| Rank |
County |
Misc. Farm - Subsidies
1995-2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Hamilton County, Nebraska | $2,359,087 | 8.2% | 8.2% |
| 2 | Box Butte County, Nebraska | $1,890,479 | 6.6% | 14.8% |
| 3 | Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska | $1,471,759 | 5.1% | 19.9% |
| 4 | Buffalo County, Nebraska | $1,407,908 | 4.9% | 24.8% |
| 5 | Platte County, Nebraska | $1,203,060 | 4.2% | 29.0% |
| 6 | Cedar County, Nebraska | $1,015,483 | 3.5% | 32.5% |
| 7 | Cuming County, Nebraska | $923,397 | 3.2% | 35.7% |
| 8 | Holt County, Nebraska | $917,066 | 3.2% | 38.9% |
| 9 | Dundy County, Nebraska | $891,020 | 3.1% | 42.0% |
| 10 | Knox County, Nebraska | $634,230 | 2.2% | 44.2% |
| 11 | Boone County, Nebraska | $526,476 | 1.8% | 46.1% |
| 12 | Pierce County, Nebraska | $498,587 | 1.7% | 47.8% |
| 13 | Gage County, Nebraska | $490,573 | 1.7% | 49.5% |
| 14 | Antelope County, Nebraska | $465,409 | 1.6% | 51.1% |
| 15 | Dodge County, Nebraska | $441,465 | 1.5% | 52.7% |
| 16 | Colfax County, Nebraska | $435,673 | 1.5% | 54.2% |
| 17 | Morrill County, Nebraska | $387,452 | 1.3% | 55.5% |
| 18 | Chase County, Nebraska | $375,760 | 1.3% | 56.8% |
| 19 | Wayne County, Nebraska | $360,044 | 1.3% | 58.1% |
| 20 | Nemaha County, Nebraska | $357,069 | 1.2% | 59.3% |
| 21 | Madison County, Nebraska | $354,965 | 1.2% | 60.6% |
| 22 | Saunders County, Nebraska | $352,794 | 1.2% | 61.8% |
| 23 | York County, Nebraska | $351,559 | 1.2% | 63.0% |
| 24 | Fillmore County, Nebraska | $349,494 | 1.2% | 64.2% |
| 25 | Sheridan County, Nebraska | $342,182 | 1.2% | 65.4% |
| 26 | Stanton County, Nebraska | $335,218 | 1.2% | 66.6% |
| 27 | Otoe County, Nebraska | $327,498 | 1.1% | 67.7% |
| 28 | Perkins County, Nebraska | $322,530 | 1.1% | 68.8% |
| 29 | Dixon County, Nebraska | $312,126 | 1.1% | 69.9% |
| 30 | Custer County, Nebraska | $277,359 | 1.0% | 70.9% |
| 31 | Butler County, Nebraska | $273,871 | 1.0% | 71.8% |
| 32 | Washington County, Nebraska | $270,250 | 0.9% | 72.8% |
| 33 | Hall County, Nebraska | $266,103 | 0.9% | 73.7% |
| 34 | Phelps County, Nebraska | $265,469 | 0.9% | 74.6% |
| 35 | Saline County, Nebraska | $260,429 | 0.9% | 75.5% |
| 36 | Burt County, Nebraska | $258,767 | 0.9% | 76.4% |
| 37 | Banner County, Nebraska | $241,158 | 0.8% | 77.3% |
| 38 | Polk County, Nebraska | $238,661 | 0.8% | 78.1% |
| 39 | Pawnee County, Nebraska | $234,258 | 0.8% | 78.9% |
| 40 | Thurston County, Nebraska | $232,152 | 0.8% | 79.7% |
| 41 | Adams County, Nebraska | $230,632 | 0.8% | 80.5% |
| 42 | Seward County, Nebraska | $230,165 | 0.8% | 81.3% |
| 43 | Lancaster County, Nebraska | $228,133 | 0.8% | 82.1% |
| 44 | Howard County, Nebraska | $226,202 | 0.8% | 82.9% |
| 45 | Cass County, Nebraska | $220,196 | 0.8% | 83.7% |
