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Arkansas FARM*A*SYST

An Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Tool For Agriculture

Some farm practices can result in relatively high environmental risks, while others present low risk or virtually no risk at all. The natural resources on your farm can be protected by employing best management practices (Bmps) that deal with the broad range of management choices available in today's agriculture and forestry. Water quality and quantity, soil quality, pesticide and nutrient use, wildlife habitat, forestry and waste management are all natural resources management issues that must be addressed as a part of the farm or forest operation. Avoidance of these issues can affect the quality of the soil and water resource broadly, while also risking public health as well as that of you and your family.

This assessment process will provide you with an accurate self determined analysis of how your farmstead structures and farm activities could affect such components of your daily environment as, drinking water quality, air quality, soil quality and irrigation water supplies.

Some of the information will be reassuring, and some of it may encourage you to consider modifying activities to reduce possible risks. All of the information will aid you as you attempt to deal with state and national conservation programs such as EQIP.

What Is The Farm Assessment System?

The Farm Assessment System (Farm*A*Syst) is a series of fact sheets and worksheets that will help you assess how effectively your management practices protect the environmental quality around you. Farm*A*Syst fact sheets explain best management practices that can be used to reduce potential sources of pollution and other environmental risks. The worksheets ask about farm structures and activities. The answers you provide will help you evaluate your farm’s environmental standing by ranking activities according to associated risks. 

Each of the fact sheets and worksheets individually address areas of environmental concern. When used to conduct a comprehensive audit of your farm, the answers provided will put you in a much better position to understand, value and utilize the multitude of resources available to your environmental management needs. It is important to look at each issue individually, but it is also important to look at the big picture.

The following is a list of available fact sheets and accompanying worksheets. Not all will be applicable to your farm operation. Please check those that apply and request copies from your local County Agent. NOTE: The assessment is yours, it is technically a self audit conducted for pollution prevention purposes and is a confidential document not subject to subpoena or Freedom of Information requests, protected by Arkansas State Law. The results will not be requested or required for consideration in application for EQIP or other conservation cost share program. Conducting the assessment better positions you to answer questions necessary to the EQIP application. Your completion of the assessment will be of value as you work with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency in competing for EQIP cost share.