Highlighting an uneven distribution of the bailout, which was designed to help offset effects of the U.S.-China trade war, the Environmental Working Group said the top 1% of aid recipients received an average of more than $180,000 while the bottom 80% were paid less than $5,000 in aid.

The EWG, a Washington-based non-profit, said it obtained data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through Freedom of Information Act requests for its research, the results of which could not be independently verified by Reuters.

The Trump administration last year began rolling out federal aid for farmers to compensate for lower farm good prices and lost sales after Washington's trade dispute with China wiped out a key export market for U.S. agricultural goods.