| Rank |
County |
Conservation Reserve Program
1995-2012 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Augusta County, Virginia | $8,264,335 | 7.0% | 7.0% |
| 2 | Halifax County, Virginia | $5,773,824 | 4.9% | 11.9% |
| 3 | Amelia County, Virginia | $4,896,710 | 4.2% | 16.1% |
| 4 | Washington County, Virginia | $4,854,849 | 4.1% | 20.2% |
| 5 | Pittsylvania County, Virginia | $4,095,157 | 3.5% | 23.7% |
| 6 | Russell County, Virginia | $3,895,812 | 3.3% | 27.0% |
| 7 | Prince Edward County, Virginia | $3,747,554 | 3.2% | 30.2% |
| 8 | Smyth County, Virginia | $3,399,566 | 2.9% | 33.1% |
| 9 | Southampton County, Virginia | $3,330,454 | 2.8% | 35.9% |
| 10 | Rockingham County, Virginia | $3,218,183 | 2.7% | 38.6% |
| 11 | Bedford County, Virginia | $2,941,015 | 2.5% | 41.1% |
| 12 | Campbell County, Virginia | $2,887,628 | 2.5% | 43.6% |
| 13 | Brunswick County, Virginia | $2,840,135 | 2.4% | 46.0% |
| 14 | Fauquier County, Virginia | $2,540,719 | 2.2% | 48.2% |
| 15 | Greensville County, Virginia | $2,515,644 | 2.1% | 50.3% |
| 16 | Dinwiddie County, Virginia | $2,454,545 | 2.1% | 52.4% |
| 17 | Culpeper County, Virginia | $2,259,573 | 1.9% | 54.3% |
| 18 | Carroll County, Virginia | $1,810,006 | 1.5% | 55.9% |
| 19 | Louisa County, Virginia | $1,797,016 | 1.5% | 57.4% |
| 20 | Tazewell County, Virginia | $1,780,495 | 1.5% | 58.9% |
| 21 | Rappahannock County, Virginia | $1,756,608 | 1.5% | 60.4% |
| 22 | Essex County, Virginia | $1,631,655 | 1.4% | 61.8% |
| 23 | Albemarle County, Virginia | $1,629,173 | 1.4% | 63.2% |
| 24 | Cumberland County, Virginia | $1,596,564 | 1.4% | 64.5% |
| 25 | Buckingham County, Virginia | $1,595,824 | 1.4% | 65.9% |
| 26 | Madison County, Virginia | $1,551,732 | 1.3% | 67.2% |
| 27 | Highland County, Virginia | $1,465,323 | 1.2% | 68.4% |
| 28 | Orange County, Virginia | $1,431,775 | 1.2% | 69.7% |
| 29 | Rockbridge County, Virginia | $1,407,169 | 1.2% | 70.8% |
| 30 | Wythe County, Virginia | $1,362,624 | 1.2% | 72.0% |
| 31 | Nottoway County, Virginia | $1,334,235 | 1.1% | 73.1% |
| 32 | Mecklenburg County, Virginia | $1,279,734 | 1.1% | 74.2% |
| 33 | Westmoreland County, Virginia | $1,268,729 | 1.1% | 75.3% |
| 34 | Grayson County, Virginia | $1,252,200 | 1.1% | 76.4% |
| 35 | King George County, Virginia | $1,246,660 | 1.1% | 77.4% |
| 36 | Lunenburg County, Virginia | $1,204,331 | 1.0% | 78.5% |
| 37 | King and Queen County, Virginia | $1,185,904 | 1.0% | 79.5% |
| 38 | Accomack County, Virginia | $1,119,557 | 1.0% | 80.4% |
| 39 | Prince George County, Virginia | $1,095,862 | 0.9% | 81.3% |
| 40 | Shenandoah County, Virginia | $1,006,797 | 0.9% | 82.2% |
| 41 | Charlotte County, Virginia | $982,695 | 0.8% | 83.0% |
| 42 | Appomattox County, Virginia | $923,764 | 0.8% | 83.8% |
| 43 | Bath County, Virginia | $849,778 | 0.7% | 84.5% |
| 44 | Richmond County, Virginia | $838,553 | 0.7% | 85.3% |
| 45 | Sussex County, Virginia | $821,970 | 0.7% | 85.9% |
| 46 | Patrick County, Virginia | $777,443 | 0.7% | 86.6% |
| 47 | Page County, Virginia | $748,330 | 0.6% | 87.2% |
| 48 | Greene County, Virginia | $740,467 | 0.6% | 87.9% |
