| Rank |
County |
Total USDA - Subsidies
2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Marshall County, Minnesota | $35,466,503 | 3.8% | 3.8% |
| 2 | Renville County, Minnesota | $26,103,728 | 2.8% | 6.5% |
| 3 | Polk County, Minnesota | $23,312,171 | 2.5% | 9.0% |
| 4 | Roseau County, Minnesota | $22,597,590 | 2.4% | 11.4% |
| 5 | Norman County, Minnesota | $22,276,900 | 2.4% | 13.7% |
| 6 | Clay County, Minnesota | $22,235,221 | 2.4% | 16.1% |
| 7 | Kittson County, Minnesota | $22,026,130 | 2.3% | 18.4% |
| 8 | Redwood County, Minnesota | $21,480,493 | 2.3% | 20.7% |
| 9 | Mower County, Minnesota | $20,401,613 | 2.2% | 22.9% |
| 10 | Wilkin County, Minnesota | $20,019,881 | 2.1% | 25.0% |
| 11 | Stearns County, Minnesota | $19,845,090 | 2.1% | 27.1% |
| 12 | Faribault County, Minnesota | $19,271,196 | 2.0% | 29.1% |
| 13 | Freeborn County, Minnesota | $19,202,394 | 2.0% | 31.2% |
| 14 | Martin County, Minnesota | $19,152,781 | 2.0% | 33.2% |
| 15 | Blue Earth County, Minnesota | $18,539,619 | 2.0% | 35.1% |
| 16 | Swift County, Minnesota | $18,510,212 | 2.0% | 37.1% |
| 17 | Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota | $17,861,528 | 1.9% | 39.0% |
| 18 | Murray County, Minnesota | $17,578,274 | 1.9% | 40.9% |
| 19 | Nobles County, Minnesota | $17,456,801 | 1.8% | 42.7% |
| 20 | Fillmore County, Minnesota | $17,177,216 | 1.8% | 44.5% |
| 21 | Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota | $16,937,684 | 1.8% | 46.3% |
| 22 | Kandiyohi County, Minnesota | $16,758,965 | 1.8% | 48.1% |
| 23 | Lyon County, Minnesota | $16,003,966 | 1.7% | 49.8% |
| 24 | Jackson County, Minnesota | $15,910,037 | 1.7% | 51.5% |
| 25 | Brown County, Minnesota | $15,474,089 | 1.6% | 53.1% |
| 26 | Chippewa County, Minnesota | $14,581,570 | 1.5% | 54.7% |
| 27 | Traverse County, Minnesota | $14,253,616 | 1.5% | 56.2% |
| 28 | Cottonwood County, Minnesota | $14,123,308 | 1.5% | 57.7% |
| 29 | Grant County, Minnesota | $14,062,933 | 1.5% | 59.2% |
| 30 | Otter Tail County, Minnesota | $13,724,765 | 1.5% | 60.6% |
| 31 | Lincoln County, Minnesota | $13,713,057 | 1.5% | 62.1% |
| 32 | Sibley County, Minnesota | $13,640,993 | 1.4% | 63.5% |
| 33 | Stevens County, Minnesota | $13,193,757 | 1.4% | 64.9% |
| 34 | Pennington County, Minnesota | $12,930,991 | 1.4% | 66.3% |
| 35 | Goodhue County, Minnesota | $12,584,558 | 1.3% | 67.6% |
| 36 | Pope County, Minnesota | $12,302,944 | 1.3% | 68.9% |
| 37 | Meeker County, Minnesota | $12,002,919 | 1.3% | 70.2% |
| 38 | Becker County, Minnesota | $11,540,273 | 1.2% | 71.4% |
| 39 | Waseca County, Minnesota | $11,381,612 | 1.2% | 72.6% |
| 40 | Steele County, Minnesota | $11,308,777 | 1.2% | 73.8% |
| 41 | Nicollet County, Minnesota | $11,211,465 | 1.2% | 75.0% |
| 42 | Dodge County, Minnesota | $11,181,605 | 1.2% | 76.2% |