| 46 | Kearney County, Nebraska | $206,190 | 0.7% | 84.4% |
| 47 | Keith County, Nebraska | $183,620 | 0.6% | 85.0% |
| 48 | Richardson County, Nebraska | $180,613 | 0.6% | 85.7% |
| 49 | Dawes County, Nebraska | $172,572 | 0.6% | 86.3% |
| 50 | Jefferson County, Nebraska | $163,661 | 0.6% | 86.8% |
| 51 | Dawson County, Nebraska | $159,642 | 0.6% | 87.4% |
| 52 | Merrick County, Nebraska | $159,441 | 0.6% | 88.0% |
| 53 | Clay County, Nebraska | $158,134 | 0.6% | 88.5% |
| 54 | Nuckolls County, Nebraska | $146,976 | 0.5% | 89.0% |
| 55 | Cheyenne County, Nebraska | $143,314 | 0.5% | 89.5% |
| 56 | Harlan County, Nebraska | $142,005 | 0.5% | 90.0% |
| 57 | Dakota County, Nebraska | $139,784 | 0.5% | 90.5% |
| 58 | Valley County, Nebraska | $138,148 | 0.5% | 91.0% |
| 59 | Johnson County, Nebraska | $135,786 | 0.5% | 91.4% |
| 60 | Lincoln County, Nebraska | $131,785 | 0.5% | 91.9% |
| 61 | Thayer County, Nebraska | $124,988 | 0.4% | 92.3% |
| 62 | Sherman County, Nebraska | $117,876 | 0.4% | 92.7% |
| 63 | Nance County, Nebraska | $116,006 | 0.4% | 93.2% |
| 64 | Kimball County, Nebraska | $112,445 | 0.4% | 93.5% |
| 65 | Webster County, Nebraska | $111,992 | 0.4% | 93.9% |
| 66 | Sioux County, Nebraska | $104,623 | 0.4% | 94.3% |
| 67 | Red Willow County, Nebraska | $98,923 | 0.3% | 94.6% |
| 68 | Rock County, Nebraska | $97,074 | 0.3% | 95.0% |
| 69 | Franklin County, Nebraska | $96,152 | 0.3% | 95.3% |
| 70 | Boyd County, Nebraska | $82,950 | 0.3% | 95.6% |
| 71 | Greeley County, Nebraska | $78,637 | 0.3% | 95.9% |
| 72 | Sarpy County, Nebraska | $69,618 | 0.2% | 96.1% |
| 73 | Furnas County, Nebraska | $66,101 | 0.2% | 96.3% |
| 74 | Gosper County, Nebraska | $62,727 | 0.2% | 96.6% |
| 75 | Frontier County, Nebraska | $49,988 | 0.2% | 96.7% |
| 76 | Hitchcock County, Nebraska | $44,180 | 0.2% | 96.9% |
| 77 | Hayes County, Nebraska | $40,868 | 0.1% | 97.0% |
| 78 | Wheeler County, Nebraska | $40,714 | 0.1% | 97.2% |
| 79 | Garfield County, Nebraska | $35,551 | 0.1% | 97.3% |
| 80 | Douglas County, Nebraska | $32,001 | 0.1% | 97.4% |
| 81 | Brown County, Nebraska | $24,005 | 0.1% | 97.5% |
| 82 | Deuel County, Nebraska | $21,516 | 0.1% | 97.6% |
| 83 | Logan County, Nebraska | $21,235 | 0.1% | 97.6% |
| 84 | Loup County, Nebraska | $11,272 | 0.0% | 97.7% |
| 85 | Blaine County, Nebraska | $11,207 | 0.0% | 97.7% |
| 86 | McPherson County, Nebraska | $10,717 | 0.0% | 97.8% |
| 87 | Keya Paha County, Nebraska | $5,896 | 0.0% | 97.8% |
| 88 | Cherry County, Nebraska | $4,342 | 0.0% | 97.8% |
| 89 | Thomas County, Nebraska | $3,929 | 0.0% | 97.8% |
| 90 | Garden County, Nebraska | $2,319 | 0.0% | 97.8% |
| 91 | Arthur County, Nebraska | $255 | 0.0% | 97.8% |
| 92 | Hooker County, Nebraska | $76 | 0.0% | 97.8% |
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.
