| Rank |
County |
Subtotal, Farming Subsidies
2010 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Southampton County, Virginia | $3,681,337 | 8.5% | 8.5% |
| 2 | Pittsylvania County, Virginia | $3,504,299 | 8.1% | 16.5% |
| 3 | Halifax County, Virginia | $2,821,732 | 6.5% | 23.0% |
| 4 | Isle of Wight County, Virginia | $2,057,517 | 4.7% | 27.7% |
| 5 | Mecklenburg County, Virginia | $1,915,218 | 4.4% | 32.1% |
| 6 | Suffolk City, Virginia | $1,778,665 | 4.1% | 36.2% |
| 7 | Sussex County, Virginia | $1,485,164 | 3.4% | 39.6% |
| 8 | Brunswick County, Virginia | $1,315,636 | 3.0% | 42.7% |
| 9 | Dinwiddie County, Virginia | $1,276,073 | 2.9% | 45.6% |
| 10 | Surry County, Virginia | $1,108,760 | 2.5% | 48.1% |
| 11 | Greensville County, Virginia | $1,042,827 | 2.4% | 50.5% |
| 12 | Charlotte County, Virginia | $912,816 | 2.1% | 52.6% |
| 13 | Accomack County, Virginia | $903,572 | 2.1% | 54.7% |
| 14 | Franklin County, Virginia | $858,847 | 2.0% | 56.7% |
| 15 | Essex County, Virginia | $825,499 | 1.9% | 58.6% |
| 16 | Washington County, Virginia | $711,099 | 1.6% | 60.2% |
| 17 | Lunenburg County, Virginia | $699,124 | 1.6% | 61.8% |
| 18 | Rockingham County, Virginia | $641,797 | 1.5% | 63.3% |
| 19 | Northumberland County, Virginia | $604,222 | 1.4% | 64.7% |
| 20 | Northampton County, Virginia | $601,970 | 1.4% | 66.1% |
| 21 | Campbell County, Virginia | $561,091 | 1.3% | 67.4% |
| 22 | Scott County, Virginia | $553,159 | 1.3% | 68.6% |
| 23 | Chesapeake City, Virginia | $550,580 | 1.3% | 69.9% |
| 24 | Westmoreland County, Virginia | $516,107 | 1.2% | 71.1% |
| 25 | King William County, Virginia | $499,248 | 1.1% | 72.2% |
| 26 | King and Queen County, Virginia | $473,821 | 1.1% | 73.3% |
| 27 | Patrick County, Virginia | $473,782 | 1.1% | 74.4% |
| 28 | Hanover County, Virginia | $473,395 | 1.1% | 75.5% |
| 29 | Russell County, Virginia | $465,107 | 1.1% | 76.6% |
| 30 | Amelia County, Virginia | $461,706 | 1.1% | 77.6% |
| 31 | Caroline County, Virginia | $452,728 | 1.0% | 78.7% |
| 32 | Augusta County, Virginia | $436,579 | 1.0% | 79.7% |
| 33 | Richmond County, Virginia | $430,326 | 1.0% | 80.7% |
| 34 | Culpeper County, Virginia | $411,770 | 0.9% | 81.6% |
| 35 | Fauquier County, Virginia | $404,543 | 0.9% | 82.5% |
| 36 | Charles City County, Virginia | $394,895 | 0.9% | 83.5% |
| 37 | Lee County, Virginia | $383,307 | 0.9% | 84.3% |
| 38 | Virginia Beach City, Virginia | $362,082 | 0.8% | 85.2% |
| 39 | Prince George County, Virginia | $327,023 | 0.8% | 85.9% |
| 40 | Orange County, Virginia | $325,768 | 0.7% | 86.7% |
| 41 | Smyth County, Virginia | $322,297 | 0.7% | 87.4% |
| 42 | Nottoway County, Virginia | $310,016 | 0.7% | 88.1% |
| 43 | Prince Edward County, Virginia | $299,210 | 0.7% | 88.8% |
| 44 | Madison County, Virginia | $285,909 | 0.7% | 89.5% |
| 45 | Wythe County, Virginia | $269,732 | 0.6% | 90.1% |
| 46 | Lancaster County, Virginia | $223,038 | 0.5% | 90.6% |
| 47 | Grayson County, Virginia | $215,666 | 0.5% | 91.1% |
| 48 | Gloucester County, Virginia | $212,436 | 0.5% | 91.6% |
| 49 | Louisa County, Virginia | $211,946 | 0.5% | 92.1% |
| 50 | Shenandoah County, Virginia | $205,068 | 0.5% | 92.5% |
| 51 | Tazewell County, Virginia | $195,158 | 0.4% | 93.0% |
