| Rank |
County |
Loan Deficiency Payments
1995-2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Renville County, Minnesota | $78,314,929 | 3.4% | 3.4% |
| 2 | Redwood County, Minnesota | $72,755,815 | 3.1% | 6.5% |
| 3 | Martin County, Minnesota | $65,391,971 | 2.8% | 9.3% |
| 4 | Nobles County, Minnesota | $58,055,322 | 2.5% | 11.8% |
| 5 | Lyon County, Minnesota | $56,860,997 | 2.4% | 14.3% |
| 6 | Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota | $56,341,759 | 2.4% | 16.7% |
| 7 | Faribault County, Minnesota | $56,294,030 | 2.4% | 19.1% |
| 8 | Jackson County, Minnesota | $55,734,188 | 2.4% | 21.5% |
| 9 | Mower County, Minnesota | $54,997,968 | 2.4% | 23.9% |
| 10 | Cottonwood County, Minnesota | $54,122,183 | 2.3% | 26.2% |
| 11 | Murray County, Minnesota | $51,596,931 | 2.2% | 28.4% |
| 12 | Blue Earth County, Minnesota | $50,543,385 | 2.2% | 30.6% |
| 13 | Stearns County, Minnesota | $50,386,855 | 2.2% | 32.8% |
| 14 | Freeborn County, Minnesota | $49,984,169 | 2.2% | 34.9% |
| 15 | Brown County, Minnesota | $49,177,208 | 2.1% | 37.0% |
| 16 | Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota | $47,696,662 | 2.1% | 39.1% |
| 17 | Polk County, Minnesota | $46,974,231 | 2.0% | 41.1% |
| 18 | Stevens County, Minnesota | $46,748,756 | 2.0% | 43.1% |
| 19 | Rock County, Minnesota | $44,188,243 | 1.9% | 45.0% |
| 20 | Swift County, Minnesota | $44,104,617 | 1.9% | 46.9% |
| 21 | Chippewa County, Minnesota | $44,000,679 | 1.9% | 48.8% |
| 22 | Kandiyohi County, Minnesota | $43,536,792 | 1.9% | 50.7% |
| 23 | Fillmore County, Minnesota | $43,150,046 | 1.9% | 52.5% |
| 24 | Sibley County, Minnesota | $41,304,422 | 1.8% | 54.3% |
| 25 | Traverse County, Minnesota | $41,184,901 | 1.8% | 56.1% |
| 26 | Goodhue County, Minnesota | $40,249,651 | 1.7% | 57.8% |
| 27 | Otter Tail County, Minnesota | $38,954,714 | 1.7% | 59.5% |
| 28 | Grant County, Minnesota | $35,078,144 | 1.5% | 61.0% |
| 29 | Wilkin County, Minnesota | $35,014,674 | 1.5% | 62.5% |
| 30 | Nicollet County, Minnesota | $34,413,112 | 1.5% | 64.0% |
| 31 | Watonwan County, Minnesota | $34,107,993 | 1.5% | 65.4% |
| 32 | Dodge County, Minnesota | $34,081,749 | 1.5% | 66.9% |
| 33 | Clay County, Minnesota | $33,566,925 | 1.4% | 68.4% |
| 34 | Olmsted County, Minnesota | $32,998,666 | 1.4% | 69.8% |
| 35 | McLeod County, Minnesota | $31,985,029 | 1.4% | 71.2% |
| 36 | Waseca County, Minnesota | $31,709,191 | 1.4% | 72.5% |
| 37 | Meeker County, Minnesota | $31,664,590 | 1.4% | 73.9% |
| 38 | Pipestone County, Minnesota | $30,571,041 | 1.3% | 75.2% |
| 39 | Norman County, Minnesota | $29,941,887 | 1.3% | 76.5% |
| 40 | Marshall County, Minnesota | $29,814,561 | 1.3% | 77.8% |
| 41 | Steele County, Minnesota | $29,702,523 | 1.3% | 79.0% |
