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In 2021, 90 farmers in cities within Alexander County received a total of $1 million in 160 farm subsidies, a 48.1% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.9 million in 306 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davis Land Company, LLC | $255,782 | $113,082 | -55.8% |
| William E. McClarney | $163,398 | $103,039 | -36.9% |
| Scott L. Miller | $96,828 | $56,729 | -41.4% |
| Burford Brothers Timber Company | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Blake M. Gerard | $49,390 | $46,527 | -5.8% |
| Michelle L. Gerard | $48,105 | $45,439 | -5.5% |
| Adam L. Thomas | $110,106 | $41,787 | -62% |
| Travis Honey Farms, LLC | $81,409 | $37,686 | -53.7% |
| D&D Farms | $119,616 | $36,111 | -69.8% |
| Pecord Farms, Inc. | $23,829 | $33,060 | 38.7% |
| Pamela J. Beasley | $37,067 | $31,969 | -13.8% |
| Joshua Scott Miller | $53,472 | $29,825 | -44.2% |
| Walt Grace Farms, LLC | $65,437 | $24,357 | -62.8% |
| Steve A. Williams | $135,557 | $23,909 | -82.4% |
| Colyer Farms Partnership | $55,780 | $21,669 | -61.2% |
| Vick Farms, LLC | $30,894 | $19,975 | -35.3% |
| Allen D. Miller | $61,478 | $19,524 | -68.2% |
| Donald Jordan Trucking & Farm, Inc. | $67,482 | $18,199 | -73% |
| Carlos Griffin | $35,976 | $17,896 | -50.3% |
| Donald W. Benefield | $18,756 | $16,242 | -13.4% |
| William Tyler Davis | $17,992 | $15,661 | -13% |
| Kenneth Phillips | $7,270 | $15,153 | 108.4% |
| Hannah McClarney | $42,092 | $14,518 | -65.5% |
| Thomas J. Smothers | $33,535 | $12,920 | -61.5% |
| Kenneth Dean Phillips Jr. | $11,420 | $12,534 | 9.8% |
| Gerard Farms, LLC | $14,112 | $11,843 | -16.1% |
| Wade Andrew Pecord | $12,491 | $11,778 | -5.7% |
| Patricia Honey | $16,747 | $10,595 | -36.7% |
| Mark C. Willis | $19,861 | $8,148 | -59% |
| Christopher M. Vick | $24,136 | $7,638 | -68.4% |
| Kenton Thomas-Kenton L and Paula a Thomas Revocable Trust Da | $27,044 | $7,126 | -73.7% |
| ATL Farms, LLC | $8,046 | $6,766 | -15.9% |
| Wyatt Caldwell | $7,137 | $5,280 | -26% |
| Vick Bros Farms, LLC | $12,900 | $3,722 | -71.1% |
| Patricia M. Schildknecht | $3,708 | $3,576 | -3.6% |
| Roberta Stevens | $5,295 | $3,247 | -38.7% |
| Deanna J. Hill | $3,118 | $3,118 | 0% |
| Masterson Partnership | $580 | $3,062 | 427.9% |
| Pamela R Harvell-Stevens | $3,035 | $3,035 | 0% |
| Travis Honey Holdings, LLC | $7,626 | $2,966 | -61.1% |
| Monte Kent and Cynthia L Hefner Trust | $2,826 | $2,826 | 0% |
| David Stevens | $8,908 | $2,706 | -69.6% |
| Jerry Lynn Smith | $6,478 | $2,337 | -63.9% |
| Charles Jeffers | $2,212 | $2,212 | 0% |
| Michael Lynn Cole | $8,587 | $2,188 | -74.5% |
| Rodney B. Vick | $9,935 | $2,181 | -78% |
| Ann E. Wissinger | $2,653 | $2,176 | -18% |
| Kenneth D Phillips Family Irrevocable Trust | $0 | $2,142 | -- |
| Harvel Family Real Estate Reservation Trust | $2,516 | $2,117 | -15.9% |
