TANSTAAFL, "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"  that 25% discount would have been eaten up quickly and far exceeded if I would have gone along with the ideas they had.  Just like the DCP program payments they sucker us into, for the tax money they toss out for it, they get everyone to come into their office and tell them exactly what they planted and when they planted it, and what it yielded.  Crucial information for them to keep grain prices in check and determine import/export strategies, food prices and livestock prices.  Plus if you go with EQIP, they strap you down with a nice nutrient management plan, which I prefer to do voluntarily, not according to their ideas. That is why they like the big manure projects for large operations, the cost share is too big for them to ignore, but right off the bat they are in at the ground level monitoring their nutrient levels.  I can assure you the environmental aspects are at the bottom of the list for why they promote EQIP.