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                                                   Order Code RL32590




                  CRS Report for Congress
                                      Received through the CRS Web




Average Farm Subsidy Payments, by State, 2002




                                               September 16, 2004




                                                Jasper Womach
                                 Specialist in Agricultural Policy
                       Resources, Science, and Industry Division




Congressional Research Service ~ The Library of Congress
     Average Farm Subsidy Payments, by State, 2002

Summary
     The U.S. Department of Agriculture makes direct subsidy payments through the
Commodity Credit Corporation to farmers for commodity price and income support,
certain conservation and environmental activities, and some disaster losses. In 2002,
these direct farm subsidy payments amounted to $12.151 billion.

     This report examines the distribution of these payments among states, calculates
the average size of payments going to recipient farms in each state, and distinguishes
between payments received by farm operators and landlords. This information is
intended to aid in policy debates about subsidizing some farms but not others,
changing per-person payment limits, and the altering eligibility rules for landlords to
receive payments.

     More money went to Texas ($1.2 billion) than any other state. Texas along with
the next 10 leading states received 56% of total farm subsidy payments. These states
were largely concentrated in the nation's central farm belt, where much of the
subsidized corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice are produced. Also ranking high
were California (due to cotton and rice) and Georgia (due to peanuts).

    The subsidy payments were made to the operators and landlords of 707,596
farms (one-third of all farms in the nation). However, in some states a much higher
proportion of the farms were subsidized (e.g., North Dakota, 78%, and Iowa, 70%).

     On average, the payments amounted to $17,172 per subsidized farm. The range
was from a low of $3,401 per subsidized farm in West Virginia to a high of $90,214
per subsidized farm in California. Farm operators received an average of $9,251
each and landlords received an average of $5,617 each.

      Data on state averages obscure the high concentrations of payments to a
relatively small proportion of the farms receiving subsidies. While there were a total
of 1,705,514 separate "persons" that received payments in 2002, 50% of the subsidy
payments went to 85,358 persons (or just 5% of the recipients).

    This report is intended as a reference and informational resource and is not
expected to be regularly updated.
Contents
       Farm Subsidy Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
       State-By-State Distribution of Total Farm Subsidy Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
       Farms Receiving Subsidy Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
       Subsidy Payments per Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
       Subsidy Payments to Farm Operators and Landlords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
       Concentration of Farm Subsidy Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27


List of Figures
Figure 1. Total Farm Subsidy Payments, 1996-2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Figure 2. Farm Subsidy Payments by Major Category, 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Figure 3. Total Farm Subsidy Payments in 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Figure 4. Percentage of Farms Receiving Subsidies in 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 5. Average Subsidy Payment per Farm in 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Figure 6. Average Number of Landlords per Farm Receiving Subsidies
     in 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20


List of Tables
Table 1. Farm Subsidy Payments, by Program, 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Table 2. Commodity Subsidy Payments, by Commodity, 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Table 3. Subsidy Payments to Farm Operators and Landlords, by State, 2002 . . 9
Table 4. Proportion of Farms Receiving Subsidy Payments, by State, 2002 . . . 13
Table 5. Total Subsidy Payments Per Farm, by State, 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Table 6. Subsidy Recipients Per Farm, by State, 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Table 7. Average Subsidy Payments to Farm Operators, by State, 2002 . . . . . . 23
Table 8. Average Subsidy Payments to Landlords, by State, 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Table 9. Farm Subsidy Payments Reach a Large Number of Recipients,
    But Most of the Money Goes to a Few . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
          Average Farm Subsidy Payments,
                   by State, 2002
     Most federal farm subsidies are made as mandatory direct payments to
producers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Commodity Credit
Corporation (CCC).1 These include commodity price and income support programs,
certain conservation programs, and select disaster assistance programs. CCC direct
payments to farmers in 2002 are examined in this report.2

     The primary data sources are the 2002 Census of Agriculture (available at
[http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/]) and the Environmental Working Group's
(EWG's) Farm Subsidy Database (available at [http://ewg.org/farm/home.php]).
The EWG database is a compilation from CCC payment information supplied by
USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA). FSA's national network of county offices
administers the subsidy programs and writes the CCC checks to the subsidy
recipients.3 These two data sets facilitate a state-by state examination of payments
and the division of payments between farm operators and landlords.

     There is unpredictability about the timing and size of market price movements
as well as natural disasters. Consequently, the size of farm subsidies varies from year
to year. Figure 1 shows that from 1995 through 2002 annual farm subsidy payments
ranged from a low of $7.2 billion to a high of $23.5 billion, averaging $14.5 billion
annually over the eight-year period.4 Commodity price and income support accounts


1
 The term mandatory means that the payments are not dependent on annual congressional
appropriations. Payment obligations to farmers meeting the rules of the various subsidy
programs are covered by the CCC. The CCC uses its borrowing authority to obtain needed
funds from the U.S. Treasury. Later, Congress appropriates monies to reimburse the CCC,
so it can repay the Treasury.
2
  The USDA does administer other farm subsidy programs that are not financed through the
CCC and are not examined in this report. Among these are crop insurance (costing about
$2 billion annually in premium subsidies), and farm ownership and operating loans for
limited resource farmers (costing nearly $200 million annually in loan subsidies).
3
  The data obtained by EWG are developed in FSA county offices and pertain to the farm
in the county and not the address of the recipient. Recipients are unduplicated but may
receive multiple payments from multiple programs throughout the year. Generally, data
pertain to the calendar year of payment, but there may be exceptions.
4
 The data reported by EWG for 2002 may include a combination of calendar year and crop
year data, but are characterized by EWG as calendar year payments. The EWG data shown
in Figure 1 differ only slightly from calendar year direct payment data published by USDA's
Economic Research Service. The ERS payment numbers for 1995 through 2002 are $7.3
billion, $7.3 billion, $7.5 billion, $12.4 billion, $21.5 billion, $22.9 billion, $20.7 billion,
$11.0 billion. The CCC maintains its most detailed accounts by fiscal year, but these
                                                                                  (continued...)
                                        CRS-2

for most farm subsidy payments. As shown in Figure 2, commodity payments
amounted to 73% of CCC's total farm subsidy payments in 2002.

