| Rank |
County |
Subtotal, Conservation Programs
2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Kimball County, Nebraska | $3,786,583 | 5.3% | 5.3% |
| 2 | Gage County, Nebraska | $3,198,737 | 4.4% | 9.7% |
| 3 | Cheyenne County, Nebraska | $3,106,892 | 4.3% | 14.0% |
| 4 | Johnson County, Nebraska | $2,725,078 | 3.8% | 17.8% |
| 5 | Pawnee County, Nebraska | $2,663,907 | 3.7% | 21.5% |
| 6 | Richardson County, Nebraska | $2,448,373 | 3.4% | 24.9% |
| 7 | Lancaster County, Nebraska | $2,084,477 | 2.9% | 27.8% |
| 8 | Saunders County, Nebraska | $2,050,170 | 2.9% | 30.7% |
| 9 | Box Butte County, Nebraska | $1,982,106 | 2.8% | 33.4% |
| 10 | Perkins County, Nebraska | $1,656,297 | 2.3% | 35.7% |
| 11 | Stanton County, Nebraska | $1,607,338 | 2.2% | 38.0% |
| 12 | Dixon County, Nebraska | $1,560,823 | 2.2% | 40.2% |
| 13 | Red Willow County, Nebraska | $1,547,283 | 2.2% | 42.3% |
| 14 | Knox County, Nebraska | $1,503,570 | 2.1% | 44.4% |
| 15 | Antelope County, Nebraska | $1,484,573 | 2.1% | 46.5% |
| 16 | Chase County, Nebraska | $1,474,001 | 2.1% | 48.5% |
| 17 | Thurston County, Nebraska | $1,441,355 | 2.0% | 50.5% |
| 18 | Morrill County, Nebraska | $1,399,191 | 1.9% | 52.5% |
| 19 | Otoe County, Nebraska | $1,394,558 | 1.9% | 54.4% |
| 20 | Banner County, Nebraska | $1,354,681 | 1.9% | 56.3% |
| 21 | Butler County, Nebraska | $1,272,050 | 1.8% | 58.1% |
| 22 | Seward County, Nebraska | $1,256,999 | 1.7% | 59.8% |
| 23 | Burt County, Nebraska | $1,140,579 | 1.6% | 61.4% |
| 24 | Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska | $1,128,336 | 1.6% | 63.0% |
| 25 | Hayes County, Nebraska | $1,113,355 | 1.5% | 64.5% |
| 26 | Dundy County, Nebraska | $1,082,975 | 1.5% | 66.0% |
| 27 | Jefferson County, Nebraska | $1,043,265 | 1.5% | 67.5% |
| 28 | Holt County, Nebraska | $1,040,898 | 1.4% | 68.9% |
| 29 | Nemaha County, Nebraska | $1,007,194 | 1.4% | 70.3% |
| 30 | Furnas County, Nebraska | $945,296 | 1.3% | 71.6% |
| 31 | Sheridan County, Nebraska | $936,430 | 1.3% | 72.9% |
| 32 | Cedar County, Nebraska | $908,012 | 1.3% | 74.2% |
| 33 | Saline County, Nebraska | $887,954 | 1.2% | 75.4% |
| 34 | Cuming County, Nebraska | $811,898 | 1.1% | 76.6% |
| 35 | Madison County, Nebraska | $808,087 | 1.1% | 77.7% |
| 36 | Webster County, Nebraska | $792,517 | 1.1% | 78.8% |
| 37 | Boone County, Nebraska | $760,100 | 1.1% | 79.8% |
| 38 | Franklin County, Nebraska | $737,089 | 1.0% | 80.9% |
| 39 | Platte County, Nebraska | $717,717 | 1.0% | 81.9% |
| 40 | Keith County, Nebraska | $670,879 | 0.9% | 82.8% |
| 41 | Nance County, Nebraska | $603,498 | 0.8% | 83.6% |
| 42 | Lincoln County, Nebraska | $577,156 | 0.8% | 84.4% |
| 43 | Dodge County, Nebraska | $568,663 | 0.8% | 85.2% |
| 44 | Cass County, Nebraska | $548,536 | 0.8% | 86.0% |
| 45 | Washington County, Nebraska | $528,307 | 0.7% | 86.7% |
| 46 | Pierce County, Nebraska | $517,837 | 0.7% | 87.4% |
| 47 | Garden County, Nebraska | $483,940 | 0.7% | 88.1% |
| 48 | Thayer County, Nebraska | $473,939 | 0.7% | 88.8% |
