Farm Subsidy Database: Search $147 Billion in USDA Payments

What's in the Database

The OpenSubsidies farm subsidy database is the most comprehensive free resource for exploring USDA farm payments. We've processed and organized 31.7 million individual payment records totaling $147 billion in USDA farm subsidies from 2017 through 2025.

Every dollar the federal government pays to farmers, ranchers, and agricultural operations through the USDA Farm Service Agency is tracked in this database. From Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rental payments in Iowa to Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments in Texas, our database covers it all.

Database Coverage

• 31.7 million individual payment records
• $147 billion in total payments tracked
• 50 states plus U.S. territories
• 3,000+ counties with detailed breakdowns
• 157 programs from CRP to CFAP to PLC
• 9 years of data (2017–2025)
• Thousands of recipients searchable by name

How to Use the Farm Subsidy Database

Our database is designed to be accessible to everyone — journalists, researchers, farmers, taxpayers, and students. Here's how to get the most out of it:

Search by State

Start with our state pages to see total subsidies, top programs, year-over-year trends, and county-level breakdowns for any state. Texas leads with $12.6 billion, followed by Iowa ($11.7B) and Kansas ($8.6B).

Search by Program

Explore all 157 USDA programs in our database. See how much each program has paid out, which states receive the most, and how spending has changed over time. Major programs include CRP, PLC, ARC, CFAP, and Market Facilitation Program (MFP).

Search by County

Drill down to the county level with our County Finder or browse all counties to find payment totals for your area. Compare counties within a state or across the nation.

Search by Recipient

Our Recipient Search lets you find specific farms, ranches, and organizations that receive USDA payments. See payment amounts, programs, and history for individual recipients.

Types of Farm Subsidies in the Database

The USDA operates dozens of farm subsidy programs. Our database organizes them into clear categories:

Commodity Programs

Programs like Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) make up the backbone of farm subsidies. PLC triggers payments when crop prices fall below reference levels. ARC provides revenue-based protection. Together, these programs have paid out billions to corn, wheat, soybean, and rice farmers.

Conservation Programs

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the largest conservation program, paying farmers to take environmentally sensitive land out of production. With over $15.7 billion in payments, CRP is one of the biggest items in our database. Learn more on our CRP deep dive page.

Disaster and Emergency Programs

From the Livestock Forage Program to Emergency Relief Programs, disaster payments have surged in recent years. Our database tracks the full scope of emergency agriculture spending, including hurricane, wildfire, and drought relief.

COVID-Era Programs

The pandemic brought unprecedented farm payments through CFAP (Coronavirus Food Assistance Program) and related programs. Our database tracks every CFAP, CFAP2, and CFAP3 payment, totaling billions in pandemic-era agricultural relief.

Trade War Bailouts

The Market Facilitation Program (MFP) and trade-related payments compensated farmers for losses from tariff disputes. These payments are fully tracked in our database with state and county breakdowns.

Why Farm Subsidy Transparency Matters

Farm subsidies represent one of the largest categories of federal spending. Yet most Americans have no idea where the money goes. Our database changes that by making every payment searchable and accountable.

Research using farm subsidy data has revealed important patterns: the concentration of payments among large operations, regional disparities in who benefits, the growth of emergency spending, and the shifting balance between conservation and commodity programs.

Whether you're a journalist investigating agricultural policy, a researcher studying rural economics, a farmer comparing your area to others, or a taxpayer curious about where your money goes — this database is for you.

Data Source and Methodology

All data in our farm subsidy database comes from the USDA Farm Service Agency. We download raw payment files, clean and normalize the data, geocode locations, and organize everything into an accessible format. For full details, see our methodology page.

Interactive Tools

Beyond raw data, we offer interactive tools to explore farm subsidies in different ways:

• State Report Card — Grade any state on subsidy metrics
• County Subsidy Tracker — Track your county's payments
• Taxpayer Calculator — See your personal share of farm subsidies
• State Comparison — Compare states side-by-side
• Farm Subsidy Quiz — Test your knowledge

Key Database Statistics

Our farm subsidy database reveals striking patterns in how agricultural payments are distributed across the United States:

Top States by Total Subsidies

Texas leads the nation with $12.6 billion in total farm subsidies from 2017-2025, driven primarily by Price Loss Coverage and Livestock Forage payments. Iowa follows closely at $11.7 billion, with CRP rental payments as its single largest program. Kansas ($8.6B), Illinois ($8.3B), and Minnesota ($8.2B) round out the top five.

