| Rank |
County |
Conservation Reserve Program
2010 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Gage County, Nebraska | $3,212,421 | 4.6% | 4.6% |
| 2 | Kimball County, Nebraska | $2,863,040 | 4.1% | 8.7% |
| 3 | Pawnee County, Nebraska | $2,717,575 | 3.9% | 12.6% |
| 4 | Johnson County, Nebraska | $2,708,757 | 3.9% | 16.5% |
| 5 | Cheyenne County, Nebraska | $2,611,297 | 3.7% | 20.2% |
| 6 | Richardson County, Nebraska | $2,576,899 | 3.7% | 23.9% |
| 7 | Lancaster County, Nebraska | $2,117,958 | 3.0% | 26.9% |
| 8 | Saunders County, Nebraska | $2,034,831 | 2.9% | 29.8% |
| 9 | Dixon County, Nebraska | $1,735,718 | 2.5% | 32.3% |
| 10 | Stanton County, Nebraska | $1,682,516 | 2.4% | 34.7% |
| 11 | Perkins County, Nebraska | $1,562,784 | 2.2% | 37.0% |
| 12 | Chase County, Nebraska | $1,551,766 | 2.2% | 39.2% |
| 13 | Antelope County, Nebraska | $1,515,794 | 2.2% | 41.4% |
| 14 | Red Willow County, Nebraska | $1,500,206 | 2.1% | 43.5% |
| 15 | Otoe County, Nebraska | $1,475,011 | 2.1% | 45.6% |
| 16 | Thurston County, Nebraska | $1,433,532 | 2.1% | 47.7% |
| 17 | Banner County, Nebraska | $1,355,589 | 1.9% | 49.6% |
| 18 | Knox County, Nebraska | $1,349,854 | 1.9% | 51.5% |
| 19 | Box Butte County, Nebraska | $1,277,025 | 1.8% | 53.4% |
| 20 | Morrill County, Nebraska | $1,248,388 | 1.8% | 55.2% |
| 21 | Butler County, Nebraska | $1,221,656 | 1.7% | 56.9% |
| 22 | Seward County, Nebraska | $1,193,981 | 1.7% | 58.6% |
| 23 | Furnas County, Nebraska | $1,188,365 | 1.7% | 60.3% |
| 24 | Dundy County, Nebraska | $1,184,698 | 1.7% | 62.0% |
| 25 | Burt County, Nebraska | $1,159,916 | 1.7% | 63.7% |
| 26 | Jefferson County, Nebraska | $1,151,290 | 1.6% | 65.3% |
| 27 | Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska | $1,130,793 | 1.6% | 66.9% |
| 28 | Hayes County, Nebraska | $1,033,442 | 1.5% | 68.4% |
| 29 | Nemaha County, Nebraska | $966,870 | 1.4% | 69.8% |
| 30 | Webster County, Nebraska | $927,080 | 1.3% | 71.1% |
| 31 | Cedar County, Nebraska | $905,228 | 1.3% | 72.4% |
| 32 | Boone County, Nebraska | $903,239 | 1.3% | 73.7% |
| 33 | Saline County, Nebraska | $899,710 | 1.3% | 75.0% |
| 34 | Madison County, Nebraska | $898,386 | 1.3% | 76.3% |
| 35 | Holt County, Nebraska | $834,065 | 1.2% | 77.5% |
| 36 | Sheridan County, Nebraska | $786,098 | 1.1% | 78.6% |
| 37 | Franklin County, Nebraska | $747,253 | 1.1% | 79.7% |
| 38 | Cuming County, Nebraska | $681,307 | 1.0% | 80.7% |
| 39 | Platte County, Nebraska | $673,195 | 1.0% | 81.6% |
| 40 | Keith County, Nebraska | $663,564 | 0.9% | 82.6% |
| 41 | Nance County, Nebraska | $607,118 | 0.9% | 83.4% |
| 42 | Lincoln County, Nebraska | $562,820 | 0.8% | 84.2% |
| 43 | Pierce County, Nebraska | $535,847 | 0.8% | 85.0% |
| 44 | Wheeler County, Nebraska | $527,509 | 0.8% | 85.8% |
| 45 | Thayer County, Nebraska | $488,900 | 0.7% | 86.5% |
| 46 | Gosper County, Nebraska | $472,087 | 0.7% | 87.1% |
| 47 | Colfax County, Nebraska | $439,364 | 0.6% | 87.8% |
| 48 | Washington County, Nebraska | $437,193 | 0.6% | 88.4% |
