Conservation payments in Montana totaled $2.1 billion from 1995-2011.
Counties in Montana Receiving Subtotal, Conservation Programs payments, 1995-2011
| Rank | County | Subtotal, Conservation Programs 1995-2011 | Pct of Total | Running Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hill County, Montana | $174,819,932 | 8.5% | 8.5% |
| 2 | Chouteau County, Montana | $160,890,014 | 7.8% | 16.4% |
| 3 | Montana NRCS | $119,560,365 | 5.8% | 22.2% |
| 4 | Valley County, Montana | $105,456,722 | 5.1% | 27.3% |
| 5 | Toole County, Montana | $101,915,284 | 5.0% | 32.3% |
| 6 | Blaine County, Montana | $94,545,288 | 4.6% | 36.9% |
| 7 | Roosevelt County, Montana | $89,775,899 | 4.4% | 41.3% |
| 8 | Phillips County, Montana | $89,367,527 | 4.4% | 45.6% |
| 9 | Teton County, Montana | $87,588,780 | 4.3% | 49.9% |
| 10 | Liberty County, Montana | $82,270,054 | 4.0% | 53.9% |
| 11 | Sheridan County, Montana | $81,084,867 | 4.0% | 57.9% |
| 12 | Daniels County, Montana | $72,904,299 | 3.6% | 61.4% |
| 13 | McCone County, Montana | $71,748,364 | 3.5% | 64.9% |
| 14 | Richland County, Montana | $59,670,553 | 2.9% | 67.8% |
| 15 | Pondera County, Montana | $55,842,706 | 2.7% | 70.5% |
| 16 | Dawson County, Montana | $51,457,413 | 2.5% | 73.1% |
| 17 | Glacier County, Montana | $50,241,324 | 2.4% | 75.5% |
| 18 | Cascade County, Montana | $48,806,527 | 2.4% | 77.9% |
| 19 | Garfield County, Montana | $40,693,645 | 2.0% | 79.9% |
| 20 | Fergus County, Montana | $38,267,113 | 1.9% | 81.7% |
| 21 | Yellowstone County, Montana | $32,591,049 | 1.6% | 83.3% |
| 22 | Stillwater County, Montana | $28,767,793 | 1.4% | 84.7% |
| 23 | Rosebud County, Montana | $26,213,503 | 1.3% | 86.0% |
| 24 | Prairie County, Montana | $25,149,651 | 1.2% | 87.2% |
| 25 | Fallon County, Montana | $24,271,295 | 1.2% | 88.4% |
| 26 | Musselshell County, Montana | $21,989,716 | 1.1% | 89.5% |
| 27 | Big Horn County, Montana | $21,871,102 | 1.1% | 90.5% |
| 28 | Golden Valley County, Montana | $21,807,410 | 1.1% | 91.6% |
| 29 | Wibaux County, Montana | $20,916,210 | 1.0% | 92.6% |
| 30 | Judith Basin County, Montana | $18,715,693 | 0.9% | 93.5% |
| 31 | Wheatland County, Montana | $17,825,594 | 0.9% | 94.4% |
| 32 | Broadwater County, Montana | $17,411,862 | 0.8% | 95.3% |
| 33 | Carter County, Montana | $12,259,784 | 0.6% | 95.9% |
| 34 | Custer County, Montana | $10,507,346 | 0.5% | 96.4% |
| 35 | Carbon County, Montana | $8,673,818 | 0.4% | 96.8% |
| 36 | Powder River County, Montana | $7,697,841 | 0.4% | 97.2% |
| 37 | Park County, Montana | $7,102,433 | 0.3% | 97.5% |
| 38 | Petroleum County, Montana | $6,967,303 | 0.3% | 97.9% |
| 39 | Gallatin County, Montana | $5,663,126 | 0.3% | 98.1% |
| 40 | Madison County, Montana | $5,427,610 | 0.3% | 98.4% |
| 41 | Meagher County, Montana | $5,114,713 | 0.2% | 98.6% |
| 42 | Lewis and Clark County, Montana | $4,487,460 | 0.2% | 98.9% |
| 43 | Jefferson County, Montana | $3,660,096 | 0.2% | 99.0% |
| 44 | Sweet Grass County, Montana | $2,881,070 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 45 | Flathead County, Montana | $2,592,758 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 46 | Beaverhead County, Montana | $2,484,444 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 47 | Treasure County, Montana | $2,061,547 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 48 | Ravalli County, Montana | $1,907,228 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 49 | Granite County, Montana | $1,869,503 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 50 | Lake County, Montana | $1,444,537 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 51 | Powell County, Montana | $1,382,561 | 0.1% | 99.9% |
| 52 | Sanders County, Montana | $1,375,217 | 0.1% | 99.9% |
| 53 | Missoula County, Montana | $529,735 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 54 | Deer Lodge County, Montana | $391,140 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 55 | Lincoln County, Montana | $367,385 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 56 | Mineral County, Montana | $314,787 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 57 | Silver Bow County, Montana | $87,400 | 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.
