RCCP signup deadline Jan. 17

CURTIS, Neb. -- The Middle Republican NRD is pleased to announce that agricultural producers have the opportunity to receive conservation funding.  In 2016, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) awarded the Upper, Middle and Lower Republican NRDs $2.1 million as part of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program and approximately $500,000 remain for funding in 2020. Eligible producers have until January 17, 2020 to apply for funding.

Producers in the Middle Republican NRD in southwest Nebraska, which includes all or portions of Red Willow, Hitchcock, Frontier, Hayes, and Lincoln counties, may apply for funding to make irrigation system efficiency improvements. Eligible conservation practices include: converting gravity systems to subsurface drip with a maximum payment of $1,000 per acre; permanently retiring end guns on pivots for $2,000 per acre; and installing high intensity soil moisture sensors for an approximate total of $5,000 over a three-year period. Priority is given to high water use areas, but all areas within the Middle Republican NRD are eligible.

Funding through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program is also available to producers in the Middle Republican NRD to improve wildlife and pollinator habitat and improve soil health through increasing cover crop and crop rotation activities.

Producers in the Middle Republic NRD Basin interested in participating in these conservation efforts should contact their local NRCS office and apply for funding by Jan. 17, 2020.