| Danny R. McCrite | $5,455 | $2,110 | -61.3% |
| David Eugene Stevens | $4,257 | $2,048 | -51.9% |
| Gerard & Crain Farms River Bend Rice Seed Company, Inc. | $8,614 | $2,037 | -76.4% |
| Ann Houser Estate | $0 | $1,878 | -- |
| D & H Farms, Inc. | $4,759 | $1,787 | -62.5% |
| Valley View Farms 1841, LLC | $4,200 | $1,750 | -58.3% |
| Jerry Clutts | $5,877 | $1,518 | -74.2% |
| Trudy A. Peeler | $3,658 | $1,498 | -59% |
| Walt L. Grace | $1,341 | $1,341 | 0% |
| Bonnie - Bonnie S Willis Trust S Willis | $0 | $1,239 | -- |
| William M Pecord | $3,326 | $1,229 | -63% |
| Todd Vick | $5,323 | $1,129 | -78.8% |
| Ella E. Hill | $2,066 | $919 | -55.5% |
| E & M Cain Farms, LLC | $1,709 | $863 | -49.5% |
| Timothy L. Caldwell | $1,704 | $703 | -58.7% |
| Douglas A. Miller | $539 | $671 | 24.5% |
| Beth Colyer Eftink | $0 | $608 | -- |
| Mark Glaab | $4,638 | $606 | -86.9% |
| Richard D. Kee | $583 | $583 | 0% |
| Barbara Bishop | $1,426 | $528 | -63% |
| Teddy Bryant | $1,828 | $523 | -71.4% |
| Mary Morgan | $1,220 | $510 | -58.2% |
| Russell F. Warner Sr. | $0 | $475 | -- |
| Clyde Tatum Jr. | $2,156 | $462 | -78.6% |
| Charles Cox | $1,670 | $434 | -74% |
| Patricia Orsburn | $1,325 | $411 | -69% |
| Margaret Reynolds | $564 | $371 | -34.2% |
| Thomas Eugene McFarland Jr. | $1,892 | $367 | -80.6% |
| James D. Woolf | $1,331 | $363 | -72.7% |
| Tony D. Walden | $341 | $341 | 0% |
| Mary J. Holtzclaw | $656 | $281 | -57.2% |
| Pickel Farms Partnership, LLC | $0 | $258 | -- |
| Phyllis L. Wilson | $688 | $242 | -64.8% |
| Lesley Grace | $448 | $133 | -70.3% |
| Carolyn Butcher | $348 | $110 | -68.4% |
| Sherry L. Smith | $351 | $104 | -70.4% |
| Justin Grace | $0 | $91 | -- |
| Lori Pender | $179 | $78 | -56.4% |
| Randy Colyer | $179 | $78 | -56.4% |
| Don J. Smith | $84 | $35 | -58.3% |
| Teresa Phillips | $0 | $27 | -- |
| Elizabeth Turner | $163 | $0 | -100% |
| Marvin Wolford | $1,618 | $0 | -100% |
| Jack Leon Reynolds | $26 | $0 | -100% |
| Patricia Jacobs | $427 | $0 | -100% |
| Shirley L. Miller | $601 | $0 | -100% |
| Three Brothers Land Company, LLC | $2,956 | $0 | -100% |
| Timothy B. Vick | $55 | $0 | -100% |
| David C. McCain | $320 | $0 | -100% |
| Carl Willis & Sons, Inc. | $5,992 | $0 | -100% |
| Honey Brothers, Inc. | $5,764 | $0 | -100% |
| Kenneth C. Stiff | $428 | $0 | -100% |
| David H Maginel | $178 | $0 | -100% |
| Joyce Mowery Crews | $724 | $0 | -100% |
| Lex L. Bledsoe | $572 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard D Moss Estate | $2,314 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert D. Abercrombie | $357 | $0 | -100% |
| Donald Light | $209 | $0 | -100% |
| Jerry L. McKee | $357 | $0 | -100% |
| Ronald Gene Isom | $2,802 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,933,220 | $1,004,210 | -48.1% |
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