| Rank |
County |
Total Direct Payments
1995-2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Dane County, Wisconsin | $59,172,230 | 5.9% | 5.9% |
| 2 | Rock County, Wisconsin | $50,172,121 | 5.0% | 10.9% |
| 3 | Grant County, Wisconsin | $41,539,541 | 4.1% | 15.0% |
| 4 | Dodge County, Wisconsin | $39,510,255 | 3.9% | 19.0% |
| 5 | Lafayette County, Wisconsin | $35,019,312 | 3.5% | 22.5% |
| 6 | Columbia County, Wisconsin | $34,463,480 | 3.4% | 25.9% |
| 7 | Walworth County, Wisconsin | $31,053,213 | 3.1% | 29.0% |
| 8 | Green County, Wisconsin | $30,964,845 | 3.1% | 32.1% |
| 9 | Fond Du Lac County, Wisconsin | $29,164,997 | 2.9% | 35.0% |
| 10 | Jefferson County, Wisconsin | $26,866,939 | 2.7% | 37.7% |
| 11 | Outagamie County, Wisconsin | $24,929,616 | 2.5% | 40.2% |
| 12 | Dunn County, Wisconsin | $22,911,612 | 2.3% | 42.5% |
| 13 | Sauk County, Wisconsin | $21,798,342 | 2.2% | 44.6% |
| 14 | Saint Croix County, Wisconsin | $21,695,314 | 2.2% | 46.8% |
| 15 | Iowa County, Wisconsin | $20,322,681 | 2.0% | 48.8% |
| 16 | Marathon County, Wisconsin | $19,810,746 | 2.0% | 50.8% |
| 17 | Pierce County, Wisconsin | $19,152,512 | 1.9% | 52.7% |
| 18 | Trempealeau County, Wisconsin | $18,820,229 | 1.9% | 54.6% |
| 19 | Manitowoc County, Wisconsin | $18,086,825 | 1.8% | 56.4% |
| 20 | Chippewa County, Wisconsin | $18,053,649 | 1.8% | 58.2% |
| 21 | Clark County, Wisconsin | $17,133,847 | 1.7% | 59.9% |
| 22 | Brown County, Wisconsin | $16,543,913 | 1.6% | 61.6% |
| 23 | Barron County, Wisconsin | $16,512,874 | 1.6% | 63.2% |
| 24 | Winnebago County, Wisconsin | $16,425,055 | 1.6% | 64.8% |
| 25 | Buffalo County, Wisconsin | $15,875,430 | 1.6% | 66.4% |
| 26 | Waupaca County, Wisconsin | $15,709,471 | 1.6% | 68.0% |
| 27 | Vernon County, Wisconsin | $15,660,863 | 1.6% | 69.5% |
| 28 | Sheboygan County, Wisconsin | $15,241,224 | 1.5% | 71.1% |
| 29 | Shawano County, Wisconsin | $14,958,795 | 1.5% | 72.6% |
| 30 | Racine County, Wisconsin | $14,689,834 | 1.5% | 74.0% |
| 31 | Polk County, Wisconsin | $14,477,957 | 1.4% | 75.5% |
| 32 | Green Lake County, Wisconsin | $14,146,414 | 1.4% | 76.9% |
| 33 | Oconto County, Wisconsin | $13,864,328 | 1.4% | 78.3% |
| 34 | Monroe County, Wisconsin | $13,618,728 | 1.4% | 79.6% |
| 35 | Calumet County, Wisconsin | $13,586,929 | 1.4% | 81.0% |
| 36 | Portage County, Wisconsin | $11,762,496 | 1.2% | 82.1% |
| 37 | Juneau County, Wisconsin | $11,236,640 | 1.1% | 83.3% |
| 38 | Kenosha County, Wisconsin | $10,996,038 | 1.1% | 84.4% |
| 39 | Kewaunee County, Wisconsin | $10,925,523 | 1.1% | 85.5% |
| 40 | Eau Claire County, Wisconsin | $10,220,479 | 1.0% | 86.5% |
| 41 | Washington County, Wisconsin | $10,174,563 | 1.0% | 87.5% |
| 42 | Jackson County, Wisconsin | $9,704,321 | 1.0% | 88.5% |
| 43 | Richland County, Wisconsin | $9,536,290 | 1.0% | 89.4% |
| 44 | Waukesha County, Wisconsin | $9,424,178 | 0.9% | 90.3% |
| 45 | Wood County, Wisconsin | $9,098,393 | 0.9% | 91.3% |
| 46 | La Crosse County, Wisconsin | $8,541,584 | 0.9% | 92.1% |
| 47 | Crawford County, Wisconsin | $8,410,051 | 0.8% | 92.9% |
| 48 | Taylor County, Wisconsin | $7,792,912 | 0.8% | 93.7% |
| 49 | Pepin County, Wisconsin | $7,688,253 | 0.8% | 94.5% |
| 50 | Marquette County, Wisconsin | $7,648,960 | 0.8% | 95.3% |
| 51 | Marinette County, Wisconsin | $6,875,824 | 0.7% | 95.9% |
| 52 | Door County, Wisconsin | $6,095,792 | 0.6% | 96.5% |
| 53 | Adams County, Wisconsin | $5,747,731 | 0.6% | 97.1% |
| 54 | Ozaukee County, Wisconsin | $5,573,788 | 0.6% | 97.7% |
| 55 | Waushara County, Wisconsin | $5,486,616 | 0.5% | 98.2% |
| 56 | Rusk County, Wisconsin | $4,004,868 | 0.4% | 98.6% |
| 57 | Burnett County, Wisconsin | $3,625,432 | 0.4% | 99.0% |
| 58 | Washburn County, Wisconsin | $2,818,500 | 0.3% | 99.3% |
| 59 | Langlade County, Wisconsin | $2,753,938 | 0.3% | 99.5% |
| 60 | Lincoln County, Wisconsin | $1,372,102 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 61 | Sawyer County, Wisconsin | $903,878 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 62 | Price County, Wisconsin | $752,652 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 63 | Bayfield County, Wisconsin | $456,779 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 64 | Ashland County, Wisconsin | $325,263 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 65 | Milwaukee County, Wisconsin | $310,888 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 66 | Florence County, Wisconsin | $144,432 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 67 | Forest County, Wisconsin | $122,563 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 68 | Douglas County, Wisconsin | $72,320 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 69 | Iron County, Wisconsin | $68,540 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 70 | Oneida County, Wisconsin | $52,082 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 71 | Vilas County, Wisconsin | $36,206 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 72 | Menominee County, Wisconsin | $11,306 | 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.
