A program created by the FAIR Act of 1996 to provide primarily cost-sharing assistance, but also technical and educational assistance, aimed at reducing soil, water, and related natural resource problems. The program replaces the Agricultural Conservation Program, the Water Quality Incentives Program, the Great Plains Conservation Program, and the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. EQIP is authorized at $1.3 billion in mandatory spending over 7 years (total), with at least half of the funding targeted to environmental concerns associated with livestock production; spending in general is to be targeted to state-designated priority areas. EQIP is to be operated to maximize the environmental benefits per dollar expended.