| 52 | Middlesex County, Virginia | $180,146 | 0.4% | 93.4% |
| 53 | New Kent County, Virginia | $170,187 | 0.4% | 93.8% |
| 54 | King George County, Virginia | $163,343 | 0.4% | 94.2% |
| 55 | Loudoun County, Virginia | $145,298 | 0.3% | 94.5% |
| 56 | Henry County, Virginia | $136,122 | 0.3% | 94.8% |
| 57 | Bedford County, Virginia | $136,107 | 0.3% | 95.1% |
| 58 | Goochland County, Virginia | $124,462 | 0.3% | 95.4% |
| 59 | Montgomery County, Virginia | $115,754 | 0.3% | 95.7% |
| 60 | Henrico County, Virginia | $107,102 | 0.2% | 95.9% |
| 61 | Spotsylvania County, Virginia | $106,456 | 0.2% | 96.2% |
| 62 | Chesterfield County, Virginia | $106,374 | 0.2% | 96.4% |
| 63 | Clarke County, Virginia | $101,607 | 0.2% | 96.7% |
| 64 | Bland County, Virginia | $96,585 | 0.2% | 96.9% |
| 65 | Botetourt County, Virginia | $90,860 | 0.2% | 97.1% |
| 66 | Pulaski County, Virginia | $88,834 | 0.2% | 97.3% |
| 67 | Appomattox County, Virginia | $88,655 | 0.2% | 97.5% |
| 68 | Rockbridge County, Virginia | $84,390 | 0.2% | 97.7% |
| 69 | Cumberland County, Virginia | $81,859 | 0.2% | 97.9% |
| 70 | Albemarle County, Virginia | $81,362 | 0.2% | 98.1% |
| 71 | Powhatan County, Virginia | $78,392 | 0.2% | 98.2% |
| 72 | Page County, Virginia | $78,055 | 0.2% | 98.4% |
| 73 | Buckingham County, Virginia | $77,411 | 0.2% | 98.6% |
| 74 | Prince William County, Virginia | $75,765 | 0.2% | 98.8% |
| 75 | Carroll County, Virginia | $64,443 | 0.1% | 98.9% |
| 76 | Frederick County, Virginia | $58,326 | 0.1% | 99.1% |
| 77 | Floyd County, Virginia | $49,573 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 78 | Stafford County, Virginia | $45,703 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 79 | James City County, Virginia | $45,394 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 80 | Greene County, Virginia | $37,768 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 81 | Buchanan County, Virginia | $30,518 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 82 | Mathews County, Virginia | $25,991 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 83 | Wise County, Virginia | $19,426 | 0.0% | 99.6% |
| 84 | Craig County, Virginia | $18,103 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 85 | Roanoke County, Virginia | $17,934 | 0.0% | 99.7% |
| 86 | Nelson County, Virginia | $17,103 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 87 | Warren County, Virginia | $16,952 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 88 | Rappahannock County, Virginia | $15,994 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 89 | Fluvanna County, Virginia | $15,021 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 90 | Alleghany County, Virginia | $13,418 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 91 | Dickenson County, Virginia | $11,219 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 92 | Highland County, Virginia | $11,015 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 93 | Bath County, Virginia | $9,823 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 94 | Amherst County, Virginia | $7,658 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 95 | Giles County, Virginia | $2,908 | 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.
