| Rank |
County |
Total USDA - Subsidies
1995-2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Marshall County, Minnesota | $550,143,364 | 3.4% | 3.4% |
| 2 | Polk County, Minnesota | $517,451,277 | 3.2% | 6.6% |
| 3 | Renville County, Minnesota | $444,593,565 | 2.7% | 9.3% |
| 4 | Redwood County, Minnesota | $384,753,667 | 2.4% | 11.7% |
| 5 | Stearns County, Minnesota | $373,141,696 | 2.3% | 14.0% |
| 6 | Martin County, Minnesota | $362,527,836 | 2.2% | 16.3% |
| 7 | Mower County, Minnesota | $341,347,603 | 2.1% | 18.4% |
| 8 | Faribault County, Minnesota | $340,095,622 | 2.1% | 20.5% |
| 9 | Freeborn County, Minnesota | $332,893,589 | 2.1% | 22.5% |
| 10 | Norman County, Minnesota | $331,533,339 | 2.0% | 24.6% |
| 11 | Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota | $327,789,335 | 2.0% | 26.6% |
| 12 | Kittson County, Minnesota | $323,461,784 | 2.0% | 28.6% |
| 13 | Clay County, Minnesota | $322,288,171 | 2.0% | 30.6% |
| 14 | Blue Earth County, Minnesota | $318,398,473 | 2.0% | 32.6% |
| 15 | Nobles County, Minnesota | $315,721,558 | 2.0% | 34.5% |
| 16 | Swift County, Minnesota | $308,292,206 | 1.9% | 36.4% |
| 17 | Jackson County, Minnesota | $306,501,712 | 1.9% | 38.3% |
| 18 | Murray County, Minnesota | $300,527,135 | 1.9% | 40.2% |
| 19 | Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota | $300,037,505 | 1.9% | 42.0% |
| 20 | Fillmore County, Minnesota | $295,847,580 | 1.8% | 43.9% |
| 21 | Lyon County, Minnesota | $294,974,568 | 1.8% | 45.7% |
| 22 | Roseau County, Minnesota | $291,593,349 | 1.8% | 47.5% |
| 23 | Kandiyohi County, Minnesota | $290,103,453 | 1.8% | 49.3% |
| 24 | Otter Tail County, Minnesota | $289,644,112 | 1.8% | 51.1% |
| 25 | Cottonwood County, Minnesota | $284,539,435 | 1.8% | 52.8% |
| 26 | Brown County, Minnesota | $266,010,723 | 1.6% | 54.5% |
| 27 | Chippewa County, Minnesota | $257,716,643 | 1.6% | 56.1% |
| 28 | Stevens County, Minnesota | $250,849,273 | 1.6% | 57.6% |
| 29 | Wilkin County, Minnesota | $247,547,787 | 1.5% | 59.2% |
| 30 | Goodhue County, Minnesota | $240,153,142 | 1.5% | 60.7% |
| 31 | Sibley County, Minnesota | $234,398,713 | 1.4% | 62.1% |
| 32 | Traverse County, Minnesota | $233,491,511 | 1.4% | 63.5% |
| 33 | Grant County, Minnesota | $223,245,839 | 1.4% | 64.9% |
| 34 | Lincoln County, Minnesota | $214,255,706 | 1.3% | 66.2% |
| 35 | Waseca County, Minnesota | $212,474,598 | 1.3% | 67.6% |
| 36 | Rock County, Minnesota | $209,310,738 | 1.3% | 68.9% |
| 37 | Meeker County, Minnesota | $206,581,083 | 1.3% | 70.1% |
| 38 | Olmsted County, Minnesota | $204,905,031 | 1.3% | 71.4% |
| 39 | Watonwan County, Minnesota | $204,535,823 | 1.3% | 72.7% |
| 40 | Steele County, Minnesota | $201,253,964 | 1.2% | 73.9% |
| 41 | Pope County, Minnesota | $200,939,681 | 1.2% | 75.2% |
| 42 | Nicollet County, Minnesota | $197,109,623 | 1.2% | 76.4% |
| 43 | Dodge County, Minnesota | $191,845,676 | 1.2% | 77.6% |
| 44 | Pennington County, Minnesota | $180,091,522 | 1.1% | 78.7% |
