North Dakota: America's Most Subsidized State Per Farmer?

North Dakota ranks among the top five states for total USDA agricultural assistance year after year, despite having a relatively small population and a fraction of the total farm count of larger states. The reason: its farms are large, its crops are heavily supported commodities, and the Northern Plains climate makes it extremely vulnerable to the exact conditions that trigger program payments.

Large farms, concentrated payments

North Dakota's average farm size is among the largest in the country. Fewer, larger farms mean each individual operation receives larger aggregate payments. While payment limits cap what any single "person" or entity can receive, complex farming operations can structure themselves to receive multiple times the individual limit.

Spring wheat and canola

North Dakota is the top spring wheat state and the largest canola producer in the country. Spring wheat has a long history of commodity program support. Canola and sunflowers — also major crops in the state — participate in various program elections. Pulse crops like peas and lentils, grown extensively in the state, participate in the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) when not insurable through conventional crop insurance.

Drought and flood — both

The Northern Plains faces both drought and excess moisture in different years, sometimes in different parts of the state in the same year. This generates consistent disaster program payments on top of commodity program payments, unlike states with more stable weather.

Explore North Dakota

Visit North Dakota's state page to see county-level detail. The Red River Valley counties (Cass, Richland, Ransom) are dominated by large corn-soybean and sugar beet operations, while the western counties lean more toward spring wheat, cattle, and drought-related disaster payments.