Farms Receive Modest Federal Subsidies

Last year, the federal government paid out about $9.3 billion in subsidy payments to U.S. farmers who grow commodity crops, with the larger shares going to producers of corn, soybeans, and cotton. Those payments were concentrated primarily in Midwestern and Southern states, where large-scale commodity farming dominates the agricultural landscape.

Nevada farms, by contrast, receive a relatively small portion of federal farm subsidies. Based on U.S. Department of Agriculture data compiled by the Environmental Working Group, statewide subsidy payments to Nevada farms have averaged roughly $25 million per year from 1995 through 2024.

Some Nevada counties have seen notable payments in recent years. Washoe County farms received millions of dollars in federal assistance, including about $4.2 million in total subsidies in 2024 alone. Livestock-heavy Pershing County, meanwhile, received an estimated $8.3 million cumulatively over the same broader time period.

The state is home to about 3,400 farms, most of which are family-owned. Nevada’s primary agricultural products include cattle, sheep, hay, alfalfa, and a small number of specialty crops, rather than vast corn or soybean fields that qualify for the bulk of federal commodity subsidies.

Because of this difference, Nevada farmers tend to rely more heavily on other forms of federal assistance. These include disaster relief programs, livestock assistance payments, conservation initiatives, and subsidized crop insurance rather than traditional commodity support.

The Farm Bill, which governs most federal agricultural subsidy and assistance programs, is typically reauthorized every five years. The most recent full version, the Agriculture Improvement Act, was signed into law in 2018. Since then, Congress has passed multiple extensions to keep core programs operating through September 2026 as lawmakers continue work on a new bill.

Current subsidy programs, including Price Loss Coverage and Agriculture Risk Coverage, support commodities such as wheat, corn, soybeans, sorghum, barley, oats, long- and medium-grain rice, seed cotton, peanuts, and certain pulses.