| 49 | Garden County, Nebraska | $435,973 | 0.6% | 89.0% |
| 50 | Dakota County, Nebraska | $424,161 | 0.6% | 89.6% |
| 51 | Harlan County, Nebraska | $422,130 | 0.6% | 90.2% |
| 52 | Cass County, Nebraska | $408,796 | 0.6% | 90.8% |
| 53 | Wayne County, Nebraska | $406,256 | 0.6% | 91.4% |
| 54 | Rock County, Nebraska | $391,861 | 0.6% | 92.0% |
| 55 | Valley County, Nebraska | $371,866 | 0.5% | 92.5% |
| 56 | Hitchcock County, Nebraska | $362,292 | 0.5% | 93.0% |
| 57 | Dawes County, Nebraska | $355,363 | 0.5% | 93.5% |
| 58 | Buffalo County, Nebraska | $339,371 | 0.5% | 94.0% |
| 59 | Howard County, Nebraska | $330,050 | 0.5% | 94.5% |
| 60 | Frontier County, Nebraska | $327,428 | 0.5% | 94.9% |
| 61 | Dodge County, Nebraska | $287,129 | 0.4% | 95.4% |
| 62 | Deuel County, Nebraska | $273,428 | 0.4% | 95.8% |
| 63 | Greeley County, Nebraska | $255,117 | 0.4% | 96.1% |
| 64 | Dawson County, Nebraska | $241,611 | 0.3% | 96.5% |
| 65 | Custer County, Nebraska | $224,889 | 0.3% | 96.8% |
| 66 | Garfield County, Nebraska | $168,042 | 0.2% | 97.0% |
| 67 | Adams County, Nebraska | $166,870 | 0.2% | 97.3% |
| 68 | Nuckolls County, Nebraska | $160,654 | 0.2% | 97.5% |
| 69 | Brown County, Nebraska | $156,490 | 0.2% | 97.7% |
| 70 | Fillmore County, Nebraska | $140,033 | 0.2% | 97.9% |
| 71 | Sarpy County, Nebraska | $136,846 | 0.2% | 98.1% |
| 72 | Clay County, Nebraska | $134,347 | 0.2% | 98.3% |
| 73 | Sioux County, Nebraska | $125,359 | 0.2% | 98.5% |
| 74 | Cherry County, Nebraska | $124,767 | 0.2% | 98.7% |
| 75 | Sherman County, Nebraska | $122,088 | 0.2% | 98.8% |
| 76 | Merrick County, Nebraska | $114,370 | 0.2% | 99.0% |
| 77 | Hall County, Nebraska | $112,597 | 0.2% | 99.2% |
| 78 | Boyd County, Nebraska | $97,372 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 79 | McPherson County, Nebraska | $59,529 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 80 | Hamilton County, Nebraska | $58,331 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 81 | Kearney County, Nebraska | $55,304 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 82 | Douglas County, Nebraska | $53,746 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 83 | Polk County, Nebraska | $51,097 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 84 | Logan County, Nebraska | $44,700 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 85 | Phelps County, Nebraska | $39,257 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 86 | Loup County, Nebraska | $34,991 | 0.1% | 99.9% |
| 87 | York County, Nebraska | $23,429 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 88 | Keya Paha County, Nebraska | $18,905 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 89 | Thomas County, Nebraska | $18,037 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 90 | Blaine County, Nebraska | $11,492 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 91 | Hooker County, Nebraska | $9,462 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
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.
