| Rank |
County |
Misc. Conservation Payments
1995-2012 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Sullivan County, Missouri | $554,932 | 5.9% | 5.9% |
| 2 | Polk County, Missouri | $554,634 | 5.9% | 11.9% |
| 3 | Douglas County, Missouri | $437,025 | 4.7% | 16.6% |
| 4 | Laclede County, Missouri | $380,762 | 4.1% | 20.7% |
| 5 | Adair County, Missouri | $358,715 | 3.8% | 24.5% |
| 6 | Mercer County, Missouri | $357,604 | 3.8% | 28.3% |
| 7 | Ozark County, Missouri | $336,176 | 3.6% | 31.9% |
| 8 | Schuyler County, Missouri | $333,726 | 3.6% | 35.5% |
| 9 | Harrison County, Missouri | $314,803 | 3.4% | 38.9% |
| 10 | Phelps County, Missouri | $300,209 | 3.2% | 42.1% |
| 11 | Gentry County, Missouri | $280,461 | 3.0% | 45.1% |
| 12 | Macon County, Missouri | $234,070 | 2.5% | 47.6% |
| 13 | Webster County, Missouri | $196,142 | 2.1% | 49.7% |
| 14 | Oregon County, Missouri | $185,380 | 2.0% | 51.7% |
| 15 | Camden County, Missouri | $181,631 | 1.9% | 53.6% |
| 16 | Bates County, Missouri | $180,295 | 1.9% | 55.6% |
| 17 | Wright County, Missouri | $177,960 | 1.9% | 57.5% |
| 18 | Howell County, Missouri | $175,457 | 1.9% | 59.4% |
| 19 | Dallas County, Missouri | $155,697 | 1.7% | 61.0% |
| 20 | Crawford County, Missouri | $149,767 | 1.6% | 62.6% |
| 21 | Texas County, Missouri | $149,098 | 1.6% | 64.2% |
| 22 | Miller County, Missouri | $144,158 | 1.5% | 65.8% |
| 23 | Wayne County, Missouri | $143,623 | 1.5% | 67.3% |
| 24 | Putnam County, Missouri | $141,650 | 1.5% | 68.8% |
| 25 | Ralls County, Missouri | $139,031 | 1.5% | 70.3% |
| 26 | Pulaski County, Missouri | $133,883 | 1.4% | 71.8% |
| 27 | Benton County, Missouri | $126,449 | 1.4% | 73.1% |
| 28 | Hickory County, Missouri | $120,474 | 1.3% | 74.4% |
| 29 | Knox County, Missouri | $114,354 | 1.2% | 75.6% |
| 30 | Cedar County, Missouri | $106,741 | 1.1% | 76.8% |
| 31 | Maries County, Missouri | $105,181 | 1.1% | 77.9% |
| 32 | Johnson County, Missouri | $101,308 | 1.1% | 79.0% |
| 33 | Nodaway County, Missouri | $95,638 | 1.0% | 80.0% |
| 34 | Linn County, Missouri | $90,589 | 1.0% | 81.0% |
| 35 | Taney County, Missouri | $89,800 | 1.0% | 81.9% |
| 36 | Worth County, Missouri | $88,227 | 0.9% | 82.9% |
| 37 | Dent County, Missouri | $81,438 | 0.9% | 83.8% |
| 38 | Madison County, Missouri | $76,936 | 0.8% | 84.6% |
| 39 | DeKalb County, Missouri | $73,546 | 0.8% | 85.4% |
| 40 | Pettis County, Missouri | $72,946 | 0.8% | 86.2% |
| 41 | Vernon County, Missouri | $71,408 | 0.8% | 86.9% |
| 42 | Greene County, Missouri | $67,627 | 0.7% | 87.6% |
| 43 | Saline County, Missouri | $59,217 | 0.6% | 88.3% |
| 44 | Henry County, Missouri | $55,182 | 0.6% | 88.9% |
| 45 | Saint Clair County, Missouri | $54,552 | 0.6% | 89.5% |
| 46 | Barry County, Missouri | $51,984 | 0.6% | 90.0% |
| 47 | Dade County, Missouri | $46,056 | 0.5% | 90.5% |
| 48 | Christian County, Missouri | $45,570 | 0.5% | 91.0% |
| 49 | Newton County, Missouri | $45,564 | 0.5% | 91.5% |
| 50 | Daviess County, Missouri | $45,447 | 0.5% | 92.0% |
| 51 | Ripley County, Missouri | $44,545 | 0.5% | 92.4% |
| 52 | Scotland County, Missouri | $44,265 | 0.5% | 92.9% |
| 53 | Shannon County, Missouri | $41,606 | 0.4% | 93.4% |
| 54 | Dunklin County, Missouri | $36,479 | 0.4% | 93.8% |
| 55 | Pike County, Missouri | $34,979 | 0.4% | 94.1% |
| 56 | Cooper County, Missouri | $34,924 | 0.4% | 94.5% |
| 57 | Callaway County, Missouri | $33,660 | 0.4% | 94.9% |
| 58 | Boone County, Missouri | $32,812 | 0.4% | 95.2% |
| 59 | Monroe County, Missouri | $32,120 | 0.3% | 95.6% |
| 60 | Osage County, Missouri | $31,064 | 0.3% | 95.9% |
| 61 | Iron County, Missouri | $30,680 | 0.3% | 96.2% |
| 62 | Audrain County, Missouri | $30,401 | 0.3% | 96.6% |
| 63 | Moniteau County, Missouri | $29,975 | 0.3% | 96.9% |
| 64 | Lawrence County, Missouri | $24,097 | 0.3% | 97.1% |
| 65 | Cole County, Missouri | $21,889 | 0.2% | 97.4% |
| 66 | Stoddard County, Missouri | $20,803 | 0.2% | 97.6% |
| 67 | Saint Francois County, Missouri | $19,599 | 0.2% | 97.8% |
| 68 | McDonald County, Missouri | $19,562 | 0.2% | 98.0% |
| 69 | Randolph County, Missouri | $19,404 | 0.2% | 98.2% |
| 70 | Reynolds County, Missouri | $16,992 | 0.2% | 98.4% |
| 71 | Andrew County, Missouri | $16,972 | 0.2% | 98.6% |
| 72 | Washington County, Missouri | $16,185 | 0.2% | 98.8% |
| 73 | Morgan County, Missouri | $15,728 | 0.2% | 98.9% |
| 74 | Stone County, Missouri | $15,038 | 0.2% | 99.1% |
| 75 | | $14,291 | 0.2% | 99.2% |
| 76 | Carter County, Missouri | $11,358 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 77 | Buchanan County, Missouri | $11,090 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 78 | Gasconade County, Missouri | $7,872 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 79 | Lafayette County, Missouri | $7,376 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 80 | Pemiscot County, Missouri | $7,166 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 81 | Montgomery County, Missouri | $6,178 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 82 | Jasper County, Missouri | $4,039 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 83 | Jefferson County, Missouri | $3,058 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
Source: Environmental Working Group. Compiled from USDA data.
Note: The information on conservation spending for 2011and 2012 are 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 or 2012 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.
