North Carolina is one of several states where the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is providing a total of $10 million to support climate-smart agriculture and forestry through voluntary conservation practices. USDA has opened a targeted signup period to make this assistance available, and the opportunity includes the counties served by Roanoke Electric Cooperative's Sustainable Forestry and Land Retention Project: Bertie, Chowan, Gates, Halifax, Hertford, Northampton and Perquimans.
This assistance is available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). It will help agricultural producers plan and implement voluntary conservation practices that sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change on working lands.
The signup in North Carolina has an application deadline of July 23, 2021. The NRCS, which administers EQIP, selected states based on demonstrated demand for additional support for climate-smart practices.
Producers can visit NRCS’s EQIP webpage for a list of the specific climate-smart conservation practices and are encouraged to contact the NRCS office at their local USDA Service Center for more information about priority conservation practices in North Carolina. Those seeking information also can contact the Sustainable Forestry and Land Retention Project by phone at (252) 539-4614 or by emailing Director Alton Perry at: aperry@roanokeelectric.com.
Roanoke Electric Cooperative helped establish the Sustainable Forestry and Land Retention Project in 2013 to help achieve one of the key parts of its mission: enhancing the quality of life in the diverse communities it serves.