| 45 | McLeod County, Minnesota | $177,615,228 | 1.1% | 79.8% |
| 46 | Le Sueur County, Minnesota | $176,944,468 | 1.1% | 80.9% |
| 47 | Pipestone County, Minnesota | $166,935,729 | 1.0% | 81.9% |
| 48 | Rice County, Minnesota | $164,718,253 | 1.0% | 82.9% |
| 49 | Big Stone County, Minnesota | $159,422,330 | 1.0% | 83.9% |
| 50 | Becker County, Minnesota | $156,593,170 | 1.0% | 84.9% |
| 51 | Dakota County, Minnesota | $151,932,713 | 0.9% | 85.8% |
| 52 | Wabasha County, Minnesota | $145,739,280 | 0.9% | 86.7% |
| 53 | Winona County, Minnesota | $145,662,364 | 0.9% | 87.6% |
| 54 | Morrison County, Minnesota | $144,226,984 | 0.9% | 88.5% |
| 55 | Wright County, Minnesota | $137,301,388 | 0.8% | 89.3% |
| 56 | Minnesota NRCS | $131,618,206 | 0.8% | 90.2% |
| 57 | Douglas County, Minnesota | $125,541,784 | 0.8% | 90.9% |
| 58 | Todd County, Minnesota | $124,615,881 | 0.8% | 91.7% |
| 59 | Red Lake County, Minnesota | $123,310,813 | 0.8% | 92.5% |
| 60 | Houston County, Minnesota | $116,083,212 | 0.7% | 93.2% |
| 61 | Mahnomen County, Minnesota | $108,347,414 | 0.7% | 93.9% |
| 62 | Carver County, Minnesota | $104,718,176 | 0.6% | 94.5% |
| 63 | Benton County, Minnesota | $92,180,956 | 0.6% | 95.1% |
| 64 | Scott County, Minnesota | $73,734,024 | 0.5% | 95.5% |
| 65 | | $50,248,203 | 0.3% | 95.8% |
| 66 | Isanti County, Minnesota | $49,691,671 | 0.3% | 96.1% |
| 67 | Sherburne County, Minnesota | $42,872,895 | 0.3% | 96.4% |
| 68 | Chisago County, Minnesota | $41,732,635 | 0.3% | 96.7% |
| 69 | Wadena County, Minnesota | $38,468,778 | 0.2% | 96.9% |
| 70 | Washington County, Minnesota | $38,379,725 | 0.2% | 97.1% |
| 71 | Mille Lacs County, Minnesota | $35,573,517 | 0.2% | 97.4% |
| 72 | Beltrami County, Minnesota | $33,330,779 | 0.2% | 97.6% |
| 73 | Pine County, Minnesota | $32,331,065 | 0.2% | 97.8% |
| 74 | Hennepin County, Minnesota | $29,734,988 | 0.2% | 98.0% |
| 75 | Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota | $28,415,453 | 0.2% | 98.1% |
| 76 | Clearwater County, Minnesota | $27,578,479 | 0.2% | 98.3% |
| 77 | Hubbard County, Minnesota | $23,859,413 | 0.1% | 98.4% |
| 78 | Kanabec County, Minnesota | $23,117,013 | 0.1% | 98.6% |
| 79 | Cass County, Minnesota | $14,606,812 | 0.1% | 98.7% |
| 80 | Crow Wing County, Minnesota | $12,257,239 | 0.1% | 98.8% |
| 81 | Anoka County, Minnesota | $12,002,951 | 0.1% | 98.8% |
| 82 | Aitkin County, Minnesota | $8,732,697 | 0.1% | 98.9% |
| 83 | Koochiching County, Minnesota | $5,282,403 | 0.0% | 98.9% |
| 84 | Carlton County, Minnesota | $4,208,386 | 0.0% | 98.9% |
| 85 | Saint Louis County, Minnesota | $2,928,029 | 0.0% | 99.0% |
| 86 | Itasca County, Minnesota | $2,858,787 | 0.0% | 99.0% |
| 87 | Ramsey County, Minnesota | $282,479 | 0.0% | 99.0% |
| 88 | Cook County, Minnesota | $146,880 | 0.0% | 99.0% |
| 89 | Lake County, Minnesota | $52,350 | 0.0% | 99.0% |
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.
