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In 2021, 106 farmers in cities within Warren County received a total of $1.3 million in 221 farm subsidies, a 47.1% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.5 million in 328 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul R Harris, LLC | $546,860 | $227,811 | -58.3% |
| Hight Family Farms, LLC | $495,923 | $175,589 | -64.6% |
| Ernest Boyd Harris | $196,469 | $86,793 | -55.8% |
| Jonathan R. Bender | $129,441 | $77,121 | -40.4% |
| Glenn R. Riggan | $64,427 | $68,333 | 6.1% |
| White Ridge Farm | $96,952 | $53,042 | -45.3% |
| John L Kearney Logging | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Poplar Ridge Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| William Barrington Shields Jr. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Riggan Family Farm, LLC | $750 | $47,961 | 6,294.8% |
| William B. Shields III | $3,714 | $41,351 | 1,013.4% |
| Jeremy D. Paschall | $71,821 | $36,382 | -49.3% |
| Brandon K. Pernell | $76,835 | $35,750 | -53.5% |
| Ryan G. Riggan | $74,311 | $29,877 | -59.8% |
| Taylor Harris | $28,817 | $27,734 | -3.8% |
| Jeffrey V. Carroll | $58,355 | $20,852 | -64.3% |
| Jeremy A. Stegall | $44,876 | $20,428 | -54.5% |
| A & H Organic Farm, Inc. | $50,494 | $19,074 | -62.2% |
| Hundley's Greenhouses, Inc. | $0 | $18,960 | -- |
| Jeffrey P. Bender | $29,330 | $16,169 | -44.9% |
| Raeford Macon Pernell | $22,997 | $12,034 | -47.7% |
| Richard J. Holtzmann Jr. | $17,024 | $11,917 | -30% |
| Garrett Farms, Inc. | $24,889 | $10,383 | -58.3% |
| Derek H. Stegall | $35,361 | $10,262 | -71% |
| Alpheus Jones JR | $14,861 | $8,857 | -40.4% |
| Brenda Y. Keeter | $59,845 | $8,409 | -85.9% |
| Shane B. Harris | $18,282 | $7,778 | -57.5% |
| Kim's Vineyard | $14,397 | $7,302 | -49.3% |
| Emery L. Keeter | $0 | $7,053 | -- |
| Collier Farms | $35,244 | $5,908 | -83.2% |
| Marvin P. Rooker | $16,056 | $5,783 | -64% |
| Danny R. Bolton | $14,937 | $5,152 | -65.5% |
| Henry Travis Pulley II | $16,669 | $4,395 | -73.6% |
| Calvin J. Seaman | $13,026 | $4,235 | -67.5% |
| Edward E. Rooker | $34,682 | $3,981 | -88.5% |
| Johnny C. Short | $6,844 | $3,487 | -49.1% |
| Thomas G. Traylor | $12,932 | $3,282 | -74.6% |
| Clarence C. King Jr. | $97 | $2,899 | 2,888.7% |
| Randy D. Martin | $12,478 | $2,894 | -76.8% |
| Charles Lee Richardson | $8,563 | $2,828 | -67% |
| Charles W. Lynch | $13,502 | $2,356 | -82.6% |
| James L. Hawks | $10,188 | $2,218 | -78.2% |
| Robert Williams Jr. | $5,060 | $2,193 | -56.7% |
| Bennie P. Collier | $1,634 | $2,018 | 23.5% |
| Laura K. Holtzmann | $3,790 | $1,894 | -50% |
| Henry Travis Pulley | $8,481 | $1,846 | -78.2% |
| Halifax Land and Tree, LLC | $0 | $1,481 | -- |
| Elmer W. Harris II | $4,697 | $1,363 | -71% |
| Richard E. Hunter Jr. | $439 | $1,318 | 200.2% |
| John W. Riggan III | $4,169 | $1,163 | -72.1% |
| James E. Davis | $3,355 | $1,159 | -65.5% |
| Charles H. Faulkner | $3,035 | $1,001 | -67% |
| Oscar L. Davis | $3,628 | $957 | -73.6% |
| William L. Fuller Jr. | $2,578 | $925 | -64.1% |
| Michele C. Stegall | $2,448 | $900 | -63.2% |
| George a Neece and Sue H Neece Living Trust Dated June 23, 2 | $1,822 | $853 | -53.2% |