       The year 2002, with total farm subsidy payments of $12.151 billion, was
selected for examination in this report because of data availability. At the same time,
it is fairly close to annual average total payments from 1995 through 2002. However,
2002 is unique in that peanut producers received one-time quota buyout payments of
about $1 billion. Nearly half the peanut quota buyout payments were concentrated
in Georgia ($483 million), with the remainder divided largely among Texas ($153
million), Alabama ($150 million), North Carolina ($107 million), Virginia ($67
million), Oklahoma ($62 million), and Florida ($48 million).5


           Figure 1. Total Farm Subsidy Payments, 1996-2002




4
 (...continued)
records do report payments at the state or recipient level. Data from the 2002 Census of
Agriculture are for calendar year 2002.
5
 A full description of the peanut marketing quota buyout program is available in CRS
Report RL30924, Peanut Program Policy Issues.
                        CRS-3

Figure 2. Farm Subsidy Payments by Major Category, 2002
                                            CRS-4

Farm Subsidy Programs
     Most commodity support program payments are linked to market prices.6 When
market prices decline, commodity support payments increase in order to support the
income of producers whose revenue otherwise would decline. Conservation
payments are made to encourage farmers to remedy environmental problems.
Disaster assistance is provided when crop and livestock production is substantially
damaged or destroyed by natural disasters such as drought, flood, and disease,
thereby reducing revenue and/or increasing the expenses of producers.7

     Table 1 presents a program-by-program list of payments in 2002. Some of the
payments (and refunds) shown in Table 1 were authorized by the 1996 farm bill,
which originally covered the 1996 through 2002 crops. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-
171, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002) was enacted on May 13,
2002, and was made immediately applicable to 2002 crops. So, 2002 was a year of
transition from the previous Production Flexibility Contract Payments to the new
Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payments. Also, Counter-Cyclical Payments became
the permanent replacement for ad hoc Market Loss Payments.




6
  Production Flexibility Contract Payments and decoupled Direct Payments for grain and
cotton producers are exceptions. These payments were based on historical production of
each of the grain and cotton crops only. Recipients of these payments were able to change
their mix of crops or even produce nothing.
7
  Eligibility requirements for payments are specified in the law for each program. The
payment triggers and size of commodity support payments are based upon specified price
levels (an indirect income test) or physical damage levels for disaster assistance (a loss test).
                                              CRS-5

         Table 1. Farm Subsidy Payments, by Program, 2002

                                                   Subsidy           Number of       Payment Per
           Program / Category                     Payments           Recipients       Recipient

Total Farm Subsidies                           $12,150,563,185          1,705,514           $7,124

        Commodity Subsidies                     $8,831,971,671          1,319,110           $6,695
Production Flexibility Contract
Payments                                        $3,499,997,512          1,145,725           $3,055
Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs)                 $1,296,591,777            334,659           $3,874
Peanut Quota Buyout and
Miscellaneous Payments                          $1,174,674,015             130,516          $9,000
Commodity Certificates                           $940,785,178               17,972         $52,347
Dairy Payments                                    $848,186,106              71,968         $11,786
Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payments              $570,589,219             210,540          $2,710
Marketing Loan Gains                              $458,385,698              55,588          $8,246
Lamb Payments                                      $32,401,797              17,210          $1,883
Market Loss Assistance, Non-
Supported Commodities                                $5,509,671             18,051           $305
Livestock Indemnity Program                          $3,173,145              2,099          $1,512
Market Loss Assistance, Supported
Commodities                                         $1,417,765               1,287          $1,102
Total LDP-like Grazing Payments                       $480,947                 442          $1,088
Oilseed Program                                       $234,989                 360            $653
Wool and Mohair Payments                              -$16,025                   1        -$16,025
Deficiency Payments                                  -$440,125                 456           -$965
       Conservation Programs                    $1,991,020,798             429,684          $4,634
Conservation Reserve Program                    $1,807,458,649             397,707          $4,545
Environmental Quality Incentives
Program                                           $118,268,708              23,585          $5,015
Emergency Conservation Program                     $38,610,984              13,580          $2,843
Wetlands Reserve Program                           $17,238,484                 678         $25,425
Miscellaneous Conservation Payments                 $8,811,436               1,839          $4,791
Agricultural Conservation Program                    $631,544                  175          $3,609
          Disaster Programs                     $1,327,570,716             469,165          $2,830
Crop Disaster Payments                          $1,324,095,908             469,068          $2,823
Karnal Bunt Programs                                $3,044,719                 241         $12,634
Livestock Disaster / Emergency                        $431,298                 182          $2,370
Tree Assistance Programs                                 -$216                   1           -$216

Source: Environmental Working Group, Farm Subsidy Database, United States: Subsidy Summary,
Subsidy Detail, [http://www.ewg.org:16080/farm/regiondetail.php?fips=00000&summlevel=2].

Note: There is overlap of recipients across programs. For example, nearly all recipients of loan
deficiency payments also were recipients of production flexibility contract payments. Similarly, many
of the recipients of conservation reserve program payments also were recipients of production
flexibility contract payments. On average, each individual recipient of farm subsidies received
payments related to 1.71 separate programs.

Negative numbers represent reimbursements from farmers for excessive or disqualified payments.
                                          CRS-6

      It often is more helpful to examine commodity support payments by commodity
rather than program. Farmers individually tend to specialize in certain commodities
and this relates to the climate and soil conditions favored by the different
commodities. In the absence of irrigation, corn and soybeans grow especially well
in Iowa, Illinois, and surrounding states. Irrigation has made Texas and California
leading cotton states, but production remains large in Mississippi, Georgia, and
Arkansas. Rice, also, is a southern crop, with Arkansas the leading producer, while
irrigation has moved California into second place. Wheat tolerates low rainfall and
low humidity, and so is produced primarily in North Dakota, Kansas, Montana,
Oklahoma, and Washington. Georgia dominates peanut production, but Texas is
second with large irrigated acreage. Table 2 presents the commodity support data
by commodity.

