| Rank |
County |
Total Counter Cyclical Payments
1995-2012 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Haywood County, Tennessee | $48,479,253 | 14.5% | 14.5% |
| 2 | Crockett County, Tennessee | $37,340,057 | 11.2% | 25.7% |
| 3 | Tipton County, Tennessee | $29,177,643 | 8.7% | 34.4% |
| 4 | Gibson County, Tennessee | $27,911,617 | 8.4% | 42.8% |
| 5 | Lauderdale County, Tennessee | $27,108,520 | 8.1% | 50.9% |
| 6 | Fayette County, Tennessee | $24,508,982 | 7.3% | 58.2% |
| 7 | Madison County, Tennessee | $23,837,960 | 7.1% | 65.4% |
| 8 | Dyer County, Tennessee | $21,754,756 | 6.5% | 71.9% |
| 9 | Shelby County, Tennessee | $14,601,738 | 4.4% | 76.2% |
| 10 | Carroll County, Tennessee | $10,509,004 | 3.1% | 79.4% |
| 11 | Hardeman County, Tennessee | $9,929,416 | 3.0% | 82.4% |
| 12 | Lake County, Tennessee | $8,729,034 | 2.6% | 85.0% |
| 13 | Obion County, Tennessee | $6,900,522 | 2.1% | 87.0% |
| 14 | Weakley County, Tennessee | $4,423,512 | 1.3% | 88.4% |
| 15 | Lincoln County, Tennessee | $4,305,789 | 1.3% | 89.6% |
| 16 | Franklin County, Tennessee | $3,473,407 | 1.0% | 90.7% |
| 17 | McNairy County, Tennessee | $2,866,846 | 0.9% | 91.5% |
| 18 | Henderson County, Tennessee | $2,750,921 | 0.8% | 92.4% |
| 19 | Henry County, Tennessee | $2,055,145 | 0.6% | 93.0% |
| 20 | Rutherford County, Tennessee | $1,888,900 | 0.6% | 93.5% |
| 21 | Robertson County, Tennessee | $1,878,300 | 0.6% | 94.1% |
| 22 | Hardin County, Tennessee | $1,818,338 | 0.5% | 94.6% |
| 23 | Giles County, Tennessee | $1,757,528 | 0.5% | 95.2% |
| 24 | Lawrence County, Tennessee | $1,694,941 | 0.5% | 95.7% |
| 25 | Coffee County, Tennessee | $1,658,650 | 0.5% | 96.2% |
| 26 | Chester County, Tennessee | $1,484,985 | 0.4% | 96.6% |
| 27 | Montgomery County, Tennessee | $982,566 | 0.3% | 96.9% |
| 28 | Maury County, Tennessee | $775,144 | 0.2% | 97.1% |
| 29 | Bedford County, Tennessee | $522,115 | 0.2% | 97.3% |
| 30 | Sumner County, Tennessee | $437,774 | 0.1% | 97.4% |
| 31 | Humphreys County, Tennessee | $414,765 | 0.1% | 97.6% |
| 32 | Warren County, Tennessee | $381,841 | 0.1% | 97.7% |
| 33 | Wayne County, Tennessee | $378,279 | 0.1% | 97.8% |
| 34 | Greene County, Tennessee | $373,920 | 0.1% | 97.9% |
| 35 | Benton County, Tennessee | $359,221 | 0.1% | 98.0% |
| 36 | Washington County, Tennessee | $340,509 | 0.1% | 98.1% |
| 37 | McMinn County, Tennessee | $306,002 | 0.1% | 98.2% |
| 38 | Decatur County, Tennessee | $304,750 | 0.1% | 98.3% |
| 39 | Cannon County, Tennessee | $290,119 | 0.1% | 98.4% |
| 40 | Marshall County, Tennessee | $263,654 | 0.1% | 98.5% |
| 41 | Macon County, Tennessee | $226,915 | 0.1% | 98.5% |
| 42 | Fentress County, Tennessee | $225,275 | 0.1% | 98.6% |
| 43 | Hickman County, Tennessee | $219,735 | 0.1% | 98.7% |
| 44 | White County, Tennessee | $208,274 | 0.1% | 98.7% |
| 45 | Perry County, Tennessee | $203,237 | 0.1% | 98.8% |
| 46 | Williamson County, Tennessee | $201,828 | 0.1% | 98.8% |
| 47 | Grundy County, Tennessee | $189,326 | 0.1% | 98.9% |
| 48 | Overton County, Tennessee | $180,871 | 0.1% | 99.0% |
| 49 | Monroe County, Tennessee | $178,849 | 0.1% | 99.0% |
| 50 | Polk County, Tennessee | $167,995 | 0.1% | 99.1% |
| 51 | Bledsoe County, Tennessee | $161,690 | 0.0% | 99.1% |
| 52 | Loudon County, Tennessee | $161,211 | 0.0% | 99.2% |
| 53 | Smith County, Tennessee | $159,323 | 0.0% | 99.2% |
| 54 | DeKalb County, Tennessee | $159,051 | 0.0% | 99.2% |
