| Rank |
County |
Total Direct Payments
2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Gibson County, Tennessee | $4,118,631 | 8.6% | 8.6% |
| 2 | Haywood County, Tennessee | $3,849,866 | 8.0% | 16.6% |
| 3 | Dyer County, Tennessee | $3,360,469 | 7.0% | 23.7% |
| 4 | Obion County, Tennessee | $3,294,633 | 6.9% | 30.6% |
| 5 | Crockett County, Tennessee | $3,147,062 | 6.6% | 37.1% |
| 6 | Lauderdale County, Tennessee | $2,674,271 | 5.6% | 42.7% |
| 7 | Tipton County, Tennessee | $2,625,540 | 5.5% | 48.2% |
| 8 | Fayette County, Tennessee | $2,384,693 | 5.0% | 53.2% |
| 9 | Weakley County, Tennessee | $2,250,934 | 4.7% | 57.9% |
| 10 | Madison County, Tennessee | $2,195,205 | 4.6% | 62.5% |
| 11 | Lake County, Tennessee | $1,443,416 | 3.0% | 65.5% |
| 12 | Carroll County, Tennessee | $1,399,293 | 2.9% | 68.4% |
| 13 | Shelby County, Tennessee | $1,382,023 | 2.9% | 71.3% |
| 14 | Robertson County, Tennessee | $1,177,686 | 2.5% | 73.8% |
| 15 | Hardeman County, Tennessee | $1,083,482 | 2.3% | 76.0% |
| 16 | Henry County, Tennessee | $1,053,261 | 2.2% | 78.2% |
| 17 | Franklin County, Tennessee | $786,283 | 1.6% | 79.9% |
| 18 | Henderson County, Tennessee | $712,474 | 1.5% | 81.4% |
| 19 | Lincoln County, Tennessee | $589,665 | 1.2% | 82.6% |
| 20 | Coffee County, Tennessee | $532,391 | 1.1% | 83.7% |
| 21 | Lawrence County, Tennessee | $508,972 | 1.1% | 84.8% |
| 22 | Hardin County, Tennessee | $503,675 | 1.1% | 85.8% |
| 23 | McNairy County, Tennessee | $485,608 | 1.0% | 86.8% |
| 24 | Montgomery County, Tennessee | $422,786 | 0.9% | 87.7% |
| 25 | Giles County, Tennessee | $357,720 | 0.7% | 88.5% |
| 26 | Sumner County, Tennessee | $339,284 | 0.7% | 89.2% |
| 27 | Rutherford County, Tennessee | $334,880 | 0.7% | 89.9% |
| 28 | Bedford County, Tennessee | $304,566 | 0.6% | 90.5% |
| 29 | Maury County, Tennessee | $262,388 | 0.5% | 91.1% |
| 30 | Chester County, Tennessee | $261,924 | 0.5% | 91.6% |
| 31 | Warren County, Tennessee | $206,535 | 0.4% | 92.0% |
| 32 | Benton County, Tennessee | $193,869 | 0.4% | 92.4% |
| 33 | Cannon County, Tennessee | $182,750 | 0.4% | 92.8% |
| 34 | Greene County, Tennessee | $161,376 | 0.3% | 93.2% |
| 35 | Humphreys County, Tennessee | $159,544 | 0.3% | 93.5% |
| 36 | McMinn County, Tennessee | $156,588 | 0.3% | 93.8% |
| 37 | Decatur County, Tennessee | $154,857 | 0.3% | 94.1% |
| 38 | Marshall County, Tennessee | $145,047 | 0.3% | 94.4% |
| 39 | Hickman County, Tennessee | $122,994 | 0.3% | 94.7% |
| 40 | Polk County, Tennessee | $120,987 | 0.3% | 95.0% |
| 41 | Washington County, Tennessee | $118,094 | 0.2% | 95.2% |
| 42 | Macon County, Tennessee | $113,683 | 0.2% | 95.4% |
| 43 | Williamson County, Tennessee | $111,766 | 0.2% | 95.7% |
| 44 | Monroe County, Tennessee | $104,940 | 0.2% | 95.9% |
| 45 | Marion County, Tennessee | $96,833 | 0.2% | 96.1% |
| 46 | Bledsoe County, Tennessee | $94,893 | 0.2% | 96.3% |
| 47 | White County, Tennessee | $94,800 | 0.2% | 96.5% |
| 48 | Loudon County, Tennessee | $92,125 | 0.2% | 96.7% |
| 49 | DeKalb County, Tennessee | $89,942 | 0.2% | 96.9% |
| 50 | Fentress County, Tennessee | $88,054 | 0.2% | 97.1% |
| 51 | Overton County, Tennessee | $84,485 | 0.2% | 97.2% |
| 52 | Perry County, Tennessee | $83,585 | 0.2% | 97.4% |
| 53 | Blount County, Tennessee | $79,470 | 0.2% | 97.6% |
