Nearly two-thirds of the $27 billion in farm subsidies given out last year went to just 10 percent of American farm owners, including Fortune 500 companies, wealthy members of Congress, and other millionaires, according to a study of federal data by the Associated Press. Studying the same data, the Environmental Working Group says that fewer than one-fourth of farmers received 84 percent of subsidy payments. The new farm bill before the U.S. House would add to the big payments. But some House Democrats and moderate Republicans are proposing an amendment to shift $20 billion in payments to conservation programs, spreading a total of $55 billion for environment and conservation programs to more farmers in more states.
