Farm Subsidies Explained: The Complete Guide

What Are Farm Subsidies?

Farm subsidies are government financial assistance programs that provide payments to agricultural producers. In the United States, these subsidies are primarily administered by the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) and authorized through the Farm Bill, which Congress reauthorizes approximately every five years.

The stated goals of farm subsidies include stabilizing food prices, ensuring a reliable food supply, supporting farmers during economic downturns, conserving natural resources, and helping producers manage risk from weather and market volatility.

According to our analysis of USDA payment records, the federal government distributed $147.3 billion in farm subsidy payments from 2017 to 2025 across 157 different programs.

Types of Farm Subsidies

Farm subsidies fall into several major categories:

Commodity Programs

These are the traditional “farm subsidies” that most people think of. They provide price and revenue protection for major crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, and peanuts. The two main programs are:

• Price Loss Coverage (PLC) — pays farmers when crop prices fall below a reference price. PLC has distributed $14.2 billion since 2017.
• Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) — pays when county or individual crop revenue falls below a benchmark. ARC-County has distributed $9.2 billion.

Farmers must choose between PLC and ARC for each crop. These programs are detailed in our program categories.

Conservation Programs

Conservation programs pay farmers to protect environmentally sensitive land, improve water quality, and reduce soil erosion. The largest is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which pays landowners an annual rental payment to keep cropland out of production and plant conservation cover instead.

CRP is the single largest farm subsidy program at $15.7 billion — larger than any commodity or emergency program. Learn more in our CRP analysis.

Disaster & Emergency Programs

When natural disasters strike — droughts, floods, hurricanes, wildfires — the USDA activates emergency programs to help farmers recover. Key programs include:

• Livestock Forage Program (LFP) — $7 billion for drought-affected ranchers
• Emergency Relief Programs — $6.6 billion for crop losses from natural disasters
• Emergency Livestock Assistance (ELAP) — $1.8 billion for livestock losses
• Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity (WHIP) — $497 million for specific disaster events

Explore our disaster spending analysis for more detail.

Trade War & COVID Programs

Recent years saw unprecedented one-time programs created in response to trade disputes and the pandemic:

• Market Facilitation Program (MFP) — $13.5 billion to offset losses from U.S.-China trade tariffs (2018–2019)
• Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) — $14.2 billion in COVID relief payments (2020)
• Emergency Commodity Assistance Program — $9.4 billion (2025)

Read about trade war spending and COVID spending.

Dairy Programs

Dairy farmers have their own safety net through Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), which pays when the margin between milk prices and feed costs drops below an insured level. DMC has distributed $2.4 billion since its creation.

Who Gets Farm Subsidies?

Farm subsidies go to a wide range of recipients — from small family farms to large corporate operations, from individual ranchers to banks that hold farm payment assignments. Our data shows payments going to entities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.

By State

The top 10 states by total farm subsidy payments (2017–2025):

1. Texas — $12.6 billion
2. Iowa — $11.7 billion
3. Kansas — $8.6 billion
4. Illinois — $8.3 billion
5. Minnesota — $8.2 billion
6. Nebraska — $8.0 billion
7. North Dakota — $7.7 billion
8. South Dakota — $6.8 billion
9. California — $6.2 billion
10. Missouri — $5.7 billion

See the full state rankings →

Concentration of Payments

Farm subsidy payments are highly concentrated. The top recipients each receive over $2 million, while the average payment is just $4,637. This disparity reflects the structure of American agriculture — large operations produce most of the food and receive most of the subsidies.

Read our subsidy concentration analysis and small vs. large farm comparison.

How Much Do Farm Subsidies Cost?

