Whether you want to upgrade your evaporator or manage invasive species in your woods, you need money. One common way for sugarmakers to get funding is through cost-share programs offered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

With 54 local service centers across Wisconsin, the NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to forest landowners. You can talk with your local NRCS representative to determine if a project that you want to do in your woods is a good fit for their cost-share programs.

For the October Maple Hour, Wisconsin NRCS state forester Allan Braun joined us to talk about the NRCS’s two main funding opportunities for sugarmakers. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is for individual projects on non-industrial private land. You typically receive 2 to 3 years of funding, with some projects getting up to 10 years of funding.

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is designed for landowners who have demonstrated success addressing natural resource concerns, often through previous EQIP projects. With CSP, you get a renewable 5-year contract to take your conservation projects to the next level.

Common practices eligible for EQIP or CSP include:

• Writing a forest management or stewardship plan (with a NRCS-certified Technical Service Provider)
• Forest stand improvement, such as crown release of your maples to increase their sugar content or thinning your stand to promote tree health
• Brush management of woody-stemmed invasive species, typically root removal or herbicide
• Planting native trees or shrubs to increase species diversity, including protection against deer browsing
• Purchasing reverse osmosis and other energy-efficient sugarmaking equipment.

From now through 2027, NRCS will have increased funding for both EQIP and CSP through the Inflation Reduction Act. Additionally, in northeast Wisconsin, NRCS has extra EQIP funding for large conservation projects on private and Tribal lands through a three-year Forestry and Wildlife Partnership. So if you’ve been thinking about applying for a cost-share program, now is a great time!

February 9 is the next deadline for CSP applications, and May 17 is the next deadline for EQIP applications. But applications are accepted year-round, and Allan encourages you to talk with your local NRCS service center and begin working on your application well in advance. Successful applicants are notified within a few months of the application deadline.

Watch the full webinar below for more details on EQIP and CSP. And make sure to register for our December Maple Hour on getting ready for the 2024 maple syrup season.