| Rank |
County |
Total Direct Payments
2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Lincoln County, Nebraska | $5,763,250 | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| 2 | Hamilton County, Nebraska | $5,620,532 | 2.4% | 4.9% |
| 3 | Holt County, Nebraska | $5,461,370 | 2.3% | 7.2% |
| 4 | Custer County, Nebraska | $5,277,403 | 2.3% | 9.5% |
| 5 | Antelope County, Nebraska | $5,260,955 | 2.3% | 11.8% |
| 6 | York County, Nebraska | $4,889,702 | 2.1% | 13.8% |
| 7 | Red Willow County, Nebraska | $4,837,379 | 2.1% | 15.9% |
| 8 | Perkins County, Nebraska | $4,803,101 | 2.1% | 18.0% |
| 9 | Saunders County, Nebraska | $4,794,138 | 2.1% | 20.0% |
| 10 | Seward County, Nebraska | $4,787,804 | 2.1% | 22.1% |
| 11 | Cheyenne County, Nebraska | $4,642,591 | 2.0% | 24.1% |
| 12 | Buffalo County, Nebraska | $4,551,089 | 2.0% | 26.0% |
| 13 | Chase County, Nebraska | $4,483,650 | 1.9% | 28.0% |
| 14 | Hall County, Nebraska | $4,403,988 | 1.9% | 29.9% |
| 15 | Adams County, Nebraska | $4,304,962 | 1.8% | 31.7% |
| 16 | Boone County, Nebraska | $4,269,164 | 1.8% | 33.5% |
| 17 | Kearney County, Nebraska | $4,174,467 | 1.8% | 35.3% |
| 18 | Dodge County, Nebraska | $4,101,633 | 1.8% | 37.1% |
| 19 | Butler County, Nebraska | $4,100,626 | 1.8% | 38.8% |
| 20 | Clay County, Nebraska | $3,944,262 | 1.7% | 40.5% |
| 21 | Cuming County, Nebraska | $3,937,964 | 1.7% | 42.2% |
| 22 | Lancaster County, Nebraska | $3,837,079 | 1.6% | 43.9% |
| 23 | Madison County, Nebraska | $3,784,640 | 1.6% | 45.5% |
| 24 | Dawson County, Nebraska | $3,616,656 | 1.6% | 47.1% |
| 25 | Cass County, Nebraska | $3,521,046 | 1.5% | 48.6% |
| 26 | Box Butte County, Nebraska | $3,497,059 | 1.5% | 50.1% |
| 27 | Phelps County, Nebraska | $3,467,711 | 1.5% | 51.6% |
| 28 | Saline County, Nebraska | $3,456,254 | 1.5% | 53.0% |
| 29 | Nuckolls County, Nebraska | $3,428,058 | 1.5% | 54.5% |
| 30 | Cedar County, Nebraska | $3,427,150 | 1.5% | 56.0% |
| 31 | Pierce County, Nebraska | $3,386,368 | 1.5% | 57.4% |
| 32 | Howard County, Nebraska | $3,296,815 | 1.4% | 58.8% |
| 33 | Polk County, Nebraska | $3,229,489 | 1.4% | 60.2% |
| 34 | Valley County, Nebraska | $3,066,683 | 1.3% | 61.5% |
| 35 | Dundy County, Nebraska | $2,977,502 | 1.3% | 62.8% |
| 36 | Burt County, Nebraska | $2,958,425 | 1.3% | 64.1% |
| 37 | Furnas County, Nebraska | $2,939,938 | 1.3% | 65.4% |
| 38 | Fillmore County, Nebraska | $2,913,020 | 1.3% | 66.6% |
| 39 | Platte County, Nebraska | $2,902,997 | 1.2% | 67.9% |
| 40 | Otoe County, Nebraska | $2,744,960 | 1.2% | 69.0% |
| 41 | Wayne County, Nebraska | $2,714,602 | 1.2% | 70.2% |
| 42 | Harlan County, Nebraska | $2,597,696 | 1.1% | 71.3% |
| 43 | Franklin County, Nebraska | $2,585,640 | 1.1% | 72.4% |
| 44 | Knox County, Nebraska | $2,531,044 | 1.1% | 73.5% |
| 45 | Thurston County, Nebraska | $2,435,134 | 1.0% | 74.5% |
| 46 | Keith County, Nebraska | $2,404,183 | 1.0% | 75.6% |
