The Soil Health Opportunities & Tools Fund (SHOT Fund) EQIP Bridge Loan Program
The USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides a partial cost share reimbursement to farmers, ranchers, and landowners who install eligible conservation practices that promote soil health, water quality, and biological diversity. One of the major challenges of the program, however, is the requirement that participants pay for the entire cost of practice installation upfront and out-of-pocket.
The Soil Health Opportunities & Tools Fund (SHOT Fund) EQIP Bridge Loan program provides landowners and farmers with flexible funding to cover the upfront costs of installing EQIP practices. Designed specifically for recipients of NRCS EQIP awards, our bridge loans have no fees, no penalties, and no interest. We will work with you to create a custom loan agreement that meets your needs and tracks the same timeline as your EQIP contract.
If you are interested in applying for the program, please complete this short pre-application form. The EQIP Bridge Loan Team will reach out to schedule a brief 30 minute call to learn more about your EQIP project and potential financing needs.
The Soil Health Opportunities & Tools Fund (the SHOT Fund) is a philanthropically funded effort jointly run by the Regenerative Agriculture Foundation and Rural Climate Partnership. Our vision is for producers to have the opportunities and tools they need to improve soil health and implement conservation practices. The EQIP Bridge Loan Program is part of the SHOT Fund and is managed by Food System 6.