| 49 | Scott County, Virginia | $724,034 | 0.6% | 88.5% |
| 50 | Lee County, Virginia | $714,521 | 0.6% | 89.1% |
| 51 | Goochland County, Virginia | $682,849 | 0.6% | 89.7% |
| 52 | Chesapeake City, Virginia | $680,273 | 0.6% | 90.3% |
| 53 | Spotsylvania County, Virginia | $649,538 | 0.6% | 90.8% |
| 54 | Amherst County, Virginia | $621,765 | 0.5% | 91.3% |
| 55 | Nelson County, Virginia | $606,168 | 0.5% | 91.9% |
| 56 | Caroline County, Virginia | $584,582 | 0.5% | 92.3% |
| 57 | Fluvanna County, Virginia | $555,211 | 0.5% | 92.8% |
| 58 | Loudoun County, Virginia | $519,081 | 0.4% | 93.3% |
| 59 | Botetourt County, Virginia | $499,646 | 0.4% | 93.7% |
| 60 | Franklin County, Virginia | $459,288 | 0.4% | 94.1% |
| 61 | Prince William County, Virginia | $441,311 | 0.4% | 94.5% |
| 62 | Powhatan County, Virginia | $427,043 | 0.4% | 94.8% |
| 63 | Clarke County, Virginia | $419,840 | 0.4% | 95.2% |
| 64 | Montgomery County, Virginia | $385,400 | 0.3% | 95.5% |
| 65 | Northumberland County, Virginia | $373,168 | 0.3% | 95.8% |
| 66 | Bland County, Virginia | $362,511 | 0.3% | 96.1% |
| 67 | Suffolk City, Virginia | $352,803 | 0.3% | 96.4% |
| 68 | Hanover County, Virginia | $321,583 | 0.3% | 96.7% |
| 69 | Frederick County, Virginia | $306,727 | 0.3% | 97.0% |
| 70 | Northampton County, Virginia | $299,959 | 0.3% | 97.2% |
| 71 | Craig County, Virginia | $296,241 | 0.3% | 97.5% |
| 72 | Isle of Wight County, Virginia | $276,117 | 0.2% | 97.7% |
| 73 | Surry County, Virginia | $275,354 | 0.2% | 97.9% |
| 74 | Stafford County, Virginia | $272,039 | 0.2% | 98.2% |
| 75 | King William County, Virginia | $268,880 | 0.2% | 98.4% |
| 76 | Floyd County, Virginia | $251,160 | 0.2% | 98.6% |
| 77 | Lancaster County, Virginia | $224,632 | 0.2% | 98.8% |
| 78 | Henry County, Virginia | $184,609 | 0.2% | 99.0% |
| 79 | Virginia Beach City, Virginia | $151,955 | 0.1% | 99.1% |
| 80 | Middlesex County, Virginia | $141,850 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 81 | Gloucester County, Virginia | $134,974 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 82 | Chesterfield County, Virginia | $117,312 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 83 | Alleghany County, Virginia | $112,751 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 84 | Pulaski County, Virginia | $112,014 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 85 | Mathews County, Virginia | $98,627 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 86 | Warren County, Virginia | $83,644 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 87 | Charles City County, Virginia | $73,133 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 88 | James City County, Virginia | $56,424 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 89 | New Kent County, Virginia | $43,555 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 90 | Giles County, Virginia | $20,886 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 91 | Henrico County, Virginia | $11,831 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
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.