| 47 | Colfax County, Nebraska | $2,367,107 | 1.0% | 76.6% |
| 48 | Merrick County, Nebraska | $2,366,570 | 1.0% | 77.6% |
| 49 | Thayer County, Nebraska | $2,361,465 | 1.0% | 78.6% |
| 50 | Dixon County, Nebraska | $2,328,797 | 1.0% | 79.6% |
| 51 | Gage County, Nebraska | $2,283,594 | 1.0% | 80.6% |
| 52 | Webster County, Nebraska | $2,189,959 | 0.9% | 81.5% |
| 53 | Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska | $2,169,103 | 0.9% | 82.5% |
| 54 | Richardson County, Nebraska | $2,152,662 | 0.9% | 83.4% |
| 55 | Washington County, Nebraska | $2,137,622 | 0.9% | 84.3% |
| 56 | Kimball County, Nebraska | $2,009,641 | 0.9% | 85.2% |
| 57 | Gosper County, Nebraska | $1,994,365 | 0.9% | 86.0% |
| 58 | Nemaha County, Nebraska | $1,956,647 | 0.8% | 86.9% |
| 59 | Morrill County, Nebraska | $1,925,000 | 0.8% | 87.7% |
| 60 | Jefferson County, Nebraska | $1,814,417 | 0.8% | 88.5% |
| 61 | Hayes County, Nebraska | $1,806,870 | 0.8% | 89.3% |
| 62 | Nance County, Nebraska | $1,761,680 | 0.8% | 90.0% |
| 63 | Sheridan County, Nebraska | $1,653,751 | 0.7% | 90.7% |
| 64 | Frontier County, Nebraska | $1,650,795 | 0.7% | 91.4% |
| 65 | Greeley County, Nebraska | $1,450,069 | 0.6% | 92.0% |
| 66 | Stanton County, Nebraska | $1,359,600 | 0.6% | 92.6% |
| 67 | Brown County, Nebraska | $1,325,647 | 0.6% | 93.2% |
| 68 | Garden County, Nebraska | $1,305,840 | 0.6% | 93.8% |
| 69 | Deuel County, Nebraska | $1,165,775 | 0.5% | 94.3% |
| 70 | Johnson County, Nebraska | $1,103,038 | 0.5% | 94.7% |
| 71 | Dawes County, Nebraska | $1,075,185 | 0.5% | 95.2% |
| 72 | Banner County, Nebraska | $1,014,626 | 0.4% | 95.6% |
| 73 | Sarpy County, Nebraska | $969,791 | 0.4% | 96.0% |
| 74 | Sherman County, Nebraska | $962,234 | 0.4% | 96.5% |
| 75 | Wheeler County, Nebraska | $943,858 | 0.4% | 96.9% |
| 76 | Rock County, Nebraska | $923,564 | 0.4% | 97.3% |
| 77 | Dakota County, Nebraska | $896,624 | 0.4% | 97.6% |
| 78 | Pawnee County, Nebraska | $838,183 | 0.4% | 98.0% |
| 79 | Hitchcock County, Nebraska | $807,042 | 0.3% | 98.4% |
| 80 | Boyd County, Nebraska | $672,296 | 0.3% | 98.6% |
| 81 | Douglas County, Nebraska | $648,900 | 0.3% | 98.9% |
| 82 | Logan County, Nebraska | $566,008 | 0.2% | 99.2% |
| 83 | Cherry County, Nebraska | $395,791 | 0.2% | 99.3% |
| 84 | Sioux County, Nebraska | $315,793 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 85 | Garfield County, Nebraska | $292,640 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 86 | Loup County, Nebraska | $263,507 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 87 | Keya Paha County, Nebraska | $231,020 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 88 | McPherson County, Nebraska | $216,014 | 0.1% | 99.9% |
| 89 | Arthur County, Nebraska | $146,506 | 0.1% | 100.0% |
| 90 | Blaine County, Nebraska | $71,910 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 91 | Thomas County, Nebraska | $16,645 | 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.
