The first time I hooked a hose up... I wasn't about to wait for the trenches to be filled in Last winter we applied for what's known as an "EQIP" grant. EQIP stands for Environmental Quality Incentives Program and is sponsored by the USDA. Within the USDA, the funding comes from the National Resources Conservation Service and is aimed at supporting agricultural conservation practices across the country. Every county receives funding, as do the individual states as a whole.  The funding is used as a cost-sharing measure to encourage farmers to preserve the landscape and return to farming practices that do not destroy the earth.