Excerpts: A team of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) personnel worked to create the EQIP risk assessment in cooperation with USDA's Office of Risk Assessment and Cost Benefit Analysis (ORACBA). The NRCS team determined that there are significant risks to on-farm and off-site environments as a result of agricultural production activities. This report consists of technical evaluations and analyses that attempt to characterize the relationships between agricultural production activities, ecosystem stressors and resulting adverse ecological effects on particular natural resources. The report consists of four sections: 1) Introduction; 2) Problem Formulation; 3) Analysis of Ecological Effects; and 4) Risk Characterization. The results of this assessment demonstrate that natural resources are at risk from agriculturally related activities. Opportunities exist for the EQIP to reduce those risks and to create positive environmental enhancements across the Nation. Where the most severe environmental conditions exist, the EQIP can provide financial incentives and technical/educational assistance to land owners and land users for adopting conservation systems to address those problems.
