157 Programs and Counting: The Complexity of Farm Subsidies
The USDA administers 157 distinct farm subsidy programs. Some distribute billions, others barely thousands. Why so many, and what does it mean for farmers and taxpayers?
💡 Key Finding
The top 10 programs account for 70% of all spending ($103.60B). The bottom 50 programs combined account for just 0.0%.
The Scale Gap
The largest program, CRP PAYMENT - ANNUAL RENTAL, distributed $15.72B across 6,291,255 payments. The smallest, AMA ORGANIC COST SHARE - WILD CROPS, totaled just $309 — a ratio of over 50,863,094 to 1.
The Top 10 Programs
These 10 programs represent the vast majority of all farm subsidy spending:
| # | Program | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CRP Annual Rental | $15.72B |
| 2 | CFAP Round 2 | $14.23B |
| 3 | Price Loss Coverage Program | $14.19B |
| 4 | Market Facilitation Program 2019 | $13.55B |
| 5 | Emergency Commodity Assistance Program | $9.36B |
| 6 | Agriculture Risk Coverage (County) | $9.19B |
| 7 | Market Facilitation Program (Crops) | $8.21B |
| 8 | Livestock Forage Program | $7.00B |
| 9 | Emergency Relief Program | $6.56B |
| 10 | CFAP CARES Act | $5.60B |
Why So Many Programs?
Program proliferation in farm subsidies happens for several reasons:
- Legislative layering: Each Farm Bill adds new programs without removing old ones. Programs created for specific crises become permanent.
- Commodity-specific needs: Different crops, livestock, and farming types need different support mechanisms. Dairy programs don't work for cotton.
- Political compromise: New programs are often created to satisfy specific constituencies or regions during Farm Bill negotiations.
- Emergency response: Disasters, pandemics, and trade wars each spawn new emergency programs (CFAP, MFP, ELAP).
- Conservation evolution: As environmental priorities shift, new conservation programs are added alongside existing ones.
The Smallest 10 Programs
At the other end of the spectrum, these programs are barely a rounding error in the overall budget:
The Case for Simplification
With 157 programs, navigating the farm subsidy system is a challenge for farmers, administrators, and oversight bodies alike. The complexity creates:
- Administrative burden — each program has its own rules, deadlines, and eligibility criteria
- Inequitable access — larger operations with dedicated staff can navigate the system better
- Oversight gaps — more programs mean more opportunities for waste and duplication
- Confusion — even county FSA offices struggle to keep up with all active programs
Every Farm Bill brings calls for consolidation, yet the number of programs tends to grow. The political incentive to create visible new programs outweighs the unglamorous work of streamlining existing ones.