| Rank |
County |
Subtotal, Farming Subsidies
1995-2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Renville County, Minnesota | $308,922,665 | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| 2 | Polk County, Minnesota | $301,765,555 | 3.0% | 6.0% |
| 3 | Martin County, Minnesota | $279,313,869 | 2.8% | 8.8% |
| 4 | Redwood County, Minnesota | $278,071,837 | 2.7% | 11.5% |
| 5 | Faribault County, Minnesota | $254,185,653 | 2.5% | 14.0% |
| 6 | Stearns County, Minnesota | $240,110,744 | 2.4% | 16.4% |
| 7 | Mower County, Minnesota | $238,949,210 | 2.4% | 18.8% |
| 8 | Nobles County, Minnesota | $232,887,476 | 2.3% | 21.0% |
| 9 | Freeborn County, Minnesota | $232,286,541 | 2.3% | 23.3% |
| 10 | Blue Earth County, Minnesota | $231,741,607 | 2.3% | 25.6% |
| 11 | Jackson County, Minnesota | $226,513,839 | 2.2% | 27.9% |
| 12 | Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota | $218,542,014 | 2.2% | 30.0% |
| 13 | Cottonwood County, Minnesota | $214,871,503 | 2.1% | 32.1% |
| 14 | Marshall County, Minnesota | $210,087,255 | 2.1% | 34.2% |
| 15 | Murray County, Minnesota | $204,432,200 | 2.0% | 36.2% |
| 16 | Lyon County, Minnesota | $203,443,873 | 2.0% | 38.2% |
| 17 | Fillmore County, Minnesota | $203,078,377 | 2.0% | 40.2% |
| 18 | Swift County, Minnesota | $189,304,034 | 1.9% | 42.1% |
| 19 | Brown County, Minnesota | $185,476,500 | 1.8% | 43.9% |
| 20 | Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota | $183,700,941 | 1.8% | 45.7% |
| 21 | Kandiyohi County, Minnesota | $181,379,260 | 1.8% | 47.5% |
| 22 | Goodhue County, Minnesota | $180,099,451 | 1.8% | 49.3% |
| 23 | Otter Tail County, Minnesota | $173,832,615 | 1.7% | 51.0% |
| 24 | Stevens County, Minnesota | $173,230,266 | 1.7% | 52.7% |
| 25 | Sibley County, Minnesota | $169,306,477 | 1.7% | 54.4% |
| 26 | Norman County, Minnesota | $167,828,630 | 1.7% | 56.1% |
| 27 | Clay County, Minnesota | $165,213,492 | 1.6% | 57.7% |
| 28 | Chippewa County, Minnesota | $165,011,179 | 1.6% | 59.3% |
| 29 | Rock County, Minnesota | $162,485,038 | 1.6% | 60.9% |
| 30 | Waseca County, Minnesota | $159,071,455 | 1.6% | 62.5% |
| 31 | Watonwan County, Minnesota | $156,329,154 | 1.5% | 64.0% |
| 32 | Nicollet County, Minnesota | $147,054,002 | 1.5% | 65.5% |
| 33 | Olmsted County, Minnesota | $144,806,350 | 1.4% | 66.9% |
| 34 | Dodge County, Minnesota | $144,021,308 | 1.4% | 68.3% |
| 35 | Wilkin County, Minnesota | $142,106,096 | 1.4% | 69.7% |
| 36 | Steele County, Minnesota | $141,036,042 | 1.4% | 71.1% |
| 37 | Meeker County, Minnesota | $139,292,276 | 1.4% | 72.5% |
| 38 | Traverse County, Minnesota | $136,620,310 | 1.3% | 73.8% |
| 39 | Kittson County, Minnesota | $135,797,641 | 1.3% | 75.2% |
| 40 | McLeod County, Minnesota | $127,140,353 | 1.3% | 76.4% |
| 41 | Grant County, Minnesota | $125,096,726 | 1.2% | 77.7% |
| 42 | Le Sueur County, Minnesota | $115,591,089 | 1.1% | 78.8% |
| 43 | Pope County, Minnesota | $112,474,085 | 1.1% | 79.9% |
| 44 | Winona County, Minnesota | $111,286,173 | 1.1% | 81.0% |
| 45 | Pipestone County, Minnesota | $111,073,525 | 1.1% | 82.1% |
| 46 | Dakota County, Minnesota | $111,000,108 | 1.1% | 83.2% |