  Table 2. Commodity Subsidy Payments, by Commodity, 2002

                                                          Number of         Payment Per
        Commodity                 Total Payments          Recipients         Recipient

Total Commodity
Subsidies                            $8,831,971,671           1,319,110              $6,695

Corn                                 $1,981,564,489             858,077              $2,309
Cotton                               $1,669,746,908             127,582             $13,088
Peanuts                              $1,092,846,187              63,139             $17,309
Rice                                 $1,073,167,886              34,888             $30,760
Wheat                                  $975,272,805             750,825              $1,299
Dairy                                 $848,347,339               71,976             $11,787
Soybeans                               $670,801,852             250,622              $2,677
Sorghum                                $188,981,974             312,031                $606
Barley                                  $82,801,044             182,657                $453
Apples                                  $74,334,966               6,469             $11,491
Sugar                                   $44,288,049               5,109              $8,669
Sheep meat                              $32,401,797              17,210              $1,883
Sunflower seed                           $6,518,597               5,910              $1,103
Oats                                     $6,226,386             345,197                 $18
Tobacco                                  $4,990,960              17,623                $283
Safflower seed                           $1,885,304               1,037              $1,818

Source: Environmental Working Group, Farm Subsidy Database, United States Summary, 2002
[http://www.ewg.org/farm/region.php?fips=00000&progcode=total&yr=2002]

Note: There is overlap of recipients across commodities. For example, many recipients of corn
subsidies also were recipients of soybean subsidies.
                                         CRS-7

State-By-State Distribution of
Total Farm Subsidy Payments
      Figure 3 and Table 3 show the geographic distribution of $12.151 billion in
total subsidy payments. Predictably, the farm states in the agricultural heartland of
the country from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico received most of the
subsidy payments. The state receiving the largest amount was Texas, with nearly
$1.209 billion, followed by Iowa, Georgia, Arkansas, California, Illinois, and
Nebraska, each receiving over $500 million.

     There were 2.129 million farms in the United States in 2002 according to the
2002 Census of Agriculture, which defines a farm as producing and selling $1,000
or more in agricultural products. The state with the largest number of farms was
Texas (about 229,000), followed by Missouri (about 107,000). Not all farms in the
nation received subsidy payments. Eligibility is linked to the production of certain
commodities or to the adoption of certain conservation practices.

     Commodities that received mandatory federal price and income support
payments included wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, rice, cotton, soybeans,
sunflower seed, rapeseed, canola, safflower, flaxseed, mustard seed, crambe, sesame
seed, peanuts, dry peas, lentils, small chickpeas, milk, sugar, wool, mohair, honey,
and tobacco. Major categories of commodities are not supported, including fruits,
vegetables, tree nuts, livestock meat, greenhouse and nursery crops, and hay and
forage crops. Farm cash receipts from sales of supported commodities amounted to
about $53 billion in 2002, or 28% of the $193 billion in national total commodity
cash receipts in 2002.8 Some commodities not receiving mandatory support received
disaster assistance and ad hoc market loss assistance payments in 2002.




8
    Calculated from USDA, Economic Research Service, data on farm cash receipts.
                                        CRS-8

            Figure 3. Total Farm Subsidy Payments in 2002




Million $    $0-$100M          $101-$400M       $400M-$1,200M
Based on Environmental Working Group, Farm Subsidy Database.


    Farm subsidy payments in 2002 totaled $12.151 billion, of which:

    !   Commodity support payments totaled $8.832 billion, including:
          -- Corn, $1.982 billion
          -- Cotton, $1.670 billion
          -- Peanuts, $1.092 billion
          -- Rice, $1.073 billion
          -- Wheat, $0.975 billion
          -- Soybeans, $0.671 billion
    !   Conservation payments totaled $1.991 billion, including:
          -- Conservation Reserve Program payments of $1.807
    !   Disaster payments totaled $1.328 billion.

     The top 11 states received $6.844 billion in farm subsidy payments (56.3% of
the U.S. total):

    !   Texas, $1,209 million (9.9%)
    !   Iowa, $740 million (6.1%)
    !   Georgia, $661 million (5.4%)
    !   Arkansas, $660 million (5.4%)
    !   California, $652 million (5.4%)
    !   Illinois, $615 million (5.1%)
    !   Nebraska, $539 million (4.4%)
    !   Minnesota, $468 million (3.8%)
    !   Kansas, $457 million (3.8%)
    !   Mississippi, $438 million (3.6%)
    !   Missouri, $406 million (3.3%)
                                        CRS-9

Table 3. Subsidy Payments to Farm Operators and Landlords,
                      by State, 2002

Rank        State         Payments to           Payments to          Total Payments
                           Operators             Landlords
                                   Share of        Share of        Share of
                                    Total           Total          US Total
                        (million $) (%) (million $) (%) (million $) (%)

