How EQIP ranks applications, and what can raise your score
EQIP is competitive. NRCS scores each eligible application in a tool called CART, and each state funds the highest-ranked applications in its ranking pools. Here is what NRCS publishes about how that score is built, and what you can do with it.
Already received a "not funded" letter? See our EQIP Recovery Guide for step-by-step reapplication strategy.
Source: Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy analysis of NRCS data. About 43% were funded in FY2024.
How EQIP ranking works
EQIP is not first-come-first-served. NRCS accepts applications year-round and batches them on cutoff dates your state sets (see FY2027 dates by state). The state conservationist then selects the highest-ranked eligible applications for funding.
NRCS says it uses the Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool (CART) "to assess and rank all eligible applications." Arkansas's page says so for fiscal year 2027. The FY2026 criteria from North Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Ohio and Texas use the same wording. Most of what we could read is from FY2026, so check your state's current version.
It works in two steps. First, your conservation planner assesses your land in CART, drawing on map data, what you tell them, field observations and their own expertise. Then, if you want financial assistance, that assessment and the practices you decide on move to the ranking side of CART, which identifies the ranking pools your application fits.
The five parts of your score
NRCS calls these ranking components. They are listed in NRCS's order, not by importance, because the weights are set in each ranking pool. In the FY2026 pool reports we opened from Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts and South Carolina, the weights add up to 100. Each card shows the range those reports allow and the weight they list. Your pool may differ.
1. Vulnerability
How far your land's current condition sits from NRCS's planning thresholds. CART subtracts your existing condition and existing practice scores from the thresholds, then weights the result toward the resource concerns that ranking pool prioritizes.
2. Planned practice effects
Based on the planned practices that address a resource concern on a land unit, weighted toward the concerns that pool prioritizes.
More practices doesn't automatically mean more points. NRCS says: "Practices needed to support primary conservation practices and activities are also added but do not increase conservation management points."
3. Resource priorities
National and state priorities for the most critical land and resource concerns, set with input from national, state and local stakeholders. This is where your state's resource questions come in.
For example, the grazing land questions in Idaho's FY2026 Geographic Area 1 pool list 13 points for brush management or herbaceous weed treatment, 9 for fence other than boundary fence, 9 for livestock water that limits access to a stream or water body, 6 for water that improves distribution, and 7 for pasture, hay or range planting. Another pool will ask different questions.
4. Program priorities
National and state priorities meant to make the program work better. National guidance says states must build their program and resource questions on at least three things: how effectively and comprehensively the practices address the resource concerns, the size of the expected benefit and the priority of the concern, and the use of approved practices with long-term benefit.
In the beginning and socially disadvantaged categories, states must also ask whether the applicant is a veteran farmer or rancher (10 to 20 points) and whether the land came out of CRP through the Transition Incentives Program in the last 2 years (5 to 20 points).
5. Cost efficiency
The sum of your planned practice points divided by the log of an efficiency factor NRCS assigns. It's also the tie-breaker: when EQIP applications tie, the one with the highest efficiency score is selected first.
Cheapest doesn't win by itself. NRCS's EQIP manual says the statute doesn't allow prioritizing an application just because it costs the program least.
Ranking pools and categories
Your score is compared with others in the same ranking pool, not with every application in your state. States build their pools from national templates and add their own questions. CART identifies the pools from your assessment and planned practices, and NRCS says each eligible application "may be considered for funding in all applicable ranking pools."
Inside a pool, states set up funding categories. NRCS's EQIP manual says states must target at least 50 percent of available funds to livestock-related practices, 10 percent to wildlife habitat practices, 5 percent to beginning farmers and ranchers, and 5 percent to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, with separate funding opportunities for those last two groups.
Whether a category has less competition changes by state and year. We don't have numbers for that, so ask: "Which pools and categories will my application compete in, and what was the lowest funded score last round?"
What to do before you apply
- Read your state's ranking criteria. The next section shows where to find them.
- Start well before your state's cutoff. The assessment and plan take time. NRCS's EQIP manual says changing practices after an application is ranked, to get a better score, isn't allowed, so settle the plan first.
- Walk the land with your planner. Your planner's job is to help you build a plan that treats the resource concerns on your place.
- Get your FSA farm records current. You need a farm number to apply. FSA is often in the same office.
How this applies to fence, water, brush and grazing
Which practice counts for what depends on your plan and your pool, so these are questions to bring to your planner. Quoted terms are from NRCS's list of resource concerns.
Fencing (Practice 382)
Fence often supports a grazing system. Ask whether it counts as a primary or a supporting practice in your plan, and whether your pool treats boundary and interior fence differently, as Idaho's does.
Water development (516, 533, 574, 614)
Water may address "Inadequate livestock water quantity, quality, and distribution." Ask how your pool scores keeping livestock out of a stream compared with improving distribution.
Brush management (Practice 314)
Brush work may address "Plant structure and composition" or "Wildfire hazard from biomass accumulation." Ask what your state's questions say, and whether a Working Lands for Wildlife category covers your land.
Grazing management (Practice 528)
A grazing plan may address "Feed and forage imbalance" or "Plant productivity and health." Ask how it counts in your pool, and whether your fence and water would be supporting it.
Finding your state's ranking criteria
NRCS's national guidance says states "must publish the program ranking criteria for each ranking pool on the state's website." Each state lays it out differently.
- Find your state on the NRCS state offices page.
- On your state's EQIP page, look for "Ranking Criteria," "Ranking Pool Report" or "Funding Pools."
- If you can't find it, ask your district conservationist for the current ranking questions for your pool.
Some we have opened: Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho (Area 1), Kansas, Kentucky (Area 3), Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon (rangeland), South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.
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Related guides: Full EQIP Guide · EQIP Fencing · Water Development · Prescribed Grazing · Brush Management · EQIP Not Funded: Next Steps · Program Stacking
Sources
- State ranking criteria linked above: CART, the five components, supporting practices, national minimum criteria, the tie-breaker and the requirement to publish criteria
- FY2026 ranking pool reports from Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts and South Carolina: component weights and example questions
- NRCS manual 440 M 530, Subpart R (amended March 2024): funding targets, ranking factors, and what counts as bidding down
- 7 CFR 1466.20: EQIP applications and ranking
- Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy: FY2024 and FY2025 funding rates
This guide is for planning purposes. EQIP ranking criteria vary by state and change over time. Always verify current priorities with your local NRCS office before applying. Farmer's Navigator is not affiliated with USDA, NRCS, or any government agency.
This tool provides general guidance based on publicly available USDA program information. It is not legal or financial advice. Program rules, deadlines, and availability may change. Always confirm with your local FSA or NRCS office before making decisions.