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In 2021, 70 farmers in cities within Marion County received a total of $538,024 in 105 farm subsidies, a 44.1% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $962,320 in 184 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Powell | $152,581 | $111,331 | -27% |
| Kim A. Welch | $157,878 | $93,119 | -41% |
| Todd Powell Farms | $126,039 | $87,264 | -30.8% |
| Vance McCorkle | $43,568 | $29,763 | -31.7% |
| Ronnie L. Singleton | $21,540 | $21,564 | 0.1% |
| Reuben Kemp Tyler | $26,919 | $20,721 | -23% |
| Rustin Farm | $49,039 | $17,240 | -64.8% |
| Richard L. Morgan | $16,500 | $15,978 | -3.2% |
| Frederick Times | $19,722 | $14,270 | -27.6% |
| Ricky Maxwell | $19,664 | $10,063 | -48.8% |
| Brandon Welch | $13,603 | $9,114 | -33% |
| James Kenneth Widner | $3,876 | $7,501 | 93.5% |
| Bobby D. Sizemore III | $15,640 | $7,446 | -52.4% |
| Charles P. Brown | $35,955 | $7,392 | -79.4% |
| M. B. Wells Jr. | $8,910 | $7,016 | -21.3% |
| Randy Powell | $7,150 | $5,993 | -16.2% |
| Herbert Tante | $26,381 | $5,612 | -78.7% |
| Larry Grier | $0 | $4,678 | -- |
| Peggy Jeane Taylor | $15,805 | $4,539 | -71.3% |
| Verine Jackson | $4,453 | $4,012 | -9.9% |
| Ricky Grier | $6,212 | $3,680 | -40.8% |
| Wayne H. Cromer | $14,443 | $3,307 | -77.1% |
| Jay P. Wells | $15,881 | $3,267 | -79.4% |
| Cynthia P. Welch | $3,329 | $3,063 | -8% |
| Cole Jernigan | $27,630 | $2,996 | -89.2% |
| William P. Blythe | $3,033 | $2,650 | -12.6% |
| K&L Forest Nursery, Inc. | $2,604 | $2,427 | -6.8% |
| Faye T. Powell | $4,366 | $2,387 | -45.3% |
| Debra Powell | $2,631 | $2,333 | -11.3% |
| Michael Dillard | $12,075 | $1,852 | -84.7% |
| Pineville Plantation, LLC | $1,726 | $1,424 | -17.5% |
| Donnie Bryan | $8,059 | $1,315 | -83.7% |
| Linda Miller | $4,306 | $1,229 | -71.5% |
| L. F. Hendricks | $4,004 | $1,181 | -70.5% |
| Steven Corbett Young | $6,130 | $1,168 | -80.9% |
| Mary Polly Oxford | $5,137 | $1,167 | -77.3% |
| Wayne Jernigan | $4,822 | $1,069 | -77.8% |
| Myron Wells | $1,004 | $1,004 | 0% |
| Randolph H. Lillard | $4,334 | $993 | -77.1% |
| Tommy McAllister | $4,358 | $986 | -77.4% |
| Philip French | $4,070 | $941 | -76.9% |
| Joey S. Wells | $3,433 | $914 | -73.4% |
| Phillip Pelham Preston | $3,410 | $900 | -73.6% |
| Kenneth P. Brown | $1,660 | $857 | -48.4% |
| Charles W. Baddeley | $4,797 | $726 | -84.9% |
| Frank Brown | $1,699 | $710 | -58.2% |
| Robert L. McCorkle | $1,463 | $697 | -52.4% |
| Joshua Moxley | $3,762 | $692 | -81.6% |
| Curtis L. Welch | $2,684 | $656 | -75.6% |
| Susie Ann Grimsley | $741 | $643 | -13.2% |
| Pamela Sims | $2,299 | $604 | -73.7% |
| William L. Hagin Jr. | $1,585 | $585 | -63.1% |
| Alfred L. Brown Sr. | $4,537 | $502 | -88.9% |
| Eric Welch | $2,644 | $502 | -81% |
| Dennis D. Parker | $1,826 | $466 | -74.5% |
| Jane Killingsworth | $1,192 | $420 | -64.8% |
| Bobby Bryan | $1,562 | $414 | -73.5% |
| Ferrell Owen | $1,727 | $408 | -76.4% |
| Danny Simmons | $1,676 | $374 | -77.7% |
| Donald McAllister | $1,831 | $318 | -82.6% |
| Blanche M. King | $604 | $274 | -54.6% |
| Bartow J. Williams Jr. | $821 | $236 | -71.3% |
| Pecoral Holt | $1,242 | $228 | -81.6% |
| Lee Brown | $1,402 | $200 | -85.7% |
| Wanda J. Dillard | $436 | $182 | -58.3% |
| Robin Singleton | $324 | $158 | -51.2% |
| Tracy Watson | $359 | $152 | -57.7% |
| Rudy Killingsworth | $234 | $96 | -59% |
| Franklin L. Dillard | $137 | $49 | -64.2% |
| Bobby R. Jones | $12 | $6 | -50% |
| Charlie E. Sorrels | $113 | $0 | -100% |
| Jasmine Mairy Vail-Gomez | $1,371 | $0 | -100% |
| Kassi McElroy | $1,210 | $0 | -100% |
| Natasha Snider | $687 | $0 | -100% |
| Peggy Welch | $660 | $0 | -100% |
| Ransom Briggs | $2,803 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $962,320 | $538,024 | -44.1% |
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