| Rank |
County |
Subtotal, Conservation Programs
2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Kimball County, Nebraska | $4,010,009 | 5.5% | 5.5% |
| 2 | Gage County, Nebraska | $3,220,082 | 4.4% | 9.9% |
| 3 | Cheyenne County, Nebraska | $3,134,077 | 4.3% | 14.2% |
| 4 | Johnson County, Nebraska | $2,757,102 | 3.8% | 17.9% |
| 5 | Pawnee County, Nebraska | $2,689,377 | 3.7% | 21.6% |
| 6 | Richardson County, Nebraska | $2,441,509 | 3.3% | 24.9% |
| 7 | Lancaster County, Nebraska | $2,094,851 | 2.9% | 27.8% |
| 8 | Saunders County, Nebraska | $2,054,628 | 2.8% | 30.6% |
| 9 | Box Butte County, Nebraska | $1,921,844 | 2.6% | 33.2% |
| 10 | Perkins County, Nebraska | $1,682,373 | 2.3% | 35.5% |
| 11 | Stanton County, Nebraska | $1,619,210 | 2.2% | 37.7% |
| 12 | Dixon County, Nebraska | $1,569,359 | 2.1% | 39.9% |
| 13 | Antelope County, Nebraska | $1,557,612 | 2.1% | 42.0% |
| 14 | Red Willow County, Nebraska | $1,521,678 | 2.1% | 44.1% |
| 15 | Knox County, Nebraska | $1,520,078 | 2.1% | 46.2% |
| 16 | Thurston County, Nebraska | $1,498,786 | 2.0% | 48.2% |
| 17 | Chase County, Nebraska | $1,498,578 | 2.0% | 50.3% |
| 18 | Banner County, Nebraska | $1,404,773 | 1.9% | 52.2% |
| 19 | Otoe County, Nebraska | $1,403,536 | 1.9% | 54.1% |
| 20 | Morrill County, Nebraska | $1,400,459 | 1.9% | 56.0% |
| 21 | Butler County, Nebraska | $1,285,511 | 1.8% | 57.8% |
| 22 | Seward County, Nebraska | $1,273,478 | 1.7% | 59.5% |
| 23 | Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska | $1,153,794 | 1.6% | 61.1% |
| 24 | Burt County, Nebraska | $1,140,469 | 1.6% | 62.6% |
| 25 | Furnas County, Nebraska | $1,129,423 | 1.5% | 64.2% |
| 26 | Hayes County, Nebraska | $1,117,446 | 1.5% | 65.7% |
| 27 | Dundy County, Nebraska | $1,094,178 | 1.5% | 67.2% |
| 28 | Jefferson County, Nebraska | $1,058,995 | 1.4% | 68.6% |
| 29 | Holt County, Nebraska | $1,030,291 | 1.4% | 70.1% |
| 30 | Nemaha County, Nebraska | $1,013,639 | 1.4% | 71.4% |
| 31 | Sheridan County, Nebraska | $955,182 | 1.3% | 72.7% |
| 32 | Cedar County, Nebraska | $942,613 | 1.3% | 74.0% |
| 33 | Saline County, Nebraska | $900,426 | 1.2% | 75.3% |
| 34 | Madison County, Nebraska | $837,260 | 1.1% | 76.4% |
| 35 | Cuming County, Nebraska | $835,434 | 1.1% | 77.5% |
| 36 | Webster County, Nebraska | $809,906 | 1.1% | 78.6% |
| 37 | Boone County, Nebraska | $785,843 | 1.1% | 79.7% |
| 38 | Franklin County, Nebraska | $742,452 | 1.0% | 80.7% |
| 39 | Platte County, Nebraska | $732,226 | 1.0% | 81.7% |
| 40 | Keith County, Nebraska | $670,170 | 0.9% | 82.7% |
| 41 | Dodge County, Nebraska | $616,295 | 0.8% | 83.5% |
| 42 | Nance County, Nebraska | $606,008 | 0.8% | 84.3% |
| 43 | Lincoln County, Nebraska | $581,947 | 0.8% | 85.1% |
| 44 | Pierce County, Nebraska | $547,758 | 0.7% | 85.9% |
| 45 | Cass County, Nebraska | $546,960 | 0.7% | 86.6% |
| 46 | Washington County, Nebraska | $529,952 | 0.7% | 87.3% |
| 47 | Garden County, Nebraska | $512,023 | 0.7% | 88.0% |
| 48 | Thayer County, Nebraska | $480,844 | 0.7% | 88.7% |
| 49 | Wheeler County, Nebraska | $464,306 | 0.6% | 89.3% |
| 50 | Gosper County, Nebraska | $454,445 | 0.6% | 89.9% |
| 51 | Valley County, Nebraska | $433,240 | 0.6% | 90.5% |
| 52 | Dawes County, Nebraska | $430,746 | 0.6% | 91.1% |
| 53 | Colfax County, Nebraska | $425,699 | 0.6% | 91.7% |
| 54 | Hitchcock County, Nebraska | $398,715 | 0.5% | 92.3% |
| 55 | Wayne County, Nebraska | $394,760 | 0.5% | 92.8% |
| 56 | Howard County, Nebraska | $392,516 | 0.5% | 93.3% |
| 57 | Harlan County, Nebraska | $375,616 | 0.5% | 93.8% |
| 58 | Frontier County, Nebraska | $356,702 | 0.5% | 94.3% |
| 59 | Dakota County, Nebraska | $340,678 | 0.5% | 94.8% |
| 60 | Buffalo County, Nebraska | $340,149 | 0.5% | 95.3% |
| 61 | Custer County, Nebraska | $310,696 | 0.4% | 95.7% |
| 62 | Rock County, Nebraska | $301,931 | 0.4% | 96.1% |
| 63 | Greeley County, Nebraska | $298,653 | 0.4% | 96.5% |
| 64 | Deuel County, Nebraska | $275,811 | 0.4% | 96.9% |
| 65 | Dawson County, Nebraska | $232,415 | 0.3% | 97.2% |
| 66 | Garfield County, Nebraska | $178,792 | 0.2% | 97.4% |
| 67 | Nuckolls County, Nebraska | $155,663 | 0.2% | 97.7% |
| 68 | Adams County, Nebraska | $139,193 | 0.2% | 97.8% |
| 69 | Sarpy County, Nebraska | $136,524 | 0.2% | 98.0% |
| 70 | Clay County, Nebraska | $132,386 | 0.2% | 98.2% |
| 71 | Sherman County, Nebraska | $132,154 | 0.2% | 98.4% |
| 72 | Fillmore County, Nebraska | $130,501 | 0.2% | 98.6% |
| 73 | Hall County, Nebraska | $115,973 | 0.2% | 98.7% |
| 74 | Boyd County, Nebraska | $109,729 | 0.1% | 98.9% |
| 75 | Merrick County, Nebraska | $102,235 | 0.1% | 99.0% |
| 76 | Brown County, Nebraska | $97,070 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 77 | Sioux County, Nebraska | $93,777 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 78 | Cherry County, Nebraska | $93,408 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 79 | Hamilton County, Nebraska | $64,705 | 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 | Kearney County, Nebraska | $41,508 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 84 | Phelps County, Nebraska | $36,409 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 85 | Logan County, Nebraska | $33,010 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 86 | York County, Nebraska | $24,084 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 87 | Keya Paha County, Nebraska | $20,610 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 88 | Loup County, Nebraska | $15,651 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 89 | Blaine County, Nebraska | $9,637 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 90 | Thomas County, Nebraska | $8,177 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 91 | Hooker County, Nebraska | $7,446 | 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.