| 54 | Wayne County, Tennessee | $67,714 | 0.1% | 97.7% |
| 55 | Rhea County, Tennessee | $66,290 | 0.1% | 97.8% |
| 56 | Grundy County, Tennessee | $64,666 | 0.1% | 98.0% |
| 57 | Bradley County, Tennessee | $58,309 | 0.1% | 98.1% |
| 58 | Stewart County, Tennessee | $53,231 | 0.1% | 98.2% |
| 59 | Cumberland County, Tennessee | $50,760 | 0.1% | 98.3% |
| 60 | Smith County, Tennessee | $50,059 | 0.1% | 98.4% |
| 61 | Dickson County, Tennessee | $48,745 | 0.1% | 98.5% |
| 62 | Hamblen County, Tennessee | $47,782 | 0.1% | 98.6% |
| 63 | Meigs County, Tennessee | $47,324 | 0.1% | 98.7% |
| 64 | Jefferson County, Tennessee | $47,163 | 0.1% | 98.8% |
| 65 | Clay County, Tennessee | $46,349 | 0.1% | 98.9% |
| 66 | Sequatchie County, Tennessee | $43,662 | 0.1% | 99.0% |
| 67 | Cocke County, Tennessee | $40,628 | 0.1% | 99.1% |
| 68 | Putnam County, Tennessee | $33,865 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 69 | Grainger County, Tennessee | $32,635 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 70 | Cheatham County, Tennessee | $27,623 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 71 | Wilson County, Tennessee | $26,464 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 72 | Hawkins County, Tennessee | $25,676 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 73 | Sullivan County, Tennessee | $25,024 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 74 | Trousdale County, Tennessee | $23,981 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 75 | Pickett County, Tennessee | $22,621 | 0.0% | 99.6% |
| 76 | Claiborne County, Tennessee | $21,706 | 0.0% | 99.6% |
| 77 | Johnson County, Tennessee | $21,357 | 0.0% | 99.6% |
| 78 | Jackson County, Tennessee | $20,481 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 79 | Houston County, Tennessee | $18,517 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 80 | Lewis County, Tennessee | $17,091 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 81 | Moore County, Tennessee | $17,076 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 82 | Hamilton County, Tennessee | $16,719 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 83 | Van Buren County, Tennessee | $15,963 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 84 | Scott County, Tennessee | $11,506 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 85 | Morgan County, Tennessee | $10,974 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 86 | Carter County, Tennessee | $10,825 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 87 | Knox County, Tennessee | $10,180 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 88 | Davidson County, Tennessee | $5,885 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 89 | Roane County, Tennessee | $5,335 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 90 | Campbell County, Tennessee | $4,731 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 91 | Hancock County, Tennessee | $1,433 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 92 | Union County, Tennessee | $1,384 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 93 | Sevier County, Tennessee | $1,358 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 94 | Anderson County, Tennessee | $1,176 | 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.
