| Rank |
County |
Total Direct Payments
2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Southampton County, Virginia | $2,471,363 | 11.5% | 11.5% |
| 2 | Isle of Wight County, Virginia | $1,463,556 | 6.8% | 18.3% |
| 3 | Suffolk City, Virginia | $1,263,856 | 5.9% | 24.2% |
| 4 | Sussex County, Virginia | $991,139 | 4.6% | 28.8% |
| 5 | Accomack County, Virginia | $917,738 | 4.3% | 33.0% |
| 6 | Surry County, Virginia | $791,090 | 3.7% | 36.7% |
| 7 | Essex County, Virginia | $659,602 | 3.1% | 39.8% |
| 8 | Greensville County, Virginia | $627,604 | 2.9% | 42.7% |
| 9 | Northumberland County, Virginia | $574,525 | 2.7% | 45.4% |
| 10 | Northampton County, Virginia | $542,199 | 2.5% | 47.9% |
| 11 | Westmoreland County, Virginia | $501,432 | 2.3% | 50.2% |
| 12 | King William County, Virginia | $484,926 | 2.3% | 52.5% |
| 13 | Chesapeake City, Virginia | $479,634 | 2.2% | 54.7% |
| 14 | Hanover County, Virginia | $462,957 | 2.2% | 56.8% |
| 15 | Dinwiddie County, Virginia | $455,661 | 2.1% | 59.0% |
| 16 | Caroline County, Virginia | $449,871 | 2.1% | 61.0% |
| 17 | King and Queen County, Virginia | $448,968 | 2.1% | 63.1% |
| 18 | Richmond County, Virginia | $407,962 | 1.9% | 65.0% |
| 19 | Rockingham County, Virginia | $372,663 | 1.7% | 66.8% |
| 20 | Virginia Beach City, Virginia | $352,578 | 1.6% | 68.4% |
| 21 | Augusta County, Virginia | $310,141 | 1.4% | 69.8% |
| 22 | Fauquier County, Virginia | $299,119 | 1.4% | 71.2% |
| 23 | Halifax County, Virginia | $262,922 | 1.2% | 72.5% |
| 24 | Charles City County, Virginia | $260,654 | 1.2% | 73.7% |
| 25 | Prince George County, Virginia | $248,656 | 1.2% | 74.8% |
| 26 | Culpeper County, Virginia | $231,302 | 1.1% | 75.9% |
| 27 | Pittsylvania County, Virginia | $226,431 | 1.1% | 76.9% |
| 28 | Lancaster County, Virginia | $220,888 | 1.0% | 78.0% |
| 29 | Amelia County, Virginia | $220,636 | 1.0% | 79.0% |
| 30 | Brunswick County, Virginia | $215,165 | 1.0% | 80.0% |
| 31 | Gloucester County, Virginia | $197,612 | 0.9% | 80.9% |
| 32 | New Kent County, Virginia | $178,406 | 0.8% | 81.7% |
| 33 | Loudoun County, Virginia | $178,067 | 0.8% | 82.6% |
| 34 | Madison County, Virginia | $177,950 | 0.8% | 83.4% |
| 35 | Middlesex County, Virginia | $177,204 | 0.8% | 84.2% |
| 36 | Mecklenburg County, Virginia | $167,443 | 0.8% | 85.0% |
| 37 | Orange County, Virginia | $166,862 | 0.8% | 85.8% |
| 38 | Franklin County, Virginia | $165,435 | 0.8% | 86.5% |
| 39 | Louisa County, Virginia | $148,135 | 0.7% | 87.2% |
| 40 | King George County, Virginia | $139,868 | 0.6% | 87.9% |
| 41 | Shenandoah County, Virginia | $137,684 | 0.6% | 88.5% |
| 42 | Wythe County, Virginia | $132,071 | 0.6% | 89.1% |
| 43 | Prince Edward County, Virginia | $124,478 | 0.6% | 89.7% |
| 44 | Campbell County, Virginia | $124,219 | 0.6% | 90.3% |
| 45 | Henrico County, Virginia | $121,514 | 0.6% | 90.9% |
| 46 | Goochland County, Virginia | $115,032 | 0.5% | 91.4% |
| 47 | Charlotte County, Virginia | $111,261 | 0.5% | 91.9% |
| 48 | Spotsylvania County, Virginia | $90,191 | 0.4% | 92.3% |
| 49 | Washington County, Virginia | $88,530 | 0.4% | 92.7% |
| 50 | Clarke County, Virginia | $86,435 | 0.4% | 93.1% |
| 51 | Bedford County, Virginia | $81,020 | 0.4% | 93.5% |
| 52 | Botetourt County, Virginia | $77,399 | 0.4% | 93.9% |
| 53 | Nottoway County, Virginia | $77,310 | 0.4% | 94.2% |
| 54 | Page County, Virginia | $76,620 | 0.4% | 94.6% |
| 55 | Rockbridge County, Virginia | $69,233 | 0.3% | 94.9% |
| 56 | Prince William County, Virginia | $67,667 | 0.3% | 95.2% |
| 57 | Montgomery County, Virginia | $66,502 | 0.3% | 95.5% |
| 58 | Powhatan County, Virginia | $63,585 | 0.3% | 95.8% |
| 59 | Albemarle County, Virginia | $60,376 | 0.3% | 96.1% |
| 60 | Cumberland County, Virginia | $54,991 | 0.3% | 96.4% |
| 61 | Pulaski County, Virginia | $53,592 | 0.2% | 96.6% |
| 62 | James City County, Virginia | $51,657 | 0.2% | 96.9% |
| 63 | Buckingham County, Virginia | $50,710 | 0.2% | 97.1% |
| 64 | Patrick County, Virginia | $49,467 | 0.2% | 97.3% |
| 65 | Frederick County, Virginia | $44,727 | 0.2% | 97.5% |
| 66 | Smyth County, Virginia | $44,454 | 0.2% | 97.7% |
| 67 | Stafford County, Virginia | $44,055 | 0.2% | 97.9% |
| 68 | Lunenburg County, Virginia | $37,552 | 0.2% | 98.1% |
| 69 | Appomattox County, Virginia | $32,773 | 0.2% | 98.3% |
| 70 | Grayson County, Virginia | $31,942 | 0.1% | 98.4% |
| 71 | Chesterfield County, Virginia | $30,226 | 0.1% | 98.6% |
| 72 | Bland County, Virginia | $30,156 | 0.1% | 98.7% |
| 73 | Floyd County, Virginia | $29,550 | 0.1% | 98.8% |
| 74 | Lee County, Virginia | $28,817 | 0.1% | 99.0% |
| 75 | Greene County, Virginia | $26,369 | 0.1% | 99.1% |
| 76 | Mathews County, Virginia | $26,049 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 77 | Carroll County, Virginia | $25,415 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 78 | Fluvanna County, Virginia | $16,610 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 79 | Tazewell County, Virginia | $16,565 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 80 | Craig County, Virginia | $14,454 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 81 | Scott County, Virginia | $14,095 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 82 | Henry County, Virginia | $12,092 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 83 | Russell County, Virginia | $11,994 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 84 | Nelson County, Virginia | $10,448 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 85 | Alleghany County, Virginia | $9,718 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 86 | Rappahannock County, Virginia | $9,297 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 87 | Bath County, Virginia | $6,586 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 88 | Warren County, Virginia | $6,307 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 89 | Roanoke County, Virginia | $5,569 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 90 | Amherst County, Virginia | $4,510 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 91 | Highland County, Virginia | $3,637 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 92 | Buchanan County, Virginia | $853 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 93 | Giles County, Virginia | $647 | 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.
