The paper aims to determine the impact of direct payments on the value and structure of capital of farms. Our reasearch on individual farms (participating in the EU-FADN) in Silesian province (for years 2005- 2008) was carried out. Our studies indicated that the highest direct payments were received by owners of the largest farms, in terms of both area and economic size. Farmers who represented entities with highest levels of direct payments in the first three years of receiving these subsidies, showed less interest in support with external financing, because cash from direct payments became a stable source of equity. Direct payments played an important role in the structure of financing of agricultural holdings, because farmers allocated funds from direct payments mainly to operating and investing activities, thereby reducing interest in support with external sources.