       All States        $6,545.7   54%     $5,604.9      46% $12,150.6 100.0%

  1    Texas               $529.0   44%         $680.0        56%   $1,208.9    9.9%
  2    Iowa                $538.9   73%         $201.1        27%     $740.0    6.1%
  3    Georgia             $118.5   18%         $542.1        82%     $660.7    5.4%
  4    Arkansas            $238.6   36%         $421.3        64%    $659.9     5.4%
  5    California          $168.7   26%         $483.4        74%    $652.1     5.4%
  6    Illinois            $412.6   67%         $202.5        33%    $615.1     5.1%
  7    Nebraska            $347.5   64%         $191.7        36%    $539.2     4.4%
  8    Minnesota           $350.7   75%         $116.8        25%    $467.5     3.8%
  9    Kansas              $328.2   72%         $128.6        28%    $456.8     3.8%
 10    Mississippi         $145.5   33%         $292.3        67%    $437.8     3.6%
 11    Missouri            $264.5   65%         $141.4        35%    $405.9     3.3%
 12    North Dakota        $293.1   76%          $90.6        24%     $383.6    3.2%
 13    Indiana             $224.7   67%         $110.2        33%    $334.9     2.8%
 14    South Dakota        $215.1   64%         $119.5        36%    $334.6     2.8%
 15    Wisconsin           $247.9   75%          $84.5        25%    $332.4     2.7%
 16    North Carolina       $97.7   30%         $226.2        70%    $323.9     2.7%
 17    Oklahoma            $149.9   47%         $167.3        53%    $317.2     2.6%
 18    Alabama              $77.9   27%         $211.3        73%    $289.2     2.4%
 19    Ohio                $197.4   70%          $83.6        30%     $281.0    2.3%
 20    Louisiana           $123.6   47%         $139.1        53%    $262.7     2.2%
 21    Montana             $210.7   80%          $51.2        20%    $261.9     2.2%
 22    Washington          $133.8   62%          $82.0        38%    $215.7     1.8%
 23    Colorado            $125.8   60%          $85.0        40%    $210.8     1.7%
 24    Michigan            $144.8   76%          $45.9        24%    $190.7     1.6%
 25    Virginia             $54.7   30%         $127.3        70%    $181.9     1.5%
 26    Idaho                $93.9   57%          $71.5        43%    $165.4     1.4%
 27    New York            $110.2   69%          $49.1        31%     $159.4    1.3%
 28    Tennessee            $59.2   41%          $86.5        59%    $145.7     1.2%
 29    Kentucky             $94.1   68%          $44.2        32%    $138.3     1.1%
 30    Pennsylvania         $85.8   66%          $44.4        34%    $130.2     1.1%
 31    Florida              $21.8   26%          $61.1        74%      $82.9    0.7%
 32    Oregon               $52.1   65%          $28.1        35%      $80.2    0.7%
 33    New Mexico           $50.2   68%          $24.1        32%      $74.3    0.6%
 34    Arizona              $31.8   45%          $38.5        55%      $70.2    0.6%
 35    Wyoming              $37.9   57%          $28.2        43%      $66.1    0.5%
 36    South Carolina       $38.4   59%          $27.0        41%      $65.4    0.5%
                                            CRS-10

Rank         State            Payments to            Payments to            Total Payments
                               Operators              Landlords
                                     Share of        Share of        Share of
                                      Total           Total          US Total
                          (million $) (%) (million $) (%) (million $) (%)
 37    Utah                     $26.7      49%         $27.6       51%        $54.3       0.4%
 38    Maryland                 $33.1      68%         $15.8       32%        $49.0       0.4%
 39    Vermont                  $24.4      67%         $12.1       33%        $36.4       0.3%
 40    Maine                     $8.7      63%          $5.1       37%        $13.7       0.1%
 41    Delaware                  $8.6      72%          $3.3       28%        $11.9       0.1%
 42    Nevada                    $4.3      38%          $7.1       62%        $11.4       0.1%
 43    New Jersey                $4.4      69%          $2.0       31%         $6.5       0.1%
 44    Massachusetts             $4.3      70%          $1.8       30%         $6.1       0.0%
 45    West Virginia             $5.2      91%          $0.5        9%         $5.7       0.0%
 46    Connecticut               $3.7      74%          $1.3       26%         $4.9       0.0%
 47    New Hampshire             $3.8     103%         -$0.1       -3%         $3.7       0.0%
 48    Hawaii                    $0.9      46%          $1.0       54%         $1.9       0.0%
 49    Alaska                    $1.8      99%          $0.0        1%         $1.8       0.0%
 50    Rhode Island              $0.5      81%          $0.1       19%         $0.7       0.0%

Source: Data on subsidy payments to farm operators are based on payments to farms reported in the
2002 Census of Agriculture. Data on total subsidy payments are from the Environmental Working
Group, Farm Subsidy Database. Payments to non-operator recipients are calculated as the difference
between total payments and payments to operators.
                                       CRS-11

Farms Receiving Subsidy Payments
     Of the nation's 2.1 million farms, 707,596 (33%) received subsidy payments
and 1,421,386 (67%) did not receive payments in 2002. Figure 4 and Table 4 show
the percentage of farms in each state that received payments in 2002. In North
Dakota, 78% of farms received subsidy payments, followed by Iowa, Illinois,
Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, and Minnesota, each with payments going to more
than half the farms in the state. This concentration reflects the specialization of
farms in these states in the production of subsidized feed grains, oilseeds, and wheat.
Generally the other states proportionally have more livestock and specialty crops that
do not receive price support.
                                      CRS-12

     Figure 4. Percentage of Farms Receiving Subsidies in 2002




Percent of All Farms    0%-19%      20%-49%    50%-78%
Based on data from USDA, 2002 Census of Agriculture




     Nationally, 33% of farms received subsidies (707,596 farms out of 2,128,982).

