USDA subsidies for farms in United States totaled $292,548,000,000 from 1995 through 2012.
| Year | Conservation Subsidies | Disaster Subsidies | Commodity Subsidies | Crop Insurance Premium Subsidies | Total USDA Subsidies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payments / Recipients |
Payments / Recipients |
Payments / Recipients |
Subsidies / Policies |
Payments / Recipients |
|
| 1995 | $1,904,452,900 432,904 |
$657,973,426 145,206 |
$4,679,764,533 1,025,820 |
$889,372,304 2,454,932 |
$8,131,563,163 1,336,234 |
| 1996 | $1,804,021,315 414,145 |
$147,623,843 54,643 |
$5,322,161,233 1,352,473 |
$982,062,670 2,231,091 |
$8,255,869,060 1,570,744 |
| 1997 | $1,732,828,816 387,122 |
$105,935,165 55,460 |
$5,616,337,125 1,338,946 |
$902,794,419 1,847,715 |
$8,357,895,525 1,529,392 |
| 1998 | $1,548,032,756 347,367 |
$42,394,671 9,544 |
$10,767,204,784 1,312,575 |
$946,312,180 1,744,944 |
$13,303,944,390 1,458,747 |
| 1999 | $1,584,294,106 345,573 |
$2,263,991,556 370,858 |
$17,723,999,810 1,372,191 |
$1,391,886,240 1,798,333 |
$22,964,171,712 1,634,585 |
| 2000 | $1,731,207,875 399,615 |
$1,436,475,735 392,292 |
$20,224,659,339 1,656,422 |
$1,347,891,738 1,938,026 |
$24,740,234,687 1,901,965 |
| 2001 | $1,945,843,939 415,896 |
$2,405,487,177 392,840 |
$18,121,985,726 1,621,693 |
$1,774,055,666 1,909,850 |
$24,247,372,508 1,880,186 |
| 2002 | $1,990,918,128 429,667 |
$1,358,519,027 469,191 |
$8,977,525,994 1,319,080 |
$1,741,410,009 1,888,143 |
$14,068,373,158 1,705,592 |
| 2003 | $2,021,149,009 445,068 |
$2,951,001,044 492,035 |
$11,102,042,019 1,556,770 |
$2,042,030,619 1,922,526 |
$18,116,222,690 1,836,511 |
| 2004 | $2,084,040,924 461,281 |
$546,881,095 83,783 |
$10,233,612,451 1,228,635 |
$2,477,423,738 1,988,947 |
$15,341,958,208 1,456,500 |
| 2005 | $2,641,569,915 512,094 |
$3,073,941,281 358,881 |
$16,249,676,440 1,270,899 |
$2,343,826,824 1,969,461 |
$24,309,014,460 1,546,398 |
| 2006 | $2,961,370,758 546,274 |
$166,038,477 26,653 |
$11,225,800,325 1,223,350 |
$2,682,005,763 1,952,696 |
$17,035,215,324 1,481,848 |
| 2007 | $3,010,779,205 549,054 |
$461,957,503 92,064 |
$7,134,343,060 1,111,311 |
$3,823,326,892 1,933,719 |
$14,430,758,109 1,391,051 |
| 2008 | $3,068,376,110 543,578 |
$2,063,638,823 412,032 |
$6,209,452,127 1,089,889 |
$5,690,885,527 1,956,132 |
$17,032,492,997 1,454,211 |
| 2009 | $2,898,921,121 533,033 |
$245,990,134 38,164 |
$7,749,760,769 1,029,954 |
$5,426,820,133 2,047,618 |
$16,321,523,606 1,323,049 |
| 2010 | $2,228,588,914 463,255 |
$2,532,598,972 178,481 |
$5,891,480,018 1,010,021 |
$4,711,079,811 2,031,288 |
$15,364,353,500 1,279,295 |
| 2011 | $1,925,165,431 446,463 |
$1,215,287,760 143,662 |
$5,036,792,545 971,739 |
$7,459,526,601 2,067,144 |
$15,651,591,041 1,243,212 |
| 2012 | $1,804,467,669 427,021 |
$795,259,247 58,451 |
$5,325,744,921 947,665 |
$6,950,022,492 2,106,506 |
$14,875,494,329 1,194,844 |
| Total | $38,886,028,890 1,368,168 |
$22,470,994,936 1,384,956 |
$177,592,343,218 2,939,474 |
$53,582,733,626 35,789,071 |
$292,548,048,468 3,707,878 |
USDA Subsidies to United States by year
| Year | Subsidy Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | $8,131,563,163 | |
| 1996 | $8,255,869,060 | |
| 1997 | $8,357,895,525 | |
| 1998 | $13,303,944,390 | |
| 1999 | $22,964,171,712 | |
| 2000 | $24,740,234,687 | |
| 2001 | $24,247,372,508 | |
| 2002 | $14,068,373,158 | |
| 2003 | $18,116,222,690 | |
| 2004 | $15,341,958,208 | |
| 2005 | $24,309,014,460 | |
| 2006 | $17,035,215,324 | |
| 2007 | $14,430,758,109 | |
| 2008 | $17,032,492,997 | |
| 2009 | $16,321,523,606 | |
| 2010 | $15,364,353,500 | |
| 2011 | $15,651,591,041 | |
| 2012 | $14,875,494,329 | |
| 1995-2012 | $292,548,048,468 | |
|
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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.