| 55 | Cumberland County, Tennessee | $145,657 | 0.0% | 99.3% |
| 56 | Blount County, Tennessee | $143,681 | 0.0% | 99.3% |
| 57 | Marion County, Tennessee | $143,185 | 0.0% | 99.4% |
| 58 | Jefferson County, Tennessee | $122,172 | 0.0% | 99.4% |
| 59 | Stewart County, Tennessee | $116,700 | 0.0% | 99.4% |
| 60 | Bradley County, Tennessee | $108,717 | 0.0% | 99.5% |
| 61 | Rhea County, Tennessee | $95,281 | 0.0% | 99.5% |
| 62 | Clay County, Tennessee | $94,401 | 0.0% | 99.5% |
| 63 | Meigs County, Tennessee | $92,525 | 0.0% | 99.6% |
| 64 | Cocke County, Tennessee | $86,622 | 0.0% | 99.6% |
| 65 | Sullivan County, Tennessee | $85,052 | 0.0% | 99.6% |
| 66 | Hamblen County, Tennessee | $83,189 | 0.0% | 99.6% |
| 67 | Putnam County, Tennessee | $81,669 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 68 | Cheatham County, Tennessee | $78,649 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 69 | Dickson County, Tennessee | $76,087 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 70 | Pickett County, Tennessee | $74,612 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 71 | Sequatchie County, Tennessee | $74,586 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 72 | Trousdale County, Tennessee | $71,450 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 73 | Grainger County, Tennessee | $61,295 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 74 | Claiborne County, Tennessee | $60,502 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 75 | Johnson County, Tennessee | $60,286 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 76 | Hawkins County, Tennessee | $58,330 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 77 | Wilson County, Tennessee | $48,097 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 78 | Carter County, Tennessee | $45,009 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 79 | Jackson County, Tennessee | $44,467 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 80 | Hamilton County, Tennessee | $42,995 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 81 | Houston County, Tennessee | $42,811 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 82 | Moore County, Tennessee | $40,808 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 83 | Morgan County, Tennessee | $39,895 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 84 | Lewis County, Tennessee | $38,011 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 85 | Scott County, Tennessee | $36,728 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 86 | Van Buren County, Tennessee | $30,637 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 87 | Knox County, Tennessee | $29,864 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 88 | Roane County, Tennessee | $13,623 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 89 | Davidson County, Tennessee | $13,136 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 90 | Campbell County, Tennessee | $8,203 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 91 | Sevier County, Tennessee | $7,748 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 92 | Union County, Tennessee | $7,254 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 93 | Hancock County, Tennessee | $2,985 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 94 | Anderson County, Tennessee | $2,894 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 95 | Unicoi County, Tennessee | $93 | 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.
