Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 56 farmers in cities within Brunswick County received a total of $329,596 in 81 farm subsidies, a 42.1% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $569,007 in 159 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ladd D. Rutherford | $71,186 | $51,484 | -27.7% |
| Richard K. Clemmons | $109,588 | $41,396 | -62.2% |
| Christine Nolin Ferguson | $41,591 | $38,954 | -6.3% |
| Jon Scott Moore | $0 | $31,238 | -- |
| Dale E Grubb Revocable Trust | $24,937 | $24,937 | 0% |
| Dorothy R Grubb Irrevocable Trust | $24,937 | $24,937 | 0% |
| Davis C. Herring Jr. | $7,651 | $18,688 | 144.3% |
| Wayne Grissett | $27,408 | $12,268 | -55.2% |
| Red Canyon Cattle Company, LLC | $46,335 | $9,535 | -79.4% |
| Nance Corporation | $46,654 | $8,202 | -82.4% |
| H H & Jesse Wickwire Joint Venture | $5,421 | $7,235 | 33.5% |
| F & M Gottbrath Farm, LLC | $11,574 | $7,107 | -38.6% |
| Joann Klinker | $5,618 | $5,618 | 0% |
| David P. Morrison Jr. | $5,385 | $5,385 | 0% |
| Team T and T Trucking, LLC | $0 | $5,267 | -- |
| Steven Newman | $9,473 | $3,280 | -65.4% |
| Ron Mccoy Stanley | $15,933 | $2,984 | -81.3% |
| E. W. Maultsby Jr. | $2,698 | $2,698 | 0% |
| Hal Jeffery Stephens | $9,078 | $2,220 | -75.5% |
| Marsh Farm Partnership | $1,436 | $2,150 | 49.7% |
| Keith O. French | $11,223 | $2,107 | -81.2% |
| Edy Enterprises, LLC | $3,459 | $2,072 | -40.1% |
| Mackenzie Family Irrevocable Trust of 2012 | $0 | $1,662 | -- |
| Albert Vesper Hughes | $2,011 | $1,597 | -20.6% |
| Gary W. Phipps | $6,290 | $1,500 | -76.2% |
| Vickie Stickman Bloch | $3,945 | $1,332 | -66.2% |
| Jerry T. Fulwood | $6,315 | $1,323 | -79% |
| Mary Ford Popelars | $1,221 | $1,221 | 0% |
| Gordon Schroeder | $4,405 | $1,144 | -74% |
| Audrey C. Marshall | $0 | $1,094 | -- |
| Eleanor Craig Giordano | $3,622 | $982 | -72.9% |
| William Alsbrooks | $1,502 | $972 | -35.3% |
| Carl B. Clark | $605 | $929 | 53.6% |
| Douglas Charles Fitzgerald | $612 | $722 | 18% |
| Dixie Friichtenicht Living Trust | $3,732 | $695 | -81.4% |
| La Merle Wilson | $655 | $655 | 0% |
| RMC Farm, LLC | $6,057 | $643 | -89.4% |
| Kenneth W. Coleman | $891 | $387 | -56.6% |
| Wilma Kellough - Wek Land, LLC | $2,113 | $375 | -82.3% |
| Clarence Pointer | $0 | $336 | -- |
| Elaine D. Wilcox | $3,540 | $292 | -91.8% |
| Rhonda S. Anderson | $288 | $256 | -11.1% |
| Frances W. Clemmons | $236 | $236 | 0% |
| James W. Lawson | $1,162 | $223 | -80.8% |
| Lori M. Douglass | $226 | $184 | -18.6% |
| Pamela Doan | $330 | $172 | -47.9% |
| Thomas E. Williams | $997 | $164 | -83.6% |
| Cindy Coddington | $351 | $131 | -62.7% |
| Joe S. Holmes | $130 | $130 | 0% |
| Rhonda S. Anderson | $144 | $128 | -11.1% |
| Carolyn A. Baker | $298 | $123 | -58.7% |
| Darlena J Armpriester | $0 | $94 | -- |
| John I Adams Family Trust | $0 | $56 | -- |
| Charles Douglas Braswell Jr. | $409 | $56 | -86.3% |
| Phillip R. Ricks | $80 | $19 | -76.3% |
| Gary L. Long | $127 | $1 | -99.2% |
| Helen G. Vick | $492 | $0 | -100% |
| Jeff Carter | $265 | $0 | -100% |
| Roy Neal McPherson | $274 | $0 | -100% |
| Suzanne Council | $1,283 | $0 | -100% |
| Lloyd Ray Ward | $1,719 | $0 | -100% |
| Mackenzie Family Irrevocable Trus | $4,292 | $0 | -100% |
| Stephen Gatyas | $24,353 | $0 | -100% |
| Ricky M. Ferguson | $257 | $0 | -100% |
| William Walker | $362 | $0 | -100% |
| Russell W. Chesnutt | $715 | $0 | -100% |
| Sally's Woods, Inc. | $1,116 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $569,007 | $329,596 | -42.1% |
Alerts Sign-up