The 10% Problem: How Most Farm Subsidies Go to the Biggest Operations
The federal government distributed $147.29B in farm subsidies from 2017 to 2025 — but the money is staggeringly concentrated. According to the USDA, 69% of American farms receive zero federal subsidy payments. The rest is dominated by the largest operations.
The Numbers Don't Lie
Our analysis of 31,759,593 USDA payment records reveals a subsidy system that overwhelmingly rewards scale over need:
💡 Key Finding
The top 100 recipients in our database collected $2.18B — while the USDA reports that 69% of all U.S. farms received nothing.
This isn't a new problem. The Environmental Working Group has tracked this trend since 1995. But the pattern has only intensified. Emergency and disaster programs — which now account for over half of all farm spending — have further concentrated payments among the largest producers.
Where the Money Goes
The largest single program in our dataset is the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program at $15.72B, followed by disaster relief and conservation payments. These emergency programs were designed as safety nets, but in practice they've become reliable income streams for the biggest operations.
The Geographic Divide
Five states — Texas ($12.58B), Iowa ($11.68B), Kansas ($8.57B), Minnesota ($8.31B), and Nebraska ($8.15B) — account for a massive share of total subsidies. States with smaller agricultural sectors receive proportionally less, creating a geographic concentration that mirrors the individual-level concentration.
The Policy Question
Farm subsidies were originally designed to protect family farmers from market volatility and natural disasters. But when the majority of payments flow to large corporate operations, the question becomes: are taxpayers subsidizing agriculture, or subsidizing agricultural consolidation?
Payment limits exist in theory — the 2018 Farm Bill caps most commodity payments at $125,000 per person per year. But through partnerships, LLCs, and family attribution rules, many operations receive far more. Our data shows individual entities collecting millions across nine years of payment data.
What the Data Shows
The top recipient in our database, FLORIDA DEPT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT of TALLAHASSEE, FL, collected $346.6M in 6 payments. The top 10 recipients averaged $86.6M each.
Meanwhile, the typical small farmer — growing vegetables for a local market, raising a few dozen head of cattle — qualifies for few if any of these programs. The subsidy system, as currently structured, rewards acreage and commodity production, not agricultural diversity or food security.
📊 Data Source
Analysis based on 31,759,593 USDA Farm Service Agency payment records from 2017-2025. Data downloaded directly from FSA's public payment files.