WASHINGTON – For the first time, new Agriculture Department data makes it easier to see exactly who benefits from the nation’s generous farm subsidy program.

Instead of having to sift through a complex web of corporations, partnerships and other business entities, the USDA has assigned a specific dollar amount to the individuals behind the businesses.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said the new data could affect farm bill negotiations this year as lawmakers consider reducing direct payments to farmers.

The Environmental Working Group, a public interest group that long has pushed for more equitable distribution of farm subsidies, has compiled the data and will post it online for users beginning Tuesday.

Group president Ken Cook said he hopes the new information will help spur reforms as Congress and the Bush administration consider what a new multibillion-dollar farm bill should look like.

“It really does raise the question why shouldn’t we at least impose some sort of reasonable test of means before we disperse all this money,” Cook said.

The University of Illinois is first in Illinois and the only Illinois recipient, with nearly $1.3 million in payments from 2003-2005.

The University owns 20 farms, all gifts from graduates and other donors, said Gary Beaumont, a spokesman for the Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

Associated Press Writers David Mercer and Frederic J. Frommer contributed to this report