Payment Concentration

A significant finding in our database is the concentration of payments. The top 10 states receive approximately 60% of all farm subsidies. Within states, payments are further concentrated among large operations. Our concentration analysis explores this pattern in detail.

Program Distribution

Of the 157 programs tracked, the top 10 account for the vast majority of spending. CRP Annual Rental is the single largest program nationally, followed by Price Loss Coverage, Market Facilitation Program, CFAP payments, and Agricultural Risk Coverage. Emergency and disaster payments have grown dramatically, now representing over 30% of total spending — a sharp increase from historical norms.

Year-Over-Year Trends

Farm subsidy spending has fluctuated significantly over our 9-year coverage period. The trade war era (2018-2019) saw massive MFP bailout payments. COVID-19 triggered billions in CFAP payments in 2020-2021. More recently, emergency relief programs for drought and natural disasters have driven spending upward. Explore these trends on our spending trends page.

Geographic Patterns

Farm subsidies follow distinct geographic patterns. The Great Plains and Midwest dominate commodity and conservation payments. The Southeast receives significant disaster aid. California, despite being the nation's largest agricultural state by revenue, ranks 9th in subsidies because its specialty crop sector receives relatively less federal support. Our interactive subsidy map visualizes these patterns.

Who Uses This Database?

Our farm subsidy database serves a diverse audience:

• Journalists use our data to investigate agricultural policy, identify payment patterns, and hold policymakers accountable
• Researchers access our structured data for academic studies on rural economics, environmental policy, and food systems
• Farmers compare their area's subsidies to state and national averages and explore available programs
• Policymakers analyze spending patterns to inform farm bill negotiations and program design
• Taxpayers learn where their tax dollars go and how farm subsidies affect their communities
• Students use our interactive tools for research projects and coursework on agricultural economics and public policy

Download the Data

Need the raw data for your own analysis? Visit our downloads page to get JSON datasets for all states, counties, programs, and recipients. All data is free to use for research, journalism, and educational purposes.

Comparing Our Database to Other Sources

Several organizations track farm subsidies, but OpenSubsidies offers unique advantages for researchers and the public:

• Real-time accessibility: All data loads instantly in your browser. No registration required, no query limits, no paywalls.
• Interactive visualizations: Charts, maps, and comparison tools make the data accessible to non-technical users.
• Comprehensive coverage: 31.7 million records across 157 programs, including COVID-era and trade war payments that many databases miss.
• County-level detail: Drill down to any of 3,000+ counties for localized payment data and rankings.
• Analytical context: Our analysis articles explain the data in plain English, connecting numbers to policy implications.

Understanding Farm Subsidy Programs

The USDA operates a complex web of farm programs, each with different purposes, eligibility criteria, and payment structures. Our Program Decoder explains every major program acronym in plain English: CRP, PLC, ARC, CFAP, MFP, EQIP, and dozens more.

Understanding these programs is essential for interpreting the database. For example, a large CRP payment to a county doesn't mean farmers are getting rich — it means they've retired environmentally sensitive land from production. A spike in CFAP payments reflects pandemic-era emergency aid, not ongoing farm policy.

Our program categories page organizes all 157 programs by type — conservation, commodity, disaster, dairy, and more — making it easier to understand the landscape.

Data Quality and Limitations

While our database is comprehensive, users should be aware of some limitations:

• Our data covers USDA Farm Service Agency payments only. It does not include crop insurance (administered by RMA), SNAP/food stamps, or other USDA programs outside the FSA.
• Some recipient names may appear in multiple variations due to business entity structures. We normalize where possible but some duplication may exist.
• County-level data reflects the county where the payment was recorded, which may differ from where the farming operation is physically located.
• Historical comparisons should account for inflation. A dollar in 2017 is worth more than a dollar in 2025.

For complete details on our data processing approach, see our methodology page.

Frequently Asked Questions