The Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) is a relatively new USDA program. It is a voluntary conservation initiative which provides assistance, both technical and financial to agricultural producers with the goal of conserving surface and ground water and/or improving water quality.
Eligible partners enter into multi-year agreements with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Eligible partners include, but are not limited to:
- Federally-recognized Native American tribes
- states
- units of local government
- agricultural or silvicultural associations or other groups of such producers such as
- an irrigation association
- an agricultural land trust
- or other nongovernmental organization with experience working with agricultural producers.
Owners and operators engaged in livestock or agricultural production are eligible for the program. Eligible land includes cropland, rangeland, pasture, private non-industrial forestland, and other farm or ranch lands.
For fiscal year 2010, applicants will compete for their share of $73 million dollars set aside for this program. Details, including previously funded projects, can be found on the USDA NRCS website.
I’ll be out of the office on Wednesday, but will add a new post when I return on Thursday.