     More than 50% of the farms in each of seven states received subsidies in 2002.
This proportion of subsidized farms reflects highly concentrated production of wheat,
corn, and/or soybeans by most farms in these state. These states were:

     !   North Dakota (78%)
     !   Iowa (70%)
     !   Illinois (66%)
     !   Nebraska (65%)
     !   South Dakota (64%)
     !   Kansas (61%)
     !   Minnesota (54%)
                          CRS-13

 Table 4. Proportion of Farms Receiving Subsidy Payments,
                        by State, 2002

                                        Farms w/         Share of Farms
Rank           State    All Farms       Subsidies       w/ Subsidies (%)

         All States         2,128,982        707,596               33%

  1    North Dakota           30,619           23,892              78%
  2    Iowa                   90,655           63,074              70%
  3    Illinois               73,027           47,857              66%
  4    Nebraska               49,355           32,007              65%
  5    South Dakota           31,736           20,259              64%
  6    Kansas                 64,414           39,191              61%
  7    Minnesota              80,839           43,927              54%
  8    Wisconsin              77,131           37,234              48%
  9    Indiana                60,296           26,841              45%
 10    Montana                27,870           12,389              44%
 11    Missouri              106,797           43,379              41%
 12    Ohio                   77,797           28,851              37%
 13    Michigan               53,315           18,133              34%
 14    Wyoming                 9,422            3,163              34%
 15    Colorado               31,369           10,163              32%
 16    Georgia                49,311           15,510              31%
 17    Mississippi            42,186           12,383              29%
 18    Oklahoma               83,300           24,316              29%
 19    Alabama                45,126           12,863              29%
 20    Idaho                  25,017            7,098              28%
 21    Maryland               12,198            3,372              28%
 22    Louisiana              27,413            7,562              28%
 23    New York               37,255            9,896              27%
 24    Kentucky               86,541           22,825              26%
 25    Delaware                2,391              617              26%
 26    South Carolina         24,541            6,112              25%
 27    North Carolina         53,930           12,312              23%
 28    New Mexico             15,170            3,246              21%
 29    Pennsylvania           58,105           11,991              21%
 30    Washington             35,939            7,332              20%
 31    Vermont                 6,571            1,296              20%
 32    Utah                   15,282            2,987              20%
 33    Virginia               47,606            9,206              19%
 34    Texas                 228,926           42,217              18%
 35    Tennessee              87,595           16,034              18%
 36    Maine                   7,196            1,244              17%
 37    Arkansas               47,483            7,811              16%
 38    Nevada                  2,989              439              15%
 39    Alaska                    609               72              12%
 40    Arizona                 7,294              833              11%
 41    Oregon                 40,033            4,430              11%
 42    New Hampshire           3,363              359              11%
 43    California             79,631            7,228               9%
 44    West Virginia          20,812            1,675               8%
                                           CRS-14

                                                             Farms w/        Share of Farms
 Rank            State                 All Farms             Subsidies      w/ Subsidies (%)
  45    Massachusetts                          6,075                    415               7%
  46    Connecticut                            4,191                    254               6%
  47    Rhode Island                             858                     52               6%
  48    New Jersey                             9,924                    582               6%
  49    Florida                               44,081                  2,554               6%
  50    Hawaii                                 5,398                    113               2%
Source: Data on farms and farms receiving subsidies are from the 2002 Census of Agriculture.
                                         CRS-15

Subsidy Payments per Farm
     Total subsidy payments of $12.151 billion divided among 707,596 recipient
farms is equal to $17,172 per farm. However, the average by state ranges from
$90,214 per farm in California to $3,401 in West Virginia (see Figure 5 and Table
5). Generally, the states with the largest per-farm payments are those that produce
rice and cotton. Other states receiving the larger per-farm payments in 2002
benefitted from peanut quota buyout payments, disaster payments, and apple market
loss assistance payments.

     While each farm has an operator, there may be other individuals associated with
the farm who are eligible to receive subsidy payments. Generally, individuals must
be actively engaged in the farming operation to receive subsidy payments. Actively
engaged means providing a significant contribution of capital, land, or equipment,
as well as a significant contribution of personal labor or active personal management
to the operation. This personal contribution of labor or management must be in
proportion to the share of the farm's profits and losses and it must be at risk. A
landlord receiving crop share rent is likely considered actively engaged while a
landlord receiving cash rent is not actively engaged.9




9
 The interpretation and application of the legal requirement concerning the phrase "actively
engaged" was examined in General Accounting Office testimony titled Farm Program
Payments: USDA Should Correct Weaknesses in Regulations and Oversight to Better
Ensure Recipients Do Not Circumvent Payment Limitations before the Senate Committee
on Finance on June 16, 2004 (GAO-04-861T).
                                          CRS-16

         Figure 5. Average Subsidy Payment per Farm in 2002




$ per Farm          $ 3K-$15K           $15K-$30K            $30K-$90K


    Source: Based on data from USDA, 2002 Census of Agriculture, and Environmental Working
    Group, Farm Subsidy Database.

    Subsidy payments per farm (among only the farms receiving subsidies) averaged
$17,172 in 2002.

    The highest per-farm payments were made in California, Arkansas, and Arizona.

    !   California ($90,214 per farm) is notable for large rice, cotton, and
        dairy farms dominating the farm subsidy payments.
    !   Arkansas ($84,480 per farm) is the leading rice state, with many of
        the rice farms being large. Also, rice cooperatives in Arkansas may
        be the initial recipient of payments that are subsequently distributed
        among member farms.
    !   Arizona ($84,329 per farm) is notable for payments to a few, but
        large, cotton, dairy, and peanut farms.
    !   Large per-farm payments in Georgia and Florida reflect peanut quota
        buyout payments that were unique to 2002.
    !   Large per-farm payments in Mississippi reflect payments for
        peanuts, rice, cotton, and milk.
    !   Large per-farm payments in Louisiana reflect payments for rice,
        cotton, and milk.
                               CRS-17

             Table 5. Total Subsidy Payments Per Farm,
                            by State, 2002

                                                              Subsidy Per
                            Farms w/       Total Payments    Recipient Farm
Rank            State       Subsidies       (thousand $)       (average)

