| Rank |
County |
Agricultural Conservation Program
1995-2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Stearns County, Minnesota | $1,496,919 | 11.9% | 11.9% |
| 2 | Olmsted County, Minnesota | $794,209 | 6.3% | 18.1% |
| 3 | Lincoln County, Minnesota | $450,028 | 3.6% | 21.7% |
| 4 | Rice County, Minnesota | $433,764 | 3.4% | 25.1% |
| 5 | Le Sueur County, Minnesota | $404,250 | 3.2% | 28.3% |
| 6 | Fillmore County, Minnesota | $375,063 | 3.0% | 31.3% |
| 7 | Wabasha County, Minnesota | $348,892 | 2.8% | 34.1% |
| 8 | Blue Earth County, Minnesota | $343,119 | 2.7% | 36.8% |
| 9 | Rock County, Minnesota | $343,074 | 2.7% | 39.5% |
| 10 | Lyon County, Minnesota | $309,256 | 2.4% | 42.0% |
| 11 | Winona County, Minnesota | $237,102 | 1.9% | 43.8% |
| 12 | Goodhue County, Minnesota | $234,151 | 1.9% | 45.7% |
| 13 | Freeborn County, Minnesota | $232,652 | 1.8% | 47.5% |
| 14 | Steele County, Minnesota | $230,211 | 1.8% | 49.4% |
| 15 | Saint Louis County, Minnesota | $228,840 | 1.8% | 51.2% |
| 16 | Redwood County, Minnesota | $209,530 | 1.7% | 52.8% |
| 17 | Beltrami County, Minnesota | $197,217 | 1.6% | 54.4% |
| 18 | Mower County, Minnesota | $196,705 | 1.6% | 55.9% |
| 19 | Dodge County, Minnesota | $185,455 | 1.5% | 57.4% |
| 20 | Houston County, Minnesota | $169,614 | 1.3% | 58.8% |
| 21 | Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota | $169,541 | 1.3% | 60.1% |
| 22 | Kandiyohi County, Minnesota | $168,660 | 1.3% | 61.4% |
| 23 | Benton County, Minnesota | $167,925 | 1.3% | 62.8% |
| 24 | Otter Tail County, Minnesota | $167,045 | 1.3% | 64.1% |
| 25 | Renville County, Minnesota | $166,844 | 1.3% | 65.4% |
| 26 | Pipestone County, Minnesota | $160,707 | 1.3% | 66.7% |
| 27 | Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota | $142,743 | 1.1% | 67.8% |
| 28 | Murray County, Minnesota | $142,387 | 1.1% | 68.9% |
| 29 | Polk County, Minnesota | $141,343 | 1.1% | 70.1% |
| 30 | Hubbard County, Minnesota | $137,606 | 1.1% | 71.1% |
| 31 | Meeker County, Minnesota | $130,320 | 1.0% | 72.2% |
| 32 | Cass County, Minnesota | $119,942 | 0.9% | 73.1% |
| 33 | Wadena County, Minnesota | $115,184 | 0.9% | 74.0% |
| 34 | Crow Wing County, Minnesota | $106,507 | 0.8% | 74.9% |
| 35 | Carlton County, Minnesota | $106,388 | 0.8% | 75.7% |
| 36 | Traverse County, Minnesota | $106,007 | 0.8% | 76.6% |
| 37 | Nobles County, Minnesota | $105,336 | 0.8% | 77.4% |
| 38 | Waseca County, Minnesota | $104,767 | 0.8% | 78.2% |
| 39 | Washington County, Minnesota | $104,538 | 0.8% | 79.1% |
| 40 | Pine County, Minnesota | $104,040 | 0.8% | 79.9% |
| 41 | Morrison County, Minnesota | $102,597 | 0.8% | 80.7% |
| 42 | Clearwater County, Minnesota | $101,933 | 0.8% | 81.5% |
| 43 | Becker County, Minnesota | $100,550 | 0.8% | 82.3% |
| 44 | Marshall County, Minnesota | $96,415 | 0.8% | 83.1% |
| 45 | Brown County, Minnesota | $94,345 | 0.7% | 83.8% |
| 46 | Itasca County, Minnesota | $92,644 | 0.7% | 84.5% |
| 47 | Pope County, Minnesota | $92,528 | 0.7% | 85.3% |
| 48 | Scott County, Minnesota | $92,500 | 0.7% | 86.0% |
| 49 | Stevens County, Minnesota | $90,689 | 0.7% | 86.7% |
| 50 | Douglas County, Minnesota | $86,444 | 0.7% | 87.4% |
| 51 | Cottonwood County, Minnesota | $84,695 | 0.7% | 88.1% |
| 52 | Todd County, Minnesota | $84,251 | 0.7% | 88.7% |
| 53 | Grant County, Minnesota | $68,702 | 0.5% | 89.3% |
| 54 | Dakota County, Minnesota | $68,530 | 0.5% | 89.8% |
| 55 | Isanti County, Minnesota | $65,705 | 0.5% | 90.4% |
| 56 | Faribault County, Minnesota | $64,489 | 0.5% | 90.9% |
| 57 | Nicollet County, Minnesota | $61,332 | 0.5% | 91.3% |
| 58 | Aitkin County, Minnesota | $61,181 | 0.5% | 91.8% |
| 59 | Sherburne County, Minnesota | $60,424 | 0.5% | 92.3% |
| 60 | Jackson County, Minnesota | $58,223 | 0.5% | 92.8% |
| 61 | Swift County, Minnesota | $57,838 | 0.5% | 93.2% |
| 62 | Mille Lacs County, Minnesota | $56,324 | 0.4% | 93.7% |
| 63 | Roseau County, Minnesota | $55,883 | 0.4% | 94.1% |
| 64 | Pennington County, Minnesota | $55,694 | 0.4% | 94.6% |
| 65 | Chippewa County, Minnesota | $54,455 | 0.4% | 95.0% |
| 66 | Wright County, Minnesota | $51,907 | 0.4% | 95.4% |
| 67 | Chisago County, Minnesota | $44,990 | 0.4% | 95.8% |
| 68 | Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota | $43,774 | 0.3% | 96.1% |
| 69 | Red Lake County, Minnesota | $41,943 | 0.3% | 96.4% |
| 70 | Watonwan County, Minnesota | $38,997 | 0.3% | 96.7% |
| 71 | Kanabec County, Minnesota | $38,842 | 0.3% | 97.1% |
| 72 | Sibley County, Minnesota | $38,218 | 0.3% | 97.4% |
| 73 | Big Stone County, Minnesota | $38,104 | 0.3% | 97.7% |
| 74 | Mahnomen County, Minnesota | $35,493 | 0.3% | 97.9% |
| 75 | Clay County, Minnesota | $31,098 | 0.2% | 98.2% |
| 76 | Martin County, Minnesota | $30,764 | 0.2% | 98.4% |
| 77 | Wilkin County, Minnesota | $30,664 | 0.2% | 98.7% |
| 78 | Kittson County, Minnesota | $26,400 | 0.2% | 98.9% |
| 79 | Norman County, Minnesota | $25,465 | 0.2% | 99.1% |
| 80 | Koochiching County, Minnesota | $23,029 | 0.2% | 99.3% |
| 81 | Hennepin County, Minnesota | $20,370 | 0.2% | 99.4% |
| 82 | Lake County, Minnesota | $16,720 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 83 | Cook County, Minnesota | $14,701 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 84 | McLeod County, Minnesota | $14,519 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 85 | Carver County, Minnesota | $13,352 | 0.1% | 99.9% |
| 86 | Anoka County, Minnesota | $13,179 | 0.1% | 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.
