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In 2021, 102 farmers in cities within Richmond County received a total of $1.8 million in 157 farm subsidies, a 121.9% increase from 2020, when the total was $799,183 in 178 farm subsidies.
Though farm subsidies support agriculture in the U.S., pumping $7 trillion into the economy, they are not without controversy.
The American Action Forum discovered that the most highly subsidized crops - corn, soy, wheat, and rice - are often consumed in highly processed ways, which leads to unhealthy eating habits and obesity, while the fruits and vegetables needed for a healthy diet are rarely subsidized.
"We are consuming more calories, fats, sodium, and sugars, and not enough beneficial nutrients and vitamins," Tara O'Neill Hayes wrote. "It is critical that both policymakers and the American public understand the influence that federal agricultural subsidies have on our food supply and diet and, in turn, our nutrition and health."
Farm subsidies have also been criticized for assisting the highest-earning agricultural businesses, not local farmers on their family farms who are barely getting by.
Kimberly Amadeo of The Balance said farmer subsidies "help high-income corporations, not poor rural farmers. Most of the money goes toward large agribusinesses."
The U.S. has provided farm subsidies since the Great Depression to assist farmers who weather price fluctuations and disasters, to help maintain consistent farming across the country.
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Creek Farms, Inc. | $0 | $250,000 | -- |
| Timothy T. Stewart | $0 | $196,506 | -- |
| Luther's Pulp & Timber, Inc. | $0 | $105,750 | -- |
| The Order of the Dragon, LLC | $0 | $101,603 | -- |
| Jesse Carlton Gordon III | $2,531 | $73,355 | 2,798.3% |
| David Sherrill | $8,615 | $71,778 | 733.2% |
| Wilson Farm, LLC | $0 | $66,794 | -- |
| James M. Davis | $0 | $65,052 | -- |
| Lance Whittington Logging LCC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Raines Trucking, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| M & M Tree Farm, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Joseph F. Smith II | $0 | $50,579 | -- |
| Knight's Farm, LLC | $0 | $47,848 | -- |
| BWW III Farms, Inc. | $0 | $44,145 | -- |
| Elizabeth Deese Davenport | $0 | $43,615 | -- |
| Neal Grant | $118 | $43,400 | 36,679.7% |
| Mullen Farms, LLC | $0 | $40,638 | -- |
| Dieseldog Poultry Farm, Inc. | $0 | $34,810 | -- |
| John S. Williams Jr. | $15,848 | $34,512 | 117.8% |
| Tu Cuu Nguyen | $0 | $29,105 | -- |
| Job's Creek Farms, LLC | $1,910 | $27,931 | 1,362.4% |
| FLS Farm & Transport | $0 | $24,821 | -- |
| Gary Welch | $365,377 | $23,490 | -93.6% |
| Richard Hill Carter Jr. | $41,010 | $23,096 | -43.7% |
| Onespeed Transport, LLC | $0 | $17,297 | -- |
| Cooley Cattle Company, Inc. | $31,558 | $17,108 | -45.8% |
| Kenneth J. Hill | $0 | $16,939 | -- |
| Red Clay Farms, LLC | $0 | $14,495 | -- |
| C S Smith Farm | $12,668 | $9,085 | -28.3% |
| Bryan P. Wilson | $44,537 | $9,027 | -79.7% |
| Gabor Farms, LLC | $0 | $8,955 | -- |
| Lester Hines | $28,840 | $8,831 | -69.4% |
| Rankin Farms, Inc. | $9,797 | $7,867 | -19.7% |
| Bridgette K. Snead | $0 | $7,445 | -- |
| Christopher J. Yaklin | $21,646 | $6,533 | -69.8% |
| Dale Dewitt Farms | $7,888 | $6,481 | -17.8% |
| Stephen Curtis Reams | $13,536 | $5,985 | -55.8% |
| Robert Carnie McDonald | $17,162 | $5,733 | -66.6% |
| Falcon Crest Farms, LLC | $0 | $5,652 | -- |
| Ralin L Matthews | $7,988 | $5,448 | -31.8% |
| Haywood D. Grant | $6,617 | $4,734 | -28.5% |
