PLANT CITY, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is encouraging farmers and ranchers to address natural resource concerns through Farm Bill program cost-share and technical assistance.
“NRCS’s primary programs are the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program,” said Leslie Diaz-Alvarez, USDA’s District Conservationist in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
“Common EQIP cost-share practices include legume over-seeding in pastures, interior cross-fencing, brush management, cropland cover crops, seasonal high tunnels and forestry management activities,” she said. “Another common practice is herbaceous weed treatment which treats weedy plants such as cogongrass and smutgrass.”
Diaz-Alvarez can assist producers with EQIP applications and to find out more about the ways in which NRCS programs can assist them. She can be reached by phone: 813-473-4885 or 813-399-1431.
Her email address is: leslie.diazalvarez@usda.gov.