| Rank |
County |
Subtotal, Conservation Programs
2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Warren County, Kentucky | $3,750,620 | 8.3% | 8.3% |
| 2 | Logan County, Kentucky | $3,567,988 | 7.9% | 16.2% |
| 3 | Hart County, Kentucky | $3,229,539 | 7.1% | 23.3% |
| 4 | Graves County, Kentucky | $3,073,098 | 6.8% | 30.2% |
| 5 | Christian County, Kentucky | $2,529,395 | 5.6% | 35.8% |
| 6 | Green County, Kentucky | $2,129,803 | 4.7% | 40.5% |
| 7 | Webster County, Kentucky | $1,910,257 | 4.2% | 44.7% |
| 8 | Adair County, Kentucky | $1,318,591 | 2.9% | 47.6% |
| 9 | Allen County, Kentucky | $1,291,528 | 2.9% | 50.5% |
| 10 | Butler County, Kentucky | $1,266,023 | 2.8% | 53.3% |
| 11 | Grayson County, Kentucky | $1,215,943 | 2.7% | 56.0% |
| 12 | Calloway County, Kentucky | $1,111,669 | 2.5% | 58.4% |
| 13 | Barren County, Kentucky | $1,065,944 | 2.4% | 60.8% |
| 14 | Edmonson County, Kentucky | $1,036,545 | 2.3% | 63.1% |
| 15 | Livingston County, Kentucky | $980,837 | 2.2% | 65.3% |
| 16 | Crittenden County, Kentucky | $977,226 | 2.2% | 67.4% |
| 17 | Hopkins County, Kentucky | $954,096 | 2.1% | 69.5% |
| 18 | Caldwell County, Kentucky | $950,384 | 2.1% | 71.6% |
| 19 | Muhlenberg County, Kentucky | $932,493 | 2.1% | 73.7% |
| 20 | Hickman County, Kentucky | $928,552 | 2.1% | 75.8% |
| 21 | Metcalfe County, Kentucky | $870,078 | 1.9% | 77.7% |
| 22 | Marshall County, Kentucky | $797,789 | 1.8% | 79.4% |
| 23 | Breckinridge County, Kentucky | $790,042 | 1.7% | 81.2% |
| 24 | Simpson County, Kentucky | $709,552 | 1.6% | 82.8% |
| 25 | Taylor County, Kentucky | $629,049 | 1.4% | 84.2% |
| 26 | Todd County, Kentucky | $599,333 | 1.3% | 85.5% |
| 27 | Union County, Kentucky | $522,732 | 1.2% | 86.6% |
| 28 | Henderson County, Kentucky | $464,123 | 1.0% | 87.7% |
| 29 | Ballard County, Kentucky | $453,277 | 1.0% | 88.7% |
| 30 | Carlisle County, Kentucky | $429,518 | 1.0% | 89.6% |
| 31 | Fulton County, Kentucky | $369,982 | 0.8% | 90.4% |
| 32 | McLean County, Kentucky | $342,809 | 0.8% | 91.2% |
| 33 | Casey County, Kentucky | $335,528 | 0.7% | 91.9% |
| 34 | Marion County, Kentucky | $280,966 | 0.6% | 92.6% |
| 35 | Meade County, Kentucky | $255,912 | 0.6% | 93.1% |
| 36 | Hardin County, Kentucky | $249,103 | 0.6% | 93.7% |
| 37 | McCracken County, Kentucky | $234,223 | 0.5% | 94.2% |
| 38 | Madison County, Kentucky | $224,320 | 0.5% | 94.7% |
| 39 | Ohio County, Kentucky | $223,705 | 0.5% | 95.2% |
| 40 | Trigg County, Kentucky | $199,921 | 0.4% | 95.6% |
| 41 | Russell County, Kentucky | $195,084 | 0.4% | 96.1% |
| 42 | Daviess County, Kentucky | $192,788 | 0.4% | 96.5% |
| 43 | Lincoln County, Kentucky | $138,714 | 0.3% | 96.8% |
| 44 | Lyon County, Kentucky | $137,090 | 0.3% | 97.1% |
| 45 | Washington County, Kentucky | $116,957 | 0.3% | 97.4% |
| 46 | Lewis County, Kentucky | $90,525 | 0.2% | 97.6% |
| 47 | Larue County, Kentucky | $90,421 | 0.2% | 97.8% |
| 48 | Bourbon County, Kentucky | $90,063 | 0.2% | 98.0% |
| 49 | Hancock County, Kentucky | $85,780 | 0.2% | 98.2% |
| 50 | Nelson County, Kentucky | $82,997 | 0.2% | 98.3% |
| 51 | Shelby County, Kentucky | $76,033 | 0.2% | 98.5% |
| 52 | Pulaski County, Kentucky | $62,798 | 0.1% | 98.6% |
| 53 | Monroe County, Kentucky | $48,568 | 0.1% | 98.7% |
| 54 | Estill County, Kentucky | $43,821 | 0.1% | 98.8% |
| 55 | Fleming County, Kentucky | $42,311 | 0.1% | 98.9% |
| 56 | Garrard County, Kentucky | $41,390 | 0.1% | 99.0% |
| 57 | Cumberland County, Kentucky | $39,794 | 0.1% | 99.1% |
| 58 | Harrison County, Kentucky | $34,489 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 59 | Mason County, Kentucky | $33,612 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 60 | Montgomery County, Kentucky | $32,689 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 61 | Carter County, Kentucky | $31,922 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 62 | Bath County, Kentucky | $30,720 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 63 | Greenup County, Kentucky | $26,698 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 64 | Bullitt County, Kentucky | $23,758 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 65 | Mercer County, Kentucky | $21,915 | 0.0% | 99.6% |
