Oct. 1 ushers in a new fiscal year with the federal government and like last year the first of October should have brought with it a new Farm Bill.

However, the day came and went without a long-term solution to farm related policy and as it stands now the current Farm Bill, circa 2008, has been extended until the end of the calendar year in hopes both houses of Congress can come to an agreement.

While I would be pleasantly surprised if we have new legislation by New Year’s I suspect we will again receive a one-year extension giving them the rest of the fiscal year to finalize a new product.

For the conservation service this means most of our current programs will still be available for this year and our national office recently announced a sign up deadline of Nov. 15 for EQIP, our main funding program.

As in years past, practices across a whole host of categories are eligible for funding which range from winter feeding pads and manure storage to grazing systems, smaller projects, like spring developments and cropland practices like waterways and no-till and cover crops. Rhis program operates under incentive based cost share to install best management practices on farms to treat environmental resource concerns.

Producers can contact our office to sign up or inquire about more information as to how the program may benefit your farm.

Andy Gaver is a conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Butler County.