| 43 | Watonwan County, Minnesota | $10,702,456 | 1.1% | 77.3% |
| 44 | Rock County, Minnesota | $10,600,342 | 1.1% | 78.4% |
| 45 | Olmsted County, Minnesota | $10,594,071 | 1.1% | 79.6% |
| 46 | McLeod County, Minnesota | $10,272,062 | 1.1% | 80.6% |
| 47 | Le Sueur County, Minnesota | $9,956,717 | 1.1% | 81.7% |
| 48 | Big Stone County, Minnesota | $9,543,862 | 1.0% | 82.7% |
| 49 | Mahnomen County, Minnesota | $9,314,213 | 1.0% | 83.7% |
| 50 | Pipestone County, Minnesota | $9,209,999 | 1.0% | 84.7% |
| 51 | Rice County, Minnesota | $9,145,743 | 1.0% | 85.6% |
| 52 | Douglas County, Minnesota | $8,425,615 | 0.9% | 86.5% |
| 53 | Red Lake County, Minnesota | $8,145,587 | 0.9% | 87.4% |
| 54 | Morrison County, Minnesota | $8,105,550 | 0.9% | 88.2% |
| 55 | Wright County, Minnesota | $7,832,720 | 0.8% | 89.1% |
| 56 | Todd County, Minnesota | $7,692,122 | 0.8% | 89.9% |
| 57 | Dakota County, Minnesota | $7,496,474 | 0.8% | 90.7% |
| 58 | Wabasha County, Minnesota | $7,155,508 | 0.8% | 91.4% |
| 59 | Winona County, Minnesota | $6,208,234 | 0.7% | 92.1% |
| 60 | Houston County, Minnesota | $5,416,398 | 0.6% | 92.7% |
| 61 | Benton County, Minnesota | $5,235,880 | 0.6% | 93.2% |
| 62 | Carver County, Minnesota | $5,171,089 | 0.5% | 93.8% |
| 63 | Scott County, Minnesota | $4,083,415 | 0.4% | 94.2% |
| 64 | Isanti County, Minnesota | $2,745,051 | 0.3% | 94.5% |
| 65 | Chisago County, Minnesota | $2,657,416 | 0.3% | 94.8% |
| 66 | Wadena County, Minnesota | $2,457,652 | 0.3% | 95.0% |
| 67 | Sherburne County, Minnesota | $2,199,024 | 0.2% | 95.3% |
| 68 | Mille Lacs County, Minnesota | $2,143,519 | 0.2% | 95.5% |
| 69 | Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota | $2,125,944 | 0.2% | 95.7% |
| 70 | Beltrami County, Minnesota | $1,972,128 | 0.2% | 95.9% |
| 71 | Clearwater County, Minnesota | $1,915,566 | 0.2% | 96.1% |
| 72 | Washington County, Minnesota | $1,896,824 | 0.2% | 96.3% |
| 73 | Kanabec County, Minnesota | $1,599,257 | 0.2% | 96.5% |
| 74 | Pine County, Minnesota | $1,593,784 | 0.2% | 96.7% |
| 75 | Hennepin County, Minnesota | $1,426,844 | 0.2% | 96.8% |
| 76 | Hubbard County, Minnesota | $1,417,737 | 0.2% | 97.0% |
| 77 | Aitkin County, Minnesota | $954,957 | 0.1% | 97.1% |
| 78 | Cass County, Minnesota | $845,759 | 0.1% | 97.2% |
| 79 | Anoka County, Minnesota | $821,487 | 0.1% | 97.3% |
| 80 | Crow Wing County, Minnesota | $766,913 | 0.1% | 97.3% |
| 81 | Koochiching County, Minnesota | $368,578 | 0.0% | 97.4% |
| 82 | Itasca County, Minnesota | $146,004 | 0.0% | 97.4% |
| 83 | Carlton County, Minnesota | $115,981 | 0.0% | 97.4% |
| 84 | Saint Louis County, Minnesota | $32,241 | 0.0% | 97.4% |
| 85 | Ramsey County, Minnesota | $12,508 | 0.0% | 97.4% |
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.
