| Rank |
County |
Conservation Reserve Program
2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Augusta County, Virginia | $535,898 | 7.9% | 7.9% |
| 2 | Halifax County, Virginia | $344,669 | 5.1% | 13.0% |
| 3 | Prince Edward County, Virginia | $310,379 | 4.6% | 17.5% |
| 4 | Carroll County, Virginia | $289,283 | 4.3% | 21.8% |
| 5 | Bedford County, Virginia | $259,522 | 3.8% | 25.6% |
| 6 | Patrick County, Virginia | $249,373 | 3.7% | 29.3% |
| 7 | Southampton County, Virginia | $246,550 | 3.6% | 32.9% |
| 8 | Amelia County, Virginia | $226,648 | 3.3% | 36.2% |
| 9 | Smyth County, Virginia | $220,552 | 3.2% | 39.5% |
| 10 | Washington County, Virginia | $218,488 | 3.2% | 42.7% |
| 11 | Pittsylvania County, Virginia | $211,382 | 3.1% | 45.8% |
| 12 | Louisa County, Virginia | $189,613 | 2.8% | 48.6% |
| 13 | Greensville County, Virginia | $164,703 | 2.4% | 51.0% |
| 14 | Dinwiddie County, Virginia | $162,388 | 2.4% | 53.4% |
| 15 | Campbell County, Virginia | $156,723 | 2.3% | 55.7% |
| 16 | Rockingham County, Virginia | $152,047 | 2.2% | 58.0% |
| 17 | Rockbridge County, Virginia | $148,695 | 2.2% | 60.1% |
| 18 | Brunswick County, Virginia | $145,318 | 2.1% | 62.3% |
| 19 | Fauquier County, Virginia | $134,076 | 2.0% | 64.3% |
| 20 | Accomack County, Virginia | $130,370 | 1.9% | 66.2% |
| 21 | Albemarle County, Virginia | $126,493 | 1.9% | 68.0% |
| 22 | Russell County, Virginia | $117,338 | 1.7% | 69.8% |
| 23 | Tazewell County, Virginia | $103,753 | 1.5% | 71.3% |
| 24 | Highland County, Virginia | $98,937 | 1.5% | 72.7% |
| 25 | Wythe County, Virginia | $92,766 | 1.4% | 74.1% |
| 26 | Appomattox County, Virginia | $79,992 | 1.2% | 75.3% |
| 27 | Culpeper County, Virginia | $74,894 | 1.1% | 76.4% |
| 28 | King George County, Virginia | $68,587 | 1.0% | 77.4% |
| 29 | Madison County, Virginia | $61,572 | 0.9% | 78.3% |
| 30 | Chesapeake City, Virginia | $56,864 | 0.8% | 79.1% |
| 31 | Mecklenburg County, Virginia | $56,768 | 0.8% | 80.0% |
| 32 | Orange County, Virginia | $54,373 | 0.8% | 80.8% |
| 33 | Cumberland County, Virginia | $53,601 | 0.8% | 81.6% |
| 34 | Nottoway County, Virginia | $52,499 | 0.8% | 82.3% |
| 35 | Essex County, Virginia | $51,546 | 0.8% | 83.1% |
| 36 | Buckingham County, Virginia | $50,804 | 0.7% | 83.8% |
| 37 | Rappahannock County, Virginia | $48,999 | 0.7% | 84.6% |
| 38 | Grayson County, Virginia | $48,645 | 0.7% | 85.3% |
| 39 | Bland County, Virginia | $47,754 | 0.7% | 86.0% |
| 40 | Nelson County, Virginia | $47,646 | 0.7% | 86.7% |
| 41 | Sussex County, Virginia | $44,200 | 0.7% | 87.3% |
| 42 | Greene County, Virginia | $42,363 | 0.6% | 88.0% |
| 43 | Northampton County, Virginia | $40,232 | 0.6% | 88.6% |
| 44 | Shenandoah County, Virginia | $39,631 | 0.6% | 89.1% |
| 45 | Prince George County, Virginia | $38,248 | 0.6% | 89.7% |
| 46 | Franklin County, Virginia | $38,242 | 0.6% | 90.3% |
| 47 | King and Queen County, Virginia | $38,136 | 0.6% | 90.8% |
| 48 | Frederick County, Virginia | $35,842 | 0.5% | 91.4% |
| 49 | Stafford County, Virginia | $35,692 | 0.5% | 91.9% |
| 50 | Westmoreland County, Virginia | $33,978 | 0.5% | 92.4% |
| 51 | Bath County, Virginia | $31,469 | 0.5% | 92.8% |
| 52 | Page County, Virginia | $30,625 | 0.5% | 93.3% |
| 53 | Hanover County, Virginia | $28,214 | 0.4% | 93.7% |
| 54 | Suffolk City, Virginia | $26,813 | 0.4% | 94.1% |
| 55 | Isle of Wight County, Virginia | $26,326 | 0.4% | 94.5% |
| 56 | Botetourt County, Virginia | $26,198 | 0.4% | 94.9% |
| 57 | Montgomery County, Virginia | $23,206 | 0.3% | 95.2% |
| 58 | Charlotte County, Virginia | $22,722 | 0.3% | 95.5% |
| 59 | Spotsylvania County, Virginia | $20,389 | 0.3% | 95.8% |
| 60 | Powhatan County, Virginia | $20,185 | 0.3% | 96.1% |
| 61 | Amherst County, Virginia | $20,171 | 0.3% | 96.4% |
| 62 | Richmond County, Virginia | $20,140 | 0.3% | 96.7% |
| 63 | Caroline County, Virginia | $19,196 | 0.3% | 97.0% |
| 64 | Clarke County, Virginia | $18,868 | 0.3% | 97.3% |
| 65 | Lunenburg County, Virginia | $17,902 | 0.3% | 97.6% |
| 66 | Prince William County, Virginia | $16,491 | 0.2% | 97.8% |
| 67 | Fluvanna County, Virginia | $14,269 | 0.2% | 98.0% |
| 68 | Loudoun County, Virginia | $12,261 | 0.2% | 98.2% |
| 69 | Scott County, Virginia | $10,764 | 0.2% | 98.4% |
| 70 | Northumberland County, Virginia | $10,292 | 0.2% | 98.5% |
| 71 | Lee County, Virginia | $9,972 | 0.1% | 98.7% |
| 72 | Goochland County, Virginia | $9,938 | 0.1% | 98.8% |
| 73 | Craig County, Virginia | $8,887 | 0.1% | 98.9% |
| 74 | Alleghany County, Virginia | $8,254 | 0.1% | 99.1% |
| 75 | Lancaster County, Virginia | $7,508 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 76 | Charles City County, Virginia | $7,478 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 77 | King William County, Virginia | $6,340 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 78 | Virginia Beach City, Virginia | $4,804 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 79 | Henry County, Virginia | $4,748 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 80 | Middlesex County, Virginia | $4,335 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 81 | Surry County, Virginia | $4,259 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 82 | Floyd County, Virginia | $3,538 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 83 | Chesterfield County, Virginia | $3,189 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 84 | Mathews County, Virginia | $2,762 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 85 | Gloucester County, Virginia | $2,721 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 86 | New Kent County, Virginia | $2,377 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 87 | Warren County, Virginia | $2,266 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 88 | Pulaski County, Virginia | $1,955 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
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.
