USDA Livestock Subsidies Top $72B

By Bennett Rosenberg and Jared Hayes 

The Department of Agriculture has spent at least $72 billion in subsidies for livestock and seafood producers in recent decades, a new EWG analysis finds. 

EWG’s analysis reveals that between 1995 and 2023, the USDA granted the billions in payments to support livestock operators. More than $32 billion went to disaster payments and Covid-19 pandemic relief. 

Other major animal agriculture expenses include more than $20 billion in livestock commodity purchases and nearly $17 billion in other subsidies, such as those for dairy operators. 

Crop insurance subsidies to livestock operators increased significantly in recent years. Since 2018, livestock insurance participation surged from 2,873 policies to 16,384 policies in 2023, and total spending rose from $3.5 million to $419 million. 

Federal subsidies to livestock producers soared in recent years.

EWG’s analysis of subsidies to livestock operators did not include the commodity and crop insurance payments made to farmers who grow animal feed such as corn and soybeans.