| 49 | Gosper County, Nebraska | $454,746 | 0.6% | 89.4% |
| 50 | Wheeler County, Nebraska | $426,246 | 0.6% | 90.0% |
| 51 | Dawes County, Nebraska | $424,713 | 0.6% | 90.6% |
| 52 | Colfax County, Nebraska | $424,025 | 0.6% | 91.2% |
| 53 | Valley County, Nebraska | $410,784 | 0.6% | 91.8% |
| 54 | Hitchcock County, Nebraska | $395,244 | 0.5% | 92.3% |
| 55 | Harlan County, Nebraska | $385,504 | 0.5% | 92.8% |
| 56 | Wayne County, Nebraska | $382,401 | 0.5% | 93.4% |
| 57 | Howard County, Nebraska | $377,662 | 0.5% | 93.9% |
| 58 | Frontier County, Nebraska | $359,642 | 0.5% | 94.4% |
| 59 | Dakota County, Nebraska | $352,898 | 0.5% | 94.9% |
| 60 | Buffalo County, Nebraska | $340,149 | 0.5% | 95.4% |
| 61 | Custer County, Nebraska | $314,375 | 0.4% | 95.8% |
| 62 | Rock County, Nebraska | $281,973 | 0.4% | 96.2% |
| 63 | Greeley County, Nebraska | $280,978 | 0.4% | 96.6% |
| 64 | Deuel County, Nebraska | $262,195 | 0.4% | 97.0% |
| 65 | Dawson County, Nebraska | $224,903 | 0.3% | 97.3% |
| 66 | Garfield County, Nebraska | $162,044 | 0.2% | 97.5% |
| 67 | Nuckolls County, Nebraska | $149,898 | 0.2% | 97.7% |
| 68 | Adams County, Nebraska | $139,144 | 0.2% | 97.9% |
| 69 | Sarpy County, Nebraska | $136,241 | 0.2% | 98.1% |
| 70 | Fillmore County, Nebraska | $131,744 | 0.2% | 98.3% |
| 71 | Clay County, Nebraska | $128,905 | 0.2% | 98.4% |
| 72 | Sherman County, Nebraska | $128,104 | 0.2% | 98.6% |
| 73 | Boyd County, Nebraska | $108,398 | 0.2% | 98.8% |
| 74 | Hall County, Nebraska | $105,138 | 0.1% | 98.9% |
| 75 | Sioux County, Nebraska | $93,777 | 0.1% | 99.0% |
| 76 | Merrick County, Nebraska | $90,276 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 77 | Brown County, Nebraska | $87,449 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 78 | Cherry County, Nebraska | $83,388 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 79 | Hamilton County, Nebraska | $64,632 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 80 | Polk County, Nebraska | $57,309 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 81 | McPherson County, Nebraska | $57,245 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 82 | Douglas County, Nebraska | $51,378 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 83 | Phelps County, Nebraska | $36,409 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 84 | Kearney County, Nebraska | $35,574 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 85 | Logan County, Nebraska | $29,138 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 86 | York County, Nebraska | $23,965 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 87 | Keya Paha County, Nebraska | $19,507 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 88 | Loup County, Nebraska | $19,258 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 89 | Thomas County, Nebraska | $8,177 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 90 | Hooker County, Nebraska | $7,446 | 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.
