| Rank |
County |
Total Direct Payments
2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Polk County, Minnesota | $9,450,752 | 3.6% | 3.6% |
| 2 | Renville County, Minnesota | $8,647,556 | 3.3% | 7.0% |
| 3 | Martin County, Minnesota | $7,902,824 | 3.0% | 10.0% |
| 4 | Faribault County, Minnesota | $7,370,022 | 2.8% | 12.9% |
| 5 | Marshall County, Minnesota | $7,015,051 | 2.7% | 15.6% |
| 6 | Redwood County, Minnesota | $6,798,032 | 2.6% | 18.2% |
| 7 | Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota | $6,316,051 | 2.4% | 20.6% |
| 8 | Freeborn County, Minnesota | $5,949,733 | 2.3% | 22.9% |
| 9 | Mower County, Minnesota | $5,866,955 | 2.3% | 25.2% |
| 10 | Blue Earth County, Minnesota | $5,720,669 | 2.2% | 27.4% |
| 11 | Murray County, Minnesota | $5,290,496 | 2.0% | 29.4% |
| 12 | Lyon County, Minnesota | $5,199,785 | 2.0% | 31.4% |
| 13 | Swift County, Minnesota | $5,183,254 | 2.0% | 33.4% |
| 14 | Stearns County, Minnesota | $5,159,550 | 2.0% | 35.4% |
| 15 | Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota | $5,065,943 | 2.0% | 37.3% |
| 16 | Norman County, Minnesota | $5,065,208 | 2.0% | 39.3% |
| 17 | Fillmore County, Minnesota | $4,942,131 | 1.9% | 41.2% |
| 18 | Brown County, Minnesota | $4,875,998 | 1.9% | 43.1% |
| 19 | Nobles County, Minnesota | $4,862,768 | 1.9% | 45.0% |
| 20 | Jackson County, Minnesota | $4,835,361 | 1.9% | 46.8% |
| 21 | Kittson County, Minnesota | $4,559,801 | 1.8% | 48.6% |
| 22 | Goodhue County, Minnesota | $4,466,957 | 1.7% | 50.3% |
| 23 | Sibley County, Minnesota | $4,437,954 | 1.7% | 52.0% |
| 24 | Kandiyohi County, Minnesota | $4,434,348 | 1.7% | 53.7% |
| 25 | Cottonwood County, Minnesota | $4,414,434 | 1.7% | 55.4% |
| 26 | Chippewa County, Minnesota | $4,398,253 | 1.7% | 57.1% |
| 27 | Clay County, Minnesota | $4,265,826 | 1.6% | 58.7% |
| 28 | Nicollet County, Minnesota | $4,001,766 | 1.5% | 60.3% |
| 29 | Otter Tail County, Minnesota | $3,942,912 | 1.5% | 61.8% |
| 30 | Wilkin County, Minnesota | $3,877,846 | 1.5% | 63.3% |
| 31 | Watonwan County, Minnesota | $3,871,720 | 1.5% | 64.8% |
| 32 | Olmsted County, Minnesota | $3,750,339 | 1.4% | 66.2% |
| 33 | Meeker County, Minnesota | $3,744,788 | 1.4% | 67.7% |
| 34 | Steele County, Minnesota | $3,635,062 | 1.4% | 69.1% |
| 35 | McLeod County, Minnesota | $3,482,824 | 1.3% | 70.4% |
| 36 | Waseca County, Minnesota | $3,415,821 | 1.3% | 71.7% |
| 37 | Stevens County, Minnesota | $3,382,987 | 1.3% | 73.0% |
| 38 | Roseau County, Minnesota | $3,338,147 | 1.3% | 74.3% |
| 39 | Rock County, Minnesota | $3,328,582 | 1.3% | 75.6% |
| 40 | Dodge County, Minnesota | $3,156,743 | 1.2% | 76.8% |
| 41 | Le Sueur County, Minnesota | $3,140,432 | 1.2% | 78.0% |
| 42 | Grant County, Minnesota | $3,078,302 | 1.2% | 79.2% |
| 43 | Traverse County, Minnesota | $2,914,962 | 1.1% | 80.3% |
| 44 | Lincoln County, Minnesota | $2,808,054 | 1.1% | 81.4% |
| 45 | Pipestone County, Minnesota | $2,766,896 | 1.1% | 82.5% |
| 46 | Dakota County, Minnesota | $2,755,420 | 1.1% | 83.6% |
| 47 | Rice County, Minnesota | $2,643,785 | 1.0% | 84.6% |
| 48 | Pope County, Minnesota | $2,616,422 | 1.0% | 85.6% |
| 49 | Wright County, Minnesota | $2,532,552 | 1.0% | 86.6% |
| 50 | Winona County, Minnesota | $2,424,567 | 0.9% | 87.5% |
| 51 | Wabasha County, Minnesota | $2,345,113 | 0.9% | 88.4% |
| 52 | Big Stone County, Minnesota | $2,295,761 | 0.9% | 89.3% |
| 53 | Pennington County, Minnesota | $2,225,854 | 0.9% | 90.1% |
| 54 | Becker County, Minnesota | $2,144,949 | 0.8% | 91.0% |
| 55 | Houston County, Minnesota | $2,127,454 | 0.8% | 91.8% |
| 56 | Morrison County, Minnesota | $2,048,878 | 0.8% | 92.6% |
| 57 | Carver County, Minnesota | $1,909,670 | 0.7% | 93.3% |
| 58 | Todd County, Minnesota | $1,722,694 | 0.7% | 94.0% |
| 59 | Red Lake County, Minnesota | $1,717,164 | 0.7% | 94.6% |
| 60 | Douglas County, Minnesota | $1,680,112 | 0.6% | 95.3% |
| 61 | Scott County, Minnesota | $1,418,979 | 0.5% | 95.8% |
| 62 | Mahnomen County, Minnesota | $1,396,782 | 0.5% | 96.4% |
| 63 | Benton County, Minnesota | $1,293,859 | 0.5% | 96.9% |
| 64 | Isanti County, Minnesota | $1,041,574 | 0.4% | 97.3% |
| 65 | Chisago County, Minnesota | $925,571 | 0.4% | 97.6% |
| 66 | Sherburne County, Minnesota | $830,758 | 0.3% | 97.9% |
| 67 | Hennepin County, Minnesota | $595,132 | 0.2% | 98.2% |
| 68 | Mille Lacs County, Minnesota | $584,081 | 0.2% | 98.4% |
| 69 | Wadena County, Minnesota | $570,326 | 0.2% | 98.6% |
| 70 | Washington County, Minnesota | $561,001 | 0.2% | 98.8% |
| 71 | Pine County, Minnesota | $551,314 | 0.2% | 99.0% |
| 72 | Kanabec County, Minnesota | $423,954 | 0.2% | 99.2% |
| 73 | Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota | $381,603 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 74 | Beltrami County, Minnesota | $360,611 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 75 | Clearwater County, Minnesota | $283,898 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 76 | Anoka County, Minnesota | $234,178 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 77 | Hubbard County, Minnesota | $230,466 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 78 | Crow Wing County, Minnesota | $200,239 | 0.1% | 99.9% |
| 79 | Cass County, Minnesota | $141,058 | 0.1% | 99.9% |
| 80 | Aitkin County, Minnesota | $88,769 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 81 | Koochiching County, Minnesota | $77,488 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 82 | Carlton County, Minnesota | $28,850 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 83 | Itasca County, Minnesota | $15,795 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 84 | Saint Louis County, Minnesota | $10,650 | 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.