          All States             707,596      $12,150,563            $17,172

  1    California                  7,228         $652,065            $90,214
  2    Arkansas                    7,811         $659,871            $84,480
  3    Arizona                       833           $70,246           $84,329
  4    Georgia                    15,510         $660,662            $42,596
  5    Mississippi                12,383         $437,762            $35,352
  6    Louisiana                   7,562         $262,702            $34,740
  7    Florida                     2,554           $82,881           $32,451
  8    Washington                  7,332         $215,736            $29,424
  9    Texas                      42,217        $1,208,944           $28,636
 10    Vermont                     1,296           $36,441           $28,118
 11    North Carolina             12,312         $323,911            $26,309
 12    Nevada                        439           $11,378           $25,918
 13    Alaska                         72            $1,783           $24,766
 14    Idaho                       7,098          $165,428           $23,306
 15    New Mexico                  3,246           $74,323           $22,897
 16    Alabama                    12,863          $289,183           $22,482
 17    Montana                    12,389         $261,945            $21,143
 18    Wyoming                     3,163           $66,085           $20,893
 19    Colorado                   10,163         $210,758            $20,738
 20    Virginia                    9,206         $181,928            $19,762
 21    Connecticut                   254            $4,946           $19,472
 22    Delaware                      617           $11,939           $19,350
 23    Utah                        2,987           $54,304           $18,180
 24    Oregon                      4,430           $80,177           $18,099
 25    Hawaii                        113            $1,911           $16,911
 26    Nebraska                   32,007         $539,214            $16,847
 27    South Dakota               20,259          $334,633           $16,518
 28    New York                    9,896          $159,377           $16,105
 29    North Dakota               23,892         $383,645            $16,057
 30    Massachusetts                 415            $6,070           $14,627
 31    Maryland                    3,372           $48,953           $14,517
 32    Oklahoma                   24,316         $317,194            $13,045
 33    Illinois                   47,857         $615,111            $12,853
 34    Rhode Island                   52              $651           $12,519
 35    Indiana                    26,841         $334,917            $12,478
 36    Iowa                       63,074          $739,968           $11,732
 37    Kansas                     39,191         $456,829            $11,656
 38    New Jersey                    582            $6,476           $11,127
 39    Maine                       1,244           $13,745           $11,049
 40    Pennsylvania               11,991         $130,179            $10,856
 41    South Carolina              6,112           $65,358           $10,693
 42    Minnesota                  43,927         $467,542            $10,644
 43    Michigan                   18,133         $190,686            $10,516
                                           CRS-18

                                                                        Subsidy Per
                                       Farms w/         Total Payments Recipient Farm
 Rank            State                 Subsidies         (thousand $)    (average)
  44    New Hampshire                            359             $3,701        $10,308
  45    Ohio                                  28,851           $281,031          $9,741
  46    Missouri                              43,379           $405,873          $9,356
  47    Tennessee                             16,034           $145,723          $9,088
  48    Wisconsin                             37,234           $332,425          $8,928
  49    Kentucky                              22,825           $138,257          $6,057
  50    West Virginia                          1,675             $5,696          $3,401

Source: Data on the number of farms receiving subsidies are from the 2002 Census of Agriculture.
Data on total subsidy payments are from the Environmental Working Group, Farm Subsidy Database.
                                         CRS-19

Subsidy Payments to Farm Operators and Landlords
      There were 1,705,514 separate recipients of farm subsidy payments in 2002,
associated with 707,596 farms. In nearly all cases, the recipients were individual
farm operators and non-operator landlords. However, in some cases the recipients
were legal business entities, such as partnerships, corporations, cooperatives, and
trusts involving more than one individual. In the terminology of the law each of the
farm operators, landlords, or other legal entities is called a "person" and is subject to
limits on the size of payments from subsidy programs.10

     A simplifying assumption is made for purposes of this analysis that each of the
707,596 farms receiving subsidy payments has a single operator. It is further
assumed the difference between the 707,596 farm operators and the 1,705,514 total
subsidy recipients (equaling 997,918) are farm landlords.11 For the most part, these
997,918 landlords are the owners of farmland that is rented to operators. Often, the
landlords are relatives of farm operators and neighboring landowners who have left
farming. It is typical for farmland to be owned collectively by the children of a
former farm family, none of whom remains in farming but who continue to retain
ownership of their former family farm.

     Given the aforementioned assumption, Figure 6 and Table 6 show the
proportion of landlords to farm operators in each state. On average there were 1.41
landlords receiving subsidy payments for every farm operator who received
payments. However, there was a range among states from 4.05 landlords per
operator in Arizona down to 0.44 in Alaska. Differences between states in the ratio
of farm operators to landlords reflect differing commodity specializations, regional
approaches to farm consolidation, and regional attitudes toward farmland ownership.
Also, annual per-person payment limits create an incentive to add actively engaged
landlords rather than expand the acreage owned by the farm operator.

     The national average farm subsidy payment to each farm operator in 2002 was
$9,251, and the average subsidy to each non-operator recipient was $5,617. Since
there were 1.41 off-farm landlords for each farm, the average subsidy per farm to off-
farm landlords was $7,921 (86% of the amount paid to each operator). Table 7
shows the distribution payments to farm operators and Table 8 shows the distribution
of payments to off-farm landlords.




10
  See CRS Report RS21779, Grains, Cotton, Oilseeds, and Peanuts: Payments Under the
2002 Farm Bill, for more information on per-person payment limits related to commodity
support programs.
11
  To be eligible for commodity payments, a person must be actively engaged in farming.
This can be achieved by providing a significant contribution of capital, land, or equipment,
as well as a significant contribution of personal labor or active personal management to the
operation. Few people qualify for commodity payments who are not operators or landlords.
                                          CRS-20

           Figure 6. Average Number of Landlords per Farm
                      Receiving Subsidies in 2002




Landlords per Farm              0.4-1.2           1.3-2.2          2.3-4.1


    Source: Based on data from USDA, 2002 Census of Agriculture, and Environmental Working
    Group, Farm Subsidy Database.

      The national average number of landlords (non-operator recipients) per farm
that received subsidies in 2002 was 1.41.

    !   Arizona (4.1) and Louisiana (3.2) had the largest number of
        landlords per farm that received subsidies.

