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In 2021, 57 farmers in cities within Pender County received a total of $1 million in 91 farm subsidies, a 70.4% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $3.4 million in 183 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnhill Products/Chester Barnhill | $0 | $221,213 | -- |
| Donald H. Hall | $267,582 | $103,025 | -61.5% |
| Alfred K. Wooten | $57,188 | $84,889 | 48.4% |
| Rooks Farm Service, Inc. | $236,137 | $62,151 | -73.7% |
| Don Rawls | $163,977 | $56,791 | -65.4% |
| Willow's Way Farms, LLC | $0 | $56,758 | -- |
| Jason V. Fennell | $0 | $49,710 | -- |
| Thomas Edward Pope Jr. | $97,274 | $48,520 | -50.1% |
| Fennell Farms, Inc. | $190,644 | $33,507 | -82.4% |
| Carl Murray | $82,411 | $24,562 | -70.2% |
| Thomas R. Canady Sr. | $1,575 | $22,779 | 1,346.3% |
| Shaun Wells Farms, Inc. | $22,910 | $20,763 | -9.4% |
| Newberry's Blueberries, LLC | $1,791 | $17,957 | 902.6% |
| Slocum Trail Farm, LLC | $0 | $17,534 | -- |
| Shady Lane Farms, Inc. | $279,965 | $17,288 | -93.8% |
| Bryon S. Prevatte | $8,530 | $16,399 | 92.3% |
| Debra Black | $0 | $15,454 | -- |
| Old River Farms, LLC | $0 | $13,742 | -- |
| Ronald Edwin Sheffield | $13,870 | $11,872 | -14.4% |
| Norwood P. Blanchard | $12,517 | $10,742 | -14.2% |
| Shaken Creek Farms, Inc. | $74,893 | $10,022 | -86.6% |
| Thomas Armfield Cannon | $9,925 | $9,925 | 0% |
| Patrick Sean Cullen | $0 | $9,746 | -- |
| Charles M. Rooks | $20,801 | $7,948 | -61.8% |
| Jared L. Johnson | $0 | $7,072 | -- |
| Hold Fast Oysters, LLC | $0 | $7,016 | -- |
| Debra J. Bundy | $6,115 | $6,588 | 7.7% |
| John D. Wilkins | $25,374 | $6,584 | -74.1% |
| Jeffrey Charles Rooks | $20,627 | $6,472 | -68.6% |
| Adam J. Lanier | $0 | $4,291 | -- |
| Buron G. Lanier | $41,702 | $3,926 | -90.6% |
| Randall G. Pembrook | $3,093 | $2,817 | -8.9% |
| Waitus C English III | $7,832 | $2,730 | -65.1% |
| Brandon Kyle Foy | $0 | $2,545 | -- |
| Julia H. Burns | $2,411 | $2,411 | 0% |
| Soundside Oyster Farms, LLC | $7,397 | $2,277 | -69.2% |
| Gene A. Wells | $6,827 | $1,702 | -75.1% |
| Kenneth Dean Lanier | $6,432 | $1,641 | -74.5% |
| Mary Jo Pembrook | $1,837 | $1,561 | -15% |
| Earl Scott Wells | $6,054 | $1,330 | -78% |
| Dalton Wells | $8,732 | $1,173 | -86.6% |
| Humphrey Farms, Inc. | $37,727 | $1,170 | -96.9% |
| Thurman Casey | $955 | $955 | 0% |
| Raymond Bost | $1,254 | $904 | -27.9% |
| Marsha Spiller | $1,423 | $821 | -42.3% |
| Joan H. Wells | $724 | $724 | 0% |
| Joab F Johnson JR | $720 | $720 | 0% |
| Bannerman Vineyard and Winery | $7,800 | $657 | -91.6% |
| Stanley K. Pyle | $1,856 | $632 | -65.9% |
| Lu Anne U Zambrowski | $1,282 | $528 | -58.8% |
| Larry T. Phillips | $0 | $498 | -- |
| Christopher T. Sanderson | $660 | $304 | -53.9% |
| Donald A. Hall | $2,403 | $200 | -91.7% |
| Ann Brumley Carey Miller | $135 | $165 | 22.2% |
| Lonnie Jason Turner | $1,332 | $130 | -90.2% |
| Lindsey Blake Warren | $0 | $79 | -- |
| Nathan Rivenbark Jr. | $144,041 | $47 | -100% |
| Andy Barnes | $24,613 | $0 | -100% |
| Chester S. Barnhill | $11,398 | $0 | -100% |
| Isaias Gasca | $45,680 | $0 | -100% |
| Bettye C. Lanier | $6,750 | $0 | -100% |
| David E. Marshburn | $4,920 | $0 | -100% |
| Elizabeth Gasca | $27,305 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $5,569 | $0 | -100% |
| Jay S. Milam | $2,035 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph A. Lanier | $18,073 | $0 | -100% |
| Judson Croom | $1,801 | $0 | -100% |
| Mitchell Murphy Jr. | $2,529 | $0 | -100% |
| Stag Park Farms, LLC | $86,782 | $0 | -100% |
| Caro Anne Davis | $24,353 | $0 | -100% |
| Carol Sue Blueberry Farm, Inc. | $55,523 | $0 | -100% |
| Sandy Hill Forest Products, Inc. | $128,381 | $0 | -100% |
| John T. Rooks Sr. | $750 | $0 | -100% |
| Lewis Nursery and Farms, Inc. | $1,042,842 | $0 | -100% |
| Sam K. Greenwood II | $44 | $0 | -100% |
| Helen J. McVey | $459 | $0 | -100% |
| Brandon L. Smith | $5,454 | $0 | -100% |
| Jerry Lawrence Mills Jr. | $123 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph Bryant Newkirk | $697 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael Anthony Baucom | $153 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael Shaun Wells | $26,545 | $0 | -100% |
| Pembrook Costin Jr. | $5,083 | $0 | -100% |
| Philip Rivenbark | $12,009 | $0 | -100% |
| Wailen Rivenbark | $1,575 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $3,430,181 | $1,013,967 | -70.4% |
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