Nearly 20,000 people living in the nation’s 50 largest cities received federal farm subsidies in 2017, according to a new EWG analysis.
EWG’s analysis of Department of Agricuture data show that 19,832 people in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and other big cities received $108 million in farm subsidies in 2017.
EWG previously found 17,836 people living in the nation’s largest cities who received $63 million in farm subsidies in 2015 and 2016.
Nevertheless, two provisions of the farm bill passed by the House of Representatives would increase the number of city slickers who receive farm subsidies.
One provision of the House farm bill would waive a means tests for some corporate farms. Another provision would make a farmer’s cousins, nieces and nephews eligible for subsidies – regardless of whether they live or work on the farm.
By contrast, the Senate farm bill would tighten the current means test and farm subsidy eligibility requirements.
Under current law, urban residents can receive farm subsidies even if they do not live or work on a farm. The Government Accountability Office recently found that roughly one-fourth of farm subsidy recipients do not contribute personal labor to farms.
Earlier this year, President Trump proposed denying farm subsidies to millionaires and limiting subsidies to one person per farm. But the administration’s bailout for farmers affected by Trump’s trade war does not include these reforms.
City | Farm subsidy recipients, 2017 |
Albuquerque, N.M. | 333 |
Arlington, Texas | 293 |
Atlanta, Ga. | 245 |
Austin, Texas | 906 |
Baltimore, Md. | 26 |
Boston, Mass. | 10 |
Charlotte, N.C. | 141 |
Chicago, Ill. | 413 |
Colorado Springs, Colo. | 478 |
Columbus, Ohio | 246 |
Dallas, Texas | 891 |
Denver, Colo. | 853 |
Detroit, Mich. | 29 |
El Paso, Texas | 99 |
Fort Worth, Texas | 516 |
Fresno, Calif. | 128 |
Houston, Texas | 1,160 |
Indianapolis, Ind. | 601 |
Jacksonville, Fla. | 111 |
Kansas City, Kan. | 964 |
Las Vegas, Nev. | 215 |
Long Beach, Calif. | 68 |
Los Angeles, Calif. | 130 |
Louisville, Ky. | 329 |
Memphis, Tenn. | 658 |
Mesa, Ariz. | 254 |
Miami, Fla. | 74 |
Milwaukee, Wis. | 85 |
Minneapolis, Minn. | 581 |
Nashville, Tenn. | 316 |
New Orleans, La. | 98 |
New York, N.Y. | 107 |
Oakland, Calif. | 56 |
Oklahoma City, Okla. | 981 |
Omaha, Neb. | 1,434 |
Philadelphia, Pa. | 22 |
Phoenix, Ariz. | 302 |
Portland, Ore. | 357 |
Raleigh, N.C. | 189 |
Sacramento, Calif. | 122 |
San Antonio, Texas | 735 |
San Diego, Calif. | 221 |
San Francisco, Calif. | 102 |
San Jose, Calif. | 119 |
Seattle, Wash. | 407 |
Tucson, Ariz. | 372 |
Tulsa, Okla. | 493 |
Virginia Beach, Va. | 132 |
Washington, D.C. | 96 |
Wichita, Kan. | 2325 |