    !   In the northeast and along the northern border of the country there
        were more full owner-operators. These states fell below the national
        average of 1.41 landlord per farm.
                                      CRS-21

        Table 6. Subsidy Recipients Per Farm, by State, 2002

                                                                       Landlord
                           All           Operator       Landlord       Recipients
Rank         State      Recipients      Recipients      Recipients     Per Farm

       All States         1,705,514         707,596          997,918          1.41

  1    Arizona                4,209               833          3,376          4.05
  2    Louisiana             31,889             7,562         24,327          3.22
  3    North Carolina        46,599            12,312         34,287          2.78
  4    Arkansas              28,758             7,811         20,947          2.68
  5    Florida                8,340             2,554          5,786          2.27
  6    Kentucky              74,083            22,825         51,258          2.25
  7    Tennessee             51,298            16,034         35,264          2.20
  8    Alabama               40,477            12,863         27,614          2.15
  9    Georgia               46,951            15,510         31,441          2.03
 10    Nevada                 1,257               439            818          1.86
 11    Kansas               111,751            39,191         72,560          1.85
 12    Illinois             134,870            47,857         87,013          1.82
 13    Virginia              25,375             9,206         16,169          1.76
 14    New Mexico             8,916             3,246          5,670          1.75
 15    California            19,780             7,228         12,552          1.74
 16    Colorado              27,164            10,163         17,001          1.67
 17    Indiana               71,615            26,841         44,774          1.67
 18    Texas                111,512            42,217         69,295          1.64
 19    South Carolina        16,134             6,112         10,022          1.64
 20    Idaho                 18,505             7,098         11,407          1.61
 21    Oklahoma              63,183            24,316         38,867          1.60
 22    Washington            18,650             7,332         11,318          1.54
 23    Nebraska              78,240            32,007         46,233          1.44
 24    Mississippi           29,444            12,383         17,061          1.38
 25    Utah                   7,063             2,987          4,076          1.36
 26    Oregon                10,474             4,430          6,044          1.36
 27    Delaware               1,436               617            819          1.33
 28    Wyoming                7,360             3,163          4,197          1.33
 29    Hawaii                   253               113            140          1.24
 30    Ohio                  64,311            28,851         35,460          1.23
 31    Montana               27,591            12,389         15,202          1.23
 32    South Dakota          44,982            20,259         24,723          1.22
 33    Massachusetts            909               415            494          1.19
 34    Missouri              94,784            43,379         51,405          1.19
 35    Vermont                2,821             1,296          1,525          1.18
 36    Michigan              38,093            18,133         19,960          1.10
 37    North Dakota          49,089            23,892         25,197          1.05
 38    Maine                  2,533             1,244          1,289          1.04
 39    Rhode Island             105                52             53          1.02
 40    West Virginia          3,297             1,675          1,622          0.97
 41    Connecticut              494               254            240          0.94
 42    New Jersey             1,129               582            547          0.94
 43    Maryland               6,510             3,372          3,138          0.93
 44    Iowa                 119,308            63,074         56,234          0.89
                                            CRS-22

                                                                                 Landlord
                                 All             Operator          Landlord      Recipients
Rank      State               Recipients        Recipients         Recipients    Per Farm
 45 New Hampshire                     643                359                284         0.79
 46 New York                       17,087              9,896              7,191         0.73
 47 Minnesota                      75,310             43,927             31,383         0.71
 48 Wisconsin                      63,345             37,234             26,111         0.70
 49 Pennsylvania                   19,992             11,991              8,001         0.67
 50 Alaska                            104                  72                 32        0.44

Source: Data on the number of subsidy recipients are from the Environmental Working Group, Farm
Subsidy Database. The data on the number of farm operators receiving subsidies are assumed to equal
the number of farms receiving subsidies, which are from the 2002 Census of Agriculture.
                              CRS-23

      Table 7. Average Subsidy Payments to Farm Operators,
                          by State, 2002

Rank           State      Operator            Payments to Operators
                         Recipients
                                       Total $ (thousand)   $ Per Operator

         All States          707,596           $6,545,678             $9,251

  1    Arizona                   833              $31,760         $38,127
  2    Arkansas                7,811             $238,577         $30,544
  3    Alaska                     72               $1,765         $24,514
  4    California              7,228             $168,698         $23,340
  5    Vermont                 1,296              $24,377         $18,809
  6    Washington              7,332             $133,763         $18,244
  7    Montana                12,389             $210,749         $17,011
  8    Louisiana               7,562             $123,599         $16,345
  9    New Mexico              3,246              $50,201         $15,465
 10    Connecticut               254               $3,681         $14,492
 11    Delaware                  617               $8,643         $14,008
 12    Idaho                   7,098              $93,934         $13,234
 13    Texas                  42,217             $528,979         $12,530
 14    Colorado               10,163             $125,774         $12,376
 15    North Dakota           23,892             $293,067         $12,266
 16    Wyoming                 3,163              $37,913         $11,986
 17    Oregon                  4,430              $52,085         $11,757
 18    Mississippi            12,383             $145,508         $11,751
 19    New York                9,896             $110,234         $11,139
 20    Nebraska               32,007             $347,517         $10,858
 21    New Hampshire             359               $3,823         $10,649
 22    South Dakota           20,259             $215,084         $10,617
 23    Massachusetts             415               $4,268         $10,284
 24    Rhode Island               52                 $528         $10,154
 25    Nevada                    439               $4,322          $9,845
 26    Maryland                3,372              $33,131          $9,825
 27    Utah                    2,987              $26,669          $8,928
 28    Illinois               47,857             $412,636          $8,622
 29    Iowa                   63,074             $538,896          $8,544
 30    Florida                 2,554              $21,818          $8,543
 31    Kansas                 39,191             $328,244          $8,375
 32    Indiana                26,841             $224,701          $8,372
 33    Minnesota              43,927             $350,709          $7,984
 34    Michigan               18,133             $144,771          $7,984
 35    North Carolina         12,312              $97,696          $7,935
 36    Hawaii                    113                 $886          $7,841
 37    Georgia                15,510             $118,535          $7,642
 38    New Jersey                582               $4,441          $7,631
 39    Pennsylvania           11,991              $85,794          $7,155
 40    Maine                   1,244               $8,664          $6,965
 41    Ohio                   28,851             $197,425          $6,843
 42    Wisconsin              37,234             $247,942          $6,659
                                           CRS-24