| 42 | Pope County, Minnesota | $27,941,007 | 1.2% | 80.2% |
| 43 | Lincoln County, Minnesota | $27,930,316 | 1.2% | 81.4% |
| 44 | Le Sueur County, Minnesota | $26,740,619 | 1.2% | 82.6% |
| 45 | Dakota County, Minnesota | $25,983,025 | 1.1% | 83.7% |
| 46 | Big Stone County, Minnesota | $25,916,041 | 1.1% | 84.8% |
| 47 | Rice County, Minnesota | $24,918,324 | 1.1% | 85.9% |
| 48 | Wright County, Minnesota | $22,813,101 | 1.0% | 86.9% |
| 49 | Winona County, Minnesota | $22,519,902 | 1.0% | 87.9% |
| 50 | Wabasha County, Minnesota | $21,574,433 | 0.9% | 88.8% |
| 51 | Carver County, Minnesota | $20,420,913 | 0.9% | 89.7% |
| 52 | Douglas County, Minnesota | $17,118,731 | 0.7% | 90.4% |
| 53 | Kittson County, Minnesota | $16,386,394 | 0.7% | 91.1% |
| 54 | Houston County, Minnesota | $15,065,494 | 0.6% | 91.8% |
| 55 | Morrison County, Minnesota | $14,733,937 | 0.6% | 92.4% |
| 56 | Becker County, Minnesota | $13,663,497 | 0.6% | 93.0% |
| 57 | Todd County, Minnesota | $13,472,574 | 0.6% | 93.6% |
| 58 | Scott County, Minnesota | $12,649,638 | 0.5% | 94.1% |
| 59 | Roseau County, Minnesota | $12,325,477 | 0.5% | 94.6% |
| 60 | Benton County, Minnesota | $11,259,216 | 0.5% | 95.1% |
| 61 | Mahnomen County, Minnesota | $9,269,954 | 0.4% | 95.5% |
| 62 | Red Lake County, Minnesota | $9,021,736 | 0.4% | 95.9% |
| 63 | Pennington County, Minnesota | $7,670,067 | 0.3% | 96.2% |
| 64 | Isanti County, Minnesota | $6,298,870 | 0.3% | 96.5% |
| 65 | Sherburne County, Minnesota | $5,525,054 | 0.2% | 96.7% |
| 66 | Hennepin County, Minnesota | $5,211,231 | 0.2% | 97.0% |
| 67 | Washington County, Minnesota | $4,945,700 | 0.2% | 97.2% |
| 68 | Chisago County, Minnesota | $4,674,198 | 0.2% | 97.4% |
| 69 | Mille Lacs County, Minnesota | $3,996,680 | 0.2% | 97.5% |
| 70 | Pine County, Minnesota | $3,174,632 | 0.1% | 97.7% |
| 71 | Wadena County, Minnesota | $2,992,161 | 0.1% | 97.8% |
| 72 | Kanabec County, Minnesota | $2,017,032 | 0.1% | 97.9% |
| 73 | Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota | $1,698,256 | 0.1% | 98.0% |
| 74 | Hubbard County, Minnesota | $1,583,150 | 0.1% | 98.0% |
| 75 | Beltrami County, Minnesota | $1,266,626 | 0.1% | 98.1% |
| 76 | Anoka County, Minnesota | $1,179,581 | 0.1% | 98.1% |
| 77 | Clearwater County, Minnesota | $1,027,414 | 0.0% | 98.2% |
| 78 | Crow Wing County, Minnesota | $989,662 | 0.0% | 98.2% |
| 79 | Cass County, Minnesota | $865,597 | 0.0% | 98.3% |
| 80 | Koochiching County, Minnesota | $265,909 | 0.0% | 98.3% |
| 81 | Carlton County, Minnesota | $258,421 | 0.0% | 98.3% |
| 82 | Aitkin County, Minnesota | $138,143 | 0.0% | 98.3% |
| 83 | Itasca County, Minnesota | $115,236 | 0.0% | 98.3% |
| 84 | Saint Louis County, Minnesota | $44,365 | 0.0% | 98.3% |
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.
