long term use or decision making. It may have to do with the people I've been lucky to deal with, but it's helped me tremendously. Communication has been key for me. I make sure to tell them exactly what I want, and they tell me what programs they have to help me. Kentucky might be different, but the local private lands biologists for the state work closely with the federal biologists. I started with the local state biologist, walked through my property with him, describing what I want. He told me exactly what programs to go the feds with when I went to their office. They communicate back and forth, and include me in it. I've felt like they have bent over backwards to help me. They even came out and burned for me. I've paid taxes, so I'm getting some of that money back to pay for habitat work.

 

[BenA]

I forgot about another program I've done through EQIP. Add food plot establishment to the list of practices I've done.

 

[Brian662]

I've used EQIP and have been happy with it, the only real gripe I have with it has been how slow (see gov't) moving they are. In my cases they won't allow work to begin until the project is fully approved and it is a painfully slow process.

Mostly happy with it. As Ben said, I'm getting some of my taxes back to offset the cost to make property improvements.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

We're in an EQIP now. No complaints so far, and we've been reimbursed for all the work done so far. Communication has been good, with Fed. USDA / NRCS & State foresters. Our initial wait was because other landowners were signed-in before us - on a limited federal allowance of $$$ for our area. Once paperwork was done and work began, it's been pretty smooth.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I am relatively new to EQIP or any NRCS programs for that matter. I currently have 1 contract that is active and another 4 that are pending approval. I helped a neighbor navigate his contract from start to finish before I enrolled any acres so I had a decent idea who I was working with and what all was involved.

So far, I have mostly good things to say about working with NRCS. One thing that I have noticed is that it depends quite a bit on the quality of people in your local NRCS office. Talking about costs or whether or not something is worth it will depend entirely on the type of program you are enrolling, and the quality of people there to help answer your questions. The pollinator program I enrolled pays out $1850/acre and my costs involved (not including labor), was around $600/acre between seed and herbicide.

For most of the programs I have applied for, they have been incredibly flexible for when something will need to be completed. I have staggered practices out years to ensure they can get done when I want. I have zero idea why invasives would need to be controlled in October (assuming these are similar type invasives that I have in my pending application - cedars, autumn olive, and multifloral rose). That to me is a communication issue. Be honest about why you are enrolling acres. If you are doing it for the purposes of improving habitat for deer, turkey, quail, whatever, they should work with you.

My local office is practically begging people to get enrolled and want all of their contracts to be successful. If your local NRCS people are not responding to phone calls or emails, or they seem like they are not working within your needs, I would be working up the chain of command.

 

[cbw]

I use EQIP when it fits our goals. Figure just as well get some of my taxes back. Def challenging to have a few more hoops to jump thru, but they have worked well with us when we’ve needed contract extensions.

I just explain that we don’t do any work in the timber between Sept 1 thru Jan 10. It does make for some tight deadlines for projects like TSI, but we vary the contract accordingly.

The first year, we started the process the previous Aug/Sept. we didn’t get things signed (on their end) until May, and the first project was due to be completed was in Apr. After that, I just know that we wont be able to get rolling until the spring/summer of the first year, and so we set the due dates accordingly.

We do all the work ourselves, so it has been a net gain for us.


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[West_Fork]

Welcome to land ownership and management. I got in on EQIP, built a mile of fence that wasn't really needed, removed 100ac of spruce-fir, put in a few miles of really good pipe, and then got out. It worked well for me, but I had a reasonable range con. I would have got none of that done without them. It did make me nervous though. I had a lot of what if thoughts, but those have since faded and I don't have a legit need for equip at this point.

If you can do the work yourself, its a great deal. My forestry treatments paid for a good chunk of my pipeline. I made about $40,000 in two month using a chainsaw and risking my life.

 

[356]

I have not had much heartache with my EQIP program. Pros: It converted the cost of cedar removal, which was not a job I could tackle alone. It also converted that land into NWSG and provided for a wild-life plot. The other benefit was the incentive to establish timelines for these projects and to do my first burns, which have been very helpful.
Cons to the program have included less than ideal timelines for some of the projects, the delays in reimbursements and inspections. Overall I have not been hindered by the program and we have seen an uptick in pollinators, quail and deer. The program I am was for five years, which is coming to an end.

I am looking into a new TSI/FSI EQIP program that will provide cost share for timber work. So far the upside has been better than the downside.

 

[356]

Ironically, as this thread is active, I just got rejected for 2024 and will be put on the 2025 list for consideration. I understand the lack of a new Ag bill is pushing several programs back a year. I'll keep my application for the TSI/FSI program current for resubmission.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

DOGE putting in work!

Kidding but let’s face it, the government giving landowners money to do habitat projects seems like the kind of thing we can do without the government handing out money for. Yes it’s low on the totem pole of waste but how do you eat an elephant…one bite at a time.

 

[356]

DOGE putting in work!

Kidding but let’s face it, the government giving landowners money to do habitat projects seems like the kind of thing we can do without the government handing out money for. Yes it’s low on the totem pole of waste but how do you eat an elephant…one bite at a time.

I'd much rather have lower taxes!

 

[Brian662]

DOGE putting in work!

Kidding but let’s face it, the government giving landowners money to do habitat projects seems like the kind of thing we can do without the government handing out money for. Yes it’s low on the totem pole of waste but how do you eat an elephant…one bite at a time.

The President himself said paying little to no taxes makes him smart. I'm just getting my money back in a different way than he does.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

The President himself said paying little to no taxes makes him smart. I'm just getting my money back in a different way than he does.

I don’t use him as my moral compass. But with that said as @356 said I think getting tax breaks would benefit us more in the long run. Look I don’t fault anyone for taking advantage of these programs, I just think they are not needed societally.