| 66 | Clark County, Kentucky | $15,922 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 67 | Rowan County, Kentucky | $14,879 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 68 | Fayette County, Kentucky | $13,552 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 69 | Henry County, Kentucky | $13,447 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 70 | Pendleton County, Kentucky | $12,479 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 71 | Nicholas County, Kentucky | $10,832 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 72 | Oldham County, Kentucky | $9,291 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 73 | Clinton County, Kentucky | $8,107 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 74 | Boyle County, Kentucky | $7,478 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 75 | Franklin County, Kentucky | $6,372 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 76 | Whitley County, Kentucky | $5,938 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 77 | Trimble County, Kentucky | $3,585 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 78 | Bracken County, Kentucky | $3,357 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 79 | Woodford County, Kentucky | $3,267 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 80 | Boone County, Kentucky | $2,844 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 81 | Rockcastle County, Kentucky | $2,665 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 82 | Scott County, Kentucky | $2,174 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 83 | Jackson County, Kentucky | $1,695 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 84 | Campbell County, Kentucky | $1,597 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 85 | Jessamine County, Kentucky | $903 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 86 | Laurel County, Kentucky | $567 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
Source: Environmental Working Group. Compiled from USDA data.
Note: The information on conservation spending for 2011 is incomplete due to missing data from USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service. In addition some payments made in 2010 were not assigned to recipients in the data received from NRCS. Those payments are also not included.
The information provided for the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) provides an inaccurate picture of how WRP payments are distributed. USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service uses title companies as intermediaries to finalize wetlands easements under the Wetlands Reserve Program. As a result, the data provided to us shows large sums of money going to these title companies. In reality, the payments are ultimately distributed to landowners participating in the WRP.
Unfortunately, NRCS has not provided the data to show where these farms and wetlands are located or which farmers or landowners are enrolling in the program, so EWG is unable to allocate these large sums of money to individuals beyond the title companies. Therefore, these companies skew the conservation rankings and payment concentration, which EWG cannot avoid unless and until NRCS makes available the additional farm attribution data. Therefore, we have not included WRP payments in the 2011 data update.
We have separated data on farm commodity, disaster and conservation payments in order to provide a more accurate picture of top recipients and concentration of payments among the three main categories of USDA programs.
Finally, EWG works hard to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides through its products and services, but obtains data for the Farm Subsidy Database from the U.S. Department of Agriculture pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Therefore, EWG cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information USDA provides or any analysis based thereon. If you find an error or discrepancy on the site, please contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency office to check its records before contacting EWG.