| 47 | Lincoln County, Minnesota | $108,695,963 | 1.1% | 84.3% |
| 48 | Rice County, Minnesota | $107,551,515 | 1.1% | 85.3% |
| 49 | Wabasha County, Minnesota | $104,651,481 | 1.0% | 86.4% |
| 50 | Roseau County, Minnesota | $103,218,110 | 1.0% | 87.4% |
| 51 | Big Stone County, Minnesota | $100,324,066 | 1.0% | 88.4% |
| 52 | Wright County, Minnesota | $96,641,878 | 1.0% | 89.3% |
| 53 | Morrison County, Minnesota | $87,630,059 | 0.9% | 90.2% |
| 54 | Carver County, Minnesota | $81,603,307 | 0.8% | 91.0% |
| 55 | Houston County, Minnesota | $78,661,612 | 0.8% | 91.8% |
| 56 | Todd County, Minnesota | $73,994,690 | 0.7% | 92.5% |
| 57 | Becker County, Minnesota | $71,246,643 | 0.7% | 93.2% |
| 58 | Douglas County, Minnesota | $66,504,819 | 0.7% | 93.9% |
| 59 | Pennington County, Minnesota | $60,005,454 | 0.6% | 94.5% |
| 60 | Benton County, Minnesota | $59,469,909 | 0.6% | 95.0% |
| 61 | Scott County, Minnesota | $53,562,881 | 0.5% | 95.6% |
| 62 | Red Lake County, Minnesota | $52,771,246 | 0.5% | 96.1% |
| 63 | | $50,248,203 | 0.5% | 96.6% |
| 64 | Mahnomen County, Minnesota | $46,068,550 | 0.5% | 97.0% |
| 65 | Isanti County, Minnesota | $35,983,319 | 0.4% | 97.4% |
| 66 | Chisago County, Minnesota | $29,740,031 | 0.3% | 97.7% |
| 67 | Sherburne County, Minnesota | $28,987,521 | 0.3% | 98.0% |
| 68 | Washington County, Minnesota | $25,504,555 | 0.3% | 98.2% |
| 69 | Mille Lacs County, Minnesota | $24,319,236 | 0.2% | 98.5% |
| 70 | Pine County, Minnesota | $22,658,269 | 0.2% | 98.7% |
| 71 | Wadena County, Minnesota | $22,107,578 | 0.2% | 98.9% |
| 72 | Hennepin County, Minnesota | $21,932,430 | 0.2% | 99.1% |
| 73 | Kanabec County, Minnesota | $14,775,724 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 74 | Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota | $12,456,652 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 75 | Beltrami County, Minnesota | $11,331,014 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 76 | Hubbard County, Minnesota | $9,138,538 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 77 | Clearwater County, Minnesota | $8,815,919 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 78 | Anoka County, Minnesota | $8,490,118 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 79 | Crow Wing County, Minnesota | $7,234,934 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 80 | Cass County, Minnesota | $6,662,810 | 0.1% | 99.9% |
| 81 | Aitkin County, Minnesota | $3,083,027 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 82 | Koochiching County, Minnesota | $2,317,084 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 83 | Carlton County, Minnesota | $2,311,494 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 84 | Saint Louis County, Minnesota | $1,394,866 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 85 | Itasca County, Minnesota | $755,642 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 86 | Ramsey County, Minnesota | $90,517 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 87 | Cook County, Minnesota | $3,126 | 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.