Annual farm subsidy spending has varied dramatically:

• 2017: $6.4 billion — a relatively normal year
• 2018: $15.2 billion — trade war payments begin
• 2019: $23.7 billion — peak trade war spending
• 2020: $38.7 billion — COVID emergency spending
• 2021: $9.2 billion — post-pandemic wind-down
• 2022: $7.2 billion — return toward baseline
• 2023: $9.1 billion — new emergency programs
• 2024: $17.0 billion — emergency spending resurges
• 2025: $2.4 billion — (year in progress)

View interactive spending trends →

The Biggest Programs

The top 10 farm subsidy programs by total payments (2017–2025):

1. CRP Annual Rental — $15.7B (6.3M payments)
2. CFAP (COVID Relief) — $14.2B (1.1M payments)
3. Price Loss Coverage — $14.2B (5.4M payments)
4. MFP Trade War (Non-Specialty Crops) — $13.5B (1.7M payments)
5. Emergency Commodity Assistance — $9.4B (1.1M payments)
6. ARC-County — $9.2B (5.7M payments)
7. MFP Trade War (Crops) — $8.2B (1.0M payments)
8. Livestock Forage Program — $7.0B (1.1M payments)
9. Emergency Relief (Non-Specialty) — $6.6B (598K payments)
10. CFAP (CARES Act) — $5.6B (932K payments)

Browse all 157 programs →

A Brief History

U.S. farm subsidies date back to the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, part of FDR's New Deal. The original goal was to raise crop prices during the Great Depression by paying farmers to reduce production.

Over the decades, subsidies evolved through multiple Farm Bills. The 1996 “Freedom to Farm” Act attempted to phase out subsidies but was followed by emergency payments. The 2014 Farm Bill replaced direct payments with the current PLC/ARC system. The 2018 Farm Bill continued these programs and authorized the trade war-era MFP payments.

COVID-19 brought an unprecedented expansion through CFAP, and recent years have seen continued growth in disaster and emergency programs as extreme weather events become more frequent.

Why Are Farm Subsidies Controversial?

Farm subsidies face criticism from across the political spectrum:

• Concentration — Critics argue that subsidies disproportionately benefit large, wealthy operations while small farms get little. Our concentration analysis shows significant disparities.
• Environmental concerns — Commodity subsidies can incentivize monoculture farming and overuse of land, while conservation programs (like CRP) aim to counterbalance this.
• Market distortion — Subsidies can keep inefficient farms in business and distort crop choices, with farmers planting subsidized crops rather than what the market demands.
• Trade impacts — U.S. subsidies affect global markets, potentially harming farmers in developing countries who can't compete with subsidized American exports.
• Cost to taxpayers — At $147B over 8 years, farm subsidies represent a significant commitment of public funds.

Supporters counter that subsidies ensure food security, keep food prices stable for consumers, protect against catastrophic farm losses, and maintain rural communities and the agricultural workforce.

Explore the Data Yourself

OpenSubsidies makes all of this data freely available. Here are some ways to dig deeper:

• Search recipients — Find any farm or individual
• Compare states — Side-by-side state analysis
• Subsidy calculator — Put any dollar amount in context
• State profiles — Generate shareable state cards
• Download data — Get raw datasets for your own analysis
• Analysis articles — Deep dives into subsidy patterns

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest farm subsidy program?

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the largest at $15.7 billion, followed by CFAP COVID relief ($14.2B) and Price Loss Coverage ($14.2B).

Which state receives the most farm subsidies?

Texas receives the most at $12.6 billion, followed by Iowa ($11.7B) and Kansas ($8.6B).

How much does the average farmer receive in subsidies?

The average payment is $4,637 per transaction, but this varies enormously. Many farmers receive multiple payments per year across different programs.

Are farm subsidies increasing or decreasing?

Spending spiked dramatically in 2019–2020 due to trade wars and COVID, reaching $38.7B in 2020. It has since decreased but remains well above pre-2018 levels due to ongoing emergency programs.

Where does farm subsidy data come from?

All data on OpenSubsidies comes from USDA Farm Service Agency payment files, which are public records. We process and present this data to make it accessible. Read our methodology.

Do farm subsidies go to individuals or corporations?

Both. Recipients include individual farmers, family partnerships, LLCs, cooperatives, and even banks that hold payment assignments. Our corporate farm analysis explores this.