 Rank             State               Operator                Payments to Operators
                                     Recipients
                                                      Total $ (thousand)      $ Per Operator
  43    South Carolina                      6,112                  $38,384             $6,280
  44    Oklahoma                           24,316                 $149,942             $6,166
  45    Missouri                           43,379                 $264,475             $6,097
  46    Alabama                            12,863                  $77,930             $6,058
  47    Virginia                            9,206                  $54,677             $5,939
  48    Kentucky                           22,825                  $94,053             $4,121
  49    Tennessee                          16,034                  $59,231             $3,694
  50    West Virginia                       1,675                   $5,180             $3,093

Source: Operator recipients are assumed to match data on farms receiving subsidies as reported by
the 2002 Census of Agriculture.
                           CRS-25

       Table 8. Average Subsidy Payments to Landlords,
                        by State, 2002

Rank             State     Landlord        Payments to Landlords
                           Recipients
                                          Total $      $ Per Landlord
                                        (thousand)

         All States           997,918     $5,604,885           $5,617

  1     California             12,552       $483,367          $38,509
  2     Arkansas               20,947       $421,294          $20,112
  3     Georgia                31,441       $542,127          $17,243
  4     Mississippi            17,061       $292,254          $17,130
  5     Arizona                 3,376        $38,486          $11,400
  6     Florida                 5,786        $61,063          $10,553
  7     Texas                  69,295       $679,965           $9,813
  8     Nevada                    818         $7,056           $8,626
  9     Vermont                 1,525        $12,064           $7,911
 10     Virginia               16,169       $127,251           $7,870
 11     Alabama                27,614       $211,253           $7,650
 12     Hawaii                    140         $1,025           $7,321
 13     Washington             11,318        $81,973           $7,243
 14     New York                7,191        $49,143           $6,834
 15     Utah                    4,076        $27,635           $6,780
 16     Wyoming                 4,197        $28,172           $6,712
 17     North Carolina         34,287       $226,215           $6,598
 18     Idaho                  11,407        $71,494           $6,268
 19     Louisiana              24,327       $139,103           $5,718
 20     Pennsylvania            8,001        $44,385           $5,547
 21     Connecticut               240         $1,265           $5,270
 22     Maryland                3,138        $15,822           $5,042
 23     Colorado               17,001        $84,984           $4,999
 24     South Dakota           24,723       $119,549           $4,836
 25     Oregon                  6,044        $28,092           $4,648
 26     Oklahoma               38,867       $167,252           $4,303
 27     New Mexico              5,670        $24,122           $4,254
 28     Nebraska               46,233       $191,697           $4,146
 29     Delaware                  819         $3,296           $4,025
 30     Maine                   1,289         $5,081           $3,942
 31     Minnesota              31,383       $116,833           $3,723
 32     New Jersey                547         $2,035           $3,720
 33     Massachusetts             494         $1,802           $3,648
 34     North Dakota           25,197        $90,578           $3,595
 35     Iowa                   56,234       $201,072           $3,576
 36     Montana                15,202        $51,196           $3,368
 37     Wisconsin              26,111        $84,483           $3,236
 38     Missouri               51,405       $141,398           $2,751
 39     South Carolina         10,022        $26,974           $2,691
 40     Indiana                44,774       $110,216           $2,462
 41     Tennessee              35,264        $86,492           $2,453
                                            CRS-26

   Rank                 State              Landlord             Payments to Landlords
                                           Recipients
                                                               Total $         $ Per Landlord
                                                             (thousand)
    42       Ohio                               35,460             $83,606               $2,358
    43       Illinois                           87,013            $202,475               $2,327
    44       Rhode Island                           53                $123               $2,321
    45       Michigan                           19,960             $45,915               $2,300
    46       Kansas                             72,560            $128,585               $1,772
    47       Kentucky                           51,258             $44,204                 $862
    48       Alaska                                 32                 $18                 $568
    49       West Virginia                       1,622                $516                 $318
    50       New Hampshire                         284               -$122                -$431

Source: Data in this table are tabulated from 2002 Census of Agriculture and Environmental Working
Group, Farm Subsidy Database, data shown elsewhere in this report.
                                       CRS-27

Concentration of Farm Subsidy Payments
      Data on average payment per farm operator and the average payment per
landlord mask the fact that payments were concentrated among a comparatively small
proportion of the recipients. Table 9 shows that 85,358 top recipients (5% of all
recipients) received 50% of all payments for an average of $70,523 per recipient.
Included in the very top recipients are a number of cooperatives, corporations, and
trusts that divided the payments among several and sometimes numerous farmers.
In addition, several individuals received multi-million dollar payments, particularly
in conjunction with the peanut quota buyout.

   Table 9. Farm Subsidy Payments Reach a Large Number of
        Recipients, But Most of the Money Goes to a Few

    % of All         % of        Number of        Total Subsidy      Average Payment
   Recipients      Payments      Recipients        Payments           Per Recipient


Top 5%                    50%          85,358       $6,019,739,668           $70,523
Next 5%                   15%          85,359       $1,865,686,784           $21,857
Next 10%                  16%        170,718        $1,970,454,705           $11,542
Remaining 80%             19%      1,365,741        $2,294,682,028            $1,680
All Recipients          100%       1,705,514      $12,150,563,185             $7,124

Source: Environmental Working Group, Farm Subsidy Database.

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