San Patricio County farmers eligible for $3 million conservation incentives

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering $3 million in incentives to farmers and ranchers in the San Patricio, Refugio and Bee County areas.

The conservation initiative has been around for "several years," according to Kyle Wright, a State Water Quality Specialist with NRCS. The initiative is meant to improve the water quality of the watersheds in these areas. However, to encourage more participation in the initiative, they have decided to add a monetary incentive for the property owners.

"You're getting paid for something here in some cases you're already doing," Bobby Nedbalek, a farmer in San Patricio County said. "Everybody in agriculture is being as conscious of the environment and conservative."

Farms near the following watersheds are eligible:

· The Aransas River priority area consists of 12 HUC-12 watersheds in Bee, Refugio and San Patricio counties.

· The Big Elm Creek priority area consists of seven HUC-12 watersheds in Bell, Falls, Milam and McLennan counties.

· The Lake Lavon priority area consists of nine HUC-12 watersheds in Grayson, Fannin, Collin and Hunt counties.

· The Lampasas River priority area consists of eight HUC-12 watersheds in Lampasas and Burnet counties.

In a press release by the NRCS some of the projects that farmers can open their land to includes, "brush management, conservation cover, crop rotation, fence, prescribed grazing, heavy use area protection, irrigation pipeline, micro-irrigation system, ponds, range planting and many more."

Applications for eligible practices that meet or exceed pre-determined minimum ranking thresholds, which is 30 for Texas, will be considered for priority funding when applying for this initiative.

The deadline to register for these incentives is August 9, and you can find more information on the NRCS website here.

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