| Jerry L. Morgan | $9,288 | $4,398 | -52.6% |
| Will Russell | $6,044 | $4,052 | -33% |
| Joe Smith | $3,849 | $3,449 | -10.4% |
| Chris G. Dewitt | $1,003 | $2,697 | 168.9% |
| Daniel B. Fisher | $2,344 | $2,445 | 4.3% |
| JF Carroll Farms, LLC | $0 | $2,309 | -- |
| Donald J. Lambeth | $11,866 | $2,293 | -80.7% |
| Vangpao Sao Thao | $0 | $2,241 | -- |
| Amy H. Fulp | $1,902 | $1,754 | -7.8% |
| Walton Lee Standridge | $3,026 | $1,612 | -46.7% |
| Lowell T. Hill | $3,108 | $1,560 | -49.8% |
| Jordan Franklin Carroll | $0 | $1,465 | -- |
| Betty S Matheson Estate | $0 | $1,460 | -- |
| Keith A. Hayden | $5,555 | $1,400 | -74.8% |
| Carol E. Chappell | $1,846 | $1,347 | -27% |
| KC Cattle Company, LLC | $4,455 | $1,292 | -71% |
| William K. Hill | $72 | $1,117 | 1,451.4% |
| Loseng Jim Lee | $0 | $1,036 | -- |
| Patrick Bryant | $3,718 | $1,026 | -72.4% |
| Freddy T. Brown | $1,026 | $1,026 | 0% |
| Steve L. Watkins Jr. | $2,959 | $1,002 | -66.1% |
| Anthony Growe | $1,753 | $1,000 | -43% |
| Hazel King Estate | $1,309 | $903 | -31% |
| Caleb S. Smith | $0 | $852 | -- |
| Harold T. Deese | $2,244 | $838 | -62.7% |
| Linda D. Whittington | $2,442 | $824 | -66.3% |
| Cecil D. Robinson | $2,157 | $814 | -62.3% |
| Glenna H. Webb | $0 | $796 | -- |
| Rickie David Dewitt | $402 | $753 | 87.3% |
| Samuel F. Lewis | $409 | $739 | 80.7% |
| Wesley Anderson | $3,256 | $734 | -77.5% |
| Rex L. Taylor | $1,486 | $695 | -53.2% |
| Richard E. Quick | $0 | $688 | -- |
| Donnie Richardson | $3,157 | $596 | -81.1% |
| Gregory H. Wilder | $0 | $553 | -- |
| Dennis W. Rincker | $588 | $491 | -16.5% |
| Clark Family Farm Land, LLC | $485 | $485 | 0% |
| James Newton | $1,528 | $448 | -70.7% |
| Claudia W. Dwight | $6,867 | $386 | -94.4% |
| Monty Crump | $564 | $382 | -32.3% |
| Jeffrey D. Fulp | $0 | $379 | -- |
| Joan C. Terry | $177 | $379 | 114.1% |
| Stephen P. Webb | $1,276 | $376 | -70.5% |
| Michael D. Quick | $0 | $370 | -- |
| Jerry mac Snead II | $7,667 | $360 | -95.3% |
| Joyce C. Lambeth | $101 | $298 | 195% |
| Jeffery Vuncannon | $396 | $290 | -26.8% |
| Helen Goodman | $971 | $282 | -71% |
| Chase Whittington | $803 | $278 | -65.4% |
| Greg Meacham | $0 | $188 | -- |
| Jeffrey A. Meacham | $0 | $188 | -- |
| Paul A. Watkins | $968 | $188 | -80.6% |
| Larry E. Paxton | $786 | $186 | -76.3% |
| Sterling E. Welch | $594 | $167 | -71.9% |
| Terry L. Sharpe | $165 | $165 | 0% |
| Jeremy Keith Fowler | $0 | $160 | -- |
| Wanda McAuley | $0 | $145 | -- |
| Mark Tyson | $0 | $116 | -- |
| Debra B. Nichols | $659 | $70 | -89.4% |
| Jenelle S. Thompson | $0 | $32 | -- |
| Carey Thompson | $926 | $20 | -97.8% |
| Brooke Dewitt Monroe | $657 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles A. Ainsworth | $2,449 | $0 | -100% |
| David J. Gainey | $403 | $0 | -100% |
| Edgar A. Meacham | $2,768 | $0 | -100% |
| Jason N. Mabe | $165 | $0 | -100% |
| Jordan Franklin Carroll | $4,268 | $0 | -100% |
| The Berry Patch of Rockingham, Inc. | $28,668 | $0 | -100% |
| Triple L Farms, Inc. | $856 | $0 | -100% |
| Helen Scholl | $1,424 | $0 | -100% |
| Dean Buie | $603 | $0 | -100% |
| Adrian J. Purvis | $9,524 | $0 | -100% |
| Henry J. Antos III | $469 | $0 | -100% |
| Henry Ussery | $605 | $0 | -100% |
| John Michael Ussery | $330 | $0 | -100% |
| Marian S. Savage | $1,337 | $0 | -100% |
| Mary Jo Taylor | $689 | $0 | -100% |
| Patricia Nichols Harris | $125 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $799,183 | $1,773,663 | 121.9% |
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