| Rank |
County |
Emergency Conservation
1995-2012 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Madison County, Virginia | $1,874,179 | 10.5% | 10.5% |
| 2 | Augusta County, Virginia | $1,103,293 | 6.2% | 16.8% |
| 3 | Rockingham County, Virginia | $1,025,431 | 5.8% | 22.5% |
| 4 | Washington County, Virginia | $946,720 | 5.3% | 27.9% |
| 5 | Southampton County, Virginia | $802,441 | 4.5% | 32.4% |
| 6 | Pittsylvania County, Virginia | $774,025 | 4.4% | 36.7% |
| 7 | Bedford County, Virginia | $693,172 | 3.9% | 40.6% |
| 8 | Rockbridge County, Virginia | $660,839 | 3.7% | 44.4% |
| 9 | Shenandoah County, Virginia | $640,490 | 3.6% | 48.0% |
| 10 | Orange County, Virginia | $567,502 | 3.2% | 51.2% |
| 11 | Page County, Virginia | $427,501 | 2.4% | 53.6% |
| 12 | Halifax County, Virginia | $413,141 | 2.3% | 55.9% |
| 13 | Suffolk City, Virginia | $339,755 | 1.9% | 57.8% |
| 14 | Greene County, Virginia | $332,890 | 1.9% | 59.7% |
| 15 | Lee County, Virginia | $331,787 | 1.9% | 61.5% |
| 16 | Campbell County, Virginia | $291,435 | 1.6% | 63.2% |
| 17 | Botetourt County, Virginia | $241,808 | 1.4% | 64.5% |
| 18 | Russell County, Virginia | $229,937 | 1.3% | 65.8% |
| 19 | Highland County, Virginia | $224,908 | 1.3% | 67.1% |
| 20 | Isle of Wight County, Virginia | $214,828 | 1.2% | 68.3% |
| 21 | Hanover County, Virginia | $198,617 | 1.1% | 69.4% |
| 22 | Northumberland County, Virginia | $191,345 | 1.1% | 70.5% |
| 23 | Louisa County, Virginia | $185,734 | 1.0% | 71.6% |
| 24 | Albemarle County, Virginia | $183,622 | 1.0% | 72.6% |
| 25 | Buckingham County, Virginia | $176,885 | 1.0% | 73.6% |
| 26 | Amherst County, Virginia | $176,329 | 1.0% | 74.6% |
| 27 | Nelson County, Virginia | $171,596 | 1.0% | 75.5% |
| 28 | Sussex County, Virginia | $165,773 | 0.9% | 76.5% |
| 29 | Culpeper County, Virginia | $158,372 | 0.9% | 77.4% |
| 30 | Floyd County, Virginia | $154,645 | 0.9% | 78.2% |
| 31 | Appomattox County, Virginia | $148,925 | 0.8% | 79.1% |
| 32 | Smyth County, Virginia | $148,386 | 0.8% | 79.9% |
| 33 | Rappahannock County, Virginia | $144,136 | 0.8% | 80.7% |
| 34 | Westmoreland County, Virginia | $132,275 | 0.7% | 81.5% |
| 35 | Spotsylvania County, Virginia | $131,305 | 0.7% | 82.2% |
| 36 | Tazewell County, Virginia | $122,667 | 0.7% | 82.9% |
| 37 | Dinwiddie County, Virginia | $109,185 | 0.6% | 83.5% |
| 38 | Patrick County, Virginia | $104,259 | 0.6% | 84.1% |
| 39 | Richmond County, Virginia | $102,106 | 0.6% | 84.7% |
| 40 | Cumberland County, Virginia | $101,841 | 0.6% | 85.2% |
| 41 | Montgomery County, Virginia | $101,426 | 0.6% | 85.8% |
| 42 | Alleghany County, Virginia | $98,722 | 0.6% | 86.4% |
| 43 | King and Queen County, Virginia | $98,424 | 0.6% | 86.9% |
| 44 | Bath County, Virginia | $96,374 | 0.5% | 87.5% |
| 45 | Wythe County, Virginia | $95,298 | 0.5% | 88.0% |
| 46 | Prince George County, Virginia | $94,023 | 0.5% | 88.5% |
| 47 | Surry County, Virginia | $93,989 | 0.5% | 89.1% |
| 48 | Fauquier County, Virginia | $89,537 | 0.5% | 89.6% |
| 49 | Mecklenburg County, Virginia | $88,866 | 0.5% | 90.1% |
| 50 | Essex County, Virginia | $88,273 | 0.5% | 90.6% |
| 51 | Craig County, Virginia | $87,129 | 0.5% | 91.0% |
| 52 | Scott County, Virginia | $86,981 | 0.5% | 91.5% |
| 53 | Giles County, Virginia | $86,342 | 0.5% | 92.0% |
| 54 | Gloucester County, Virginia | $86,041 | 0.5% | 92.5% |
| 55 | Greensville County, Virginia | $76,698 | 0.4% | 92.9% |
| 56 | Brunswick County, Virginia | $70,346 | 0.4% | 93.3% |
| 57 | Franklin County, Virginia | $69,742 | 0.4% | 93.7% |
| 58 | Charles City County, Virginia | $68,928 | 0.4% | 94.1% |
| 59 | Goochland County, Virginia | $68,079 | 0.4% | 94.5% |
| 60 | Amelia County, Virginia | $63,364 | 0.4% | 94.9% |
| 61 | Fluvanna County, Virginia | $62,419 | 0.4% | 95.2% |
| 62 | Middlesex County, Virginia | $60,067 | 0.3% | 95.5% |
| 63 | Lancaster County, Virginia | $54,829 | 0.3% | 95.9% |
| 64 | Prince Edward County, Virginia | $53,469 | 0.3% | 96.2% |
| 65 | Pulaski County, Virginia | $52,291 | 0.3% | 96.5% |
| 66 | Warren County, Virginia | $51,891 | 0.3% | 96.7% |
| 67 | Clarke County, Virginia | $46,601 | 0.3% | 97.0% |
| 68 | Henrico County, Virginia | $43,385 | 0.2% | 97.2% |
| 69 | New Kent County, Virginia | $41,876 | 0.2% | 97.5% |
| 70 | Bland County, Virginia | $40,451 | 0.2% | 97.7% |
| 71 | Stafford County, Virginia | $35,181 | 0.2% | 97.9% |
| 72 | Caroline County, Virginia | $34,343 | 0.2% | 98.1% |
| 73 | Nottoway County, Virginia | $31,014 | 0.2% | 98.3% |
| 74 | Charlotte County, Virginia | $30,311 | 0.2% | 98.4% |
| 75 | James City County, Virginia | $29,366 | 0.2% | 98.6% |
| 76 | King George County, Virginia | $28,342 | 0.2% | 98.8% |
| 77 | King William County, Virginia | $27,296 | 0.2% | 98.9% |
| 78 | Roanoke County, Virginia | $24,140 | 0.1% | 99.1% |
| 79 | Grayson County, Virginia | $21,047 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 80 | Lunenburg County, Virginia | $21,016 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 81 | Chesapeake City, Virginia | $20,644 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 82 | Frederick County, Virginia | $19,007 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 83 | Loudoun County, Virginia | $15,535 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 84 | Henry County, Virginia | $12,498 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 85 | Carroll County, Virginia | $12,135 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 86 | Powhatan County, Virginia | $9,484 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 87 | Mathews County, Virginia | $6,166 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 88 | Wise County, Virginia | $4,539 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 89 | Virginia Beach City, Virginia | $3,794 | 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.