| Hunter D. Choplin Jr. | $2,811 | $845 | -69.9% |
| Mario De Haro Cruz | $4,380 | $820 | -81.3% |
| William G. Coleman III | $2,376 | $811 | -65.9% |
| Stephen G. Young | $0 | $806 | -- |
| Razin Cane Farms | $2,721 | $771 | -71.7% |
| Shelby G. Davis Sr. | $4,361 | $759 | -82.6% |
| Franklin E. Bolton | $1,386 | $756 | -45.5% |
| Paul D. Kearney | $1,895 | $696 | -63.3% |
| Harry M. Leete | $0 | $693 | -- |
| James C. Harris Jr. | $5,496 | $691 | -87.4% |
| Harry J. Carter | $619 | $619 | 0% |
| Thomas E. Burton | $1,645 | $596 | -63.8% |
| Thomas H. McSwain | $704 | $547 | -22.3% |
| Gene W. Strickland | $546 | $546 | 0% |
| Eric Miles Burchette | $1,760 | $532 | -69.8% |
| Iris M. Frazier | $2,280 | $518 | -77.3% |
| Cosnege, Inc. | $2,240 | $478 | -78.7% |
| Robert F. Burton | $1,881 | $466 | -75.2% |
| Gillis Alston | $2,314 | $413 | -82.2% |
| Larry Wayne Cole | $2,969 | $380 | -87.2% |
| Wesley Dalton Martin | $1,276 | $376 | -70.5% |
| William V. Edwards | $594 | $310 | -47.8% |
| Christopher Wayne Ayscue | $1,429 | $290 | -79.7% |
| Linda M. McSwain | $267 | $267 | 0% |
| Robert Heath Frazier | $495 | $259 | -47.7% |
| Kelly K. Faulkner | $1,302 | $242 | -81.4% |
| Richard G. Brauer | $224 | $224 | 0% |
| Emma Taylor Traylor | $196 | $196 | 0% |
| Elizabeth M. Greenway | $326 | $187 | -42.6% |
| Orlando M. Alston | $1,045 | $175 | -83.3% |
| Cynthia King Jenkins | $181 | $168 | -7.2% |
| Willie R. Felts II | $297 | $155 | -47.8% |
| Brandon R. King | $301 | $149 | -50.5% |
| Anna P. Bullock | $180 | $131 | -27.2% |
| Robert S. Dunston | $264 | $130 | -50.8% |
| Frances Choplin Co Hunter Choplin | $0 | $118 | -- |
| Eugene A. Richardson | $733 | $108 | -85.3% |
| Melvin W. Edwards | $165 | $86 | -47.9% |
| John W. Shearin Jr. | $1,866 | $69 | -96.3% |
| William N. Hargrove | $0 | $66 | -- |
| Robert Reginald Stevenson | $59 | $52 | -11.9% |
| Benjamin Edwards | $108 | $48 | -55.6% |
| Freddie W Mulchi | $0 | $43 | -- |
| Paul R. Harris | $0 | $26 | -- |
| Ray F. Lambert | $84 | $25 | -70.2% |
| Kenneth G. Copley Jr. | $206 | $23 | -88.8% |
| Andy B. Garrett | $0 | $22 | -- |
| Camille Y. Parham | $15 | $20 | 33.3% |
| Selma J. Hayes | $25 | $14 | -44% |
| Stella Shearin Rideout | $340 | $1 | -99.7% |
| Brenda Keeter | $7,053 | $0 | -100% |
| Frances Choplin C/O Hunter Chopli | $346 | $0 | -100% |
| Herman L. Collier | $15,852 | $0 | -100% |
| Jessica Carroll | $674 | $0 | -100% |
| Johnny M. Williams Sr. | $2,490 | $0 | -100% |
| Lucas P. Paynter | $4,367 | $0 | -100% |
| Betsy C. White | $177 | $0 | -100% |
| Five Oaks Family Farm, LLC | $2,365 | $0 | -100% |
| John T. Jenkins | $290 | $0 | -100% |
| Kimberly Carroll | $795 | $0 | -100% |
| Peggy C. Allen | $778 | $0 | -100% |
| Rancho El Manantial, Inc. | $3,090 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert D. Edmonds | $1,109 | $0 | -100% |
| Thurston A. Jones | $3,313 | $0 | -100% |
| Warren Estates, LLC | $738 | $0 | -100% |
| William J. Robertson Jr. | $115 | $0 | -100% |
| William L. Peoples | $478 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,515,777 | $1,331,059 | -47.1% |
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