Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 75 farmers in cities within Franklin County received a total of $1.3 million in 98 farm subsidies, a 46% increase from 2020, when the total was $897,737 in 175 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wesley Varner | $0 | $250,000 | -- |
| Barrett Environmental Services, Inc. | $0 | $127,817 | -- |
| Stephen B. Raffa | $0 | $79,433 | -- |
| James A. Davison | $0 | $76,173 | -- |
| Kenneth Hyde | $11,033 | $73,153 | 563% |
| T and a Bryant Farms, Inc. | $0 | $60,050 | -- |
| Kathy Bridges | $0 | $52,189 | -- |
| Kent Hall | $80,168 | $51,132 | -36.2% |
| James M. Milford | $0 | $48,455 | -- |
| Cody Howard Sain | $0 | $47,998 | -- |
| Crockett Creek Farm, Inc. | $0 | $45,453 | -- |
| Wayne Ertzberger | $68,812 | $45,360 | -34.1% |
| David Gary Farmer Sr. | $7,788 | $34,224 | 339.4% |
| Lavista Heights Farms, Inc. | $0 | $30,184 | -- |
| Jonathan Barrett | $0 | $28,754 | -- |
| Mike A. Phillips | $177,125 | $25,522 | -85.6% |
| Carol Anne Courtney Long | $2,107 | $22,315 | 959.1% |
| Jeffrey A. Banks | $39,321 | $20,075 | -48.9% |
| Stanley Royston | $11,473 | $19,731 | 72% |
| Yearwood Family Farms, Inc. | $0 | $18,436 | -- |
| Mark O. Ariail | $25,415 | $12,447 | -51% |
| Kathy Crump | $0 | $11,625 | -- |
| Glenn D. Davis | $28,041 | $9,299 | -66.8% |
| Marvin Cole | $16,881 | $8,860 | -47.5% |
| Edward Hall Roane | $8,319 | $6,861 | -17.5% |
| T & T Chicken Farm, LLC | $0 | $6,800 | -- |
| John Phillip Dean | $12,036 | $6,376 | -47% |
| Hope Lee Reece | $28,211 | $6,305 | -77.7% |
| Rocky S. Murphy | $0 | $5,565 | -- |
| Fred Dennis Craig | $12,218 | $5,232 | -57.2% |
| Dennis Barron | $23,268 | $5,020 | -78.4% |
| Chan W. Cabe | $25,354 | $4,290 | -83.1% |
| Guerry Hall | $20,070 | $4,216 | -79% |
| Terry M. Pierce | $5,374 | $3,930 | -26.9% |
| Deborah Vickery | $0 | $3,880 | -- |
| Jeff S. Smith | $16,471 | $3,431 | -79.2% |
| David Ellison | $35,199 | $3,094 | -91.2% |
| Larry D. Adams | $8,985 | $3,034 | -66.2% |
| Ricky Ledford | $14,152 | $2,809 | -80.2% |
| John Thomas Bridges | $0 | $2,705 | -- |
| George L. Coker | $19,343 | $2,682 | -86.1% |
| Melvin Thomason | $11,971 | $2,590 | -78.4% |
| Bradley Michael Seagraves | $0 | $2,558 | -- |
| Garren Hall | $5,220 | $2,452 | -53% |
| Ray Rice | $9,042 | $2,391 | -73.6% |
| Michael V. Thomason | $8,806 | $1,886 | -78.6% |
| Mark Alan Christian | $24,394 | $1,802 | -92.6% |
| Eric B. Hall | $4,419 | $1,619 | -63.4% |
| Michael D. Crump | $2,640 | $1,299 | -50.8% |
| Brenda L. Bellamy | $8,746 | $1,254 | -85.7% |
| James N. Eavenson | $6,251 | $1,221 | -80.5% |
| Willie Nix | $9,426 | $1,218 | -87.1% |
| Gary Ledford | $4,609 | $1,149 | -75.1% |
| Freddie Dalton | $4,767 | $1,055 | -77.9% |
| Cory Thomas Andrews | $5,300 | $1,031 | -80.5% |
| Blakely J. Haley | $3,674 | $1,022 | -72.2% |
| Dykes Dalrymple | $3,610 | $980 | -72.9% |
| David Roberts | $3,663 | $968 | -73.6% |
| Rebecca Whitfield | $4,267 | $910 | -78.7% |
| Wayne R. Reynolds | $3,196 | $877 | -72.6% |
| William E. Swancey | $2,906 | $824 | -71.6% |
| Emmett Callahan | $4,311 | $792 | -81.6% |
| Michael L. Thomas | $2,726 | $776 | -71.5% |
| Jeannette B. Lewallen | $2,222 | $663 | -70.2% |
| Melissa A. Adams | $2,156 | $643 | -70.2% |
| James L. McBath | $1,908 | $587 | -69.2% |
| Amy Ellen M. Kise | $2,299 | $580 | -74.8% |
| Robert P. White | $3,641 | $569 | -84.4% |
| Zadie Kay Stephens Fulbright | $1,802 | $550 | -69.5% |
| Shannon Marie Usalavage | $2,748 | $519 | -81.1% |
| Mike Blalock | $3,648 | $477 | -86.9% |
| William M. Simmons | $1,657 | $331 | -80% |
| Joan Kiser | $1,621 | $255 | -84.3% |
| Elsie R. Craig | $0 | $232 | -- |
| Judy A. Ayers | $22 | $10 | -54.5% |
| Brandon Keith Poole | $770 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles H. Adams | $3,094 | $0 | -100% |
| Garrett Hart | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Gavin Kennedy Murphy | $2,571 | $0 | -100% |
| Hugh C. Murphy | $96 | $0 | -100% |
| James Morris Sweatman | $880 | $0 | -100% |
| Jeffrey W. Murphy | $11,565 | $0 | -100% |
| Jerry W. Cress | $1,925 | $0 | -100% |
| Kelsey Gray | $12,764 | $0 | -100% |
| Kirk Tyson | $2,310 | $0 | -100% |
| Kyle Nathaniel Bailey | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Mary Ann C. Peeples | $605 | $0 | -100% |
| Peggy Murphy Ayers | $412 | $0 | -100% |
| Randy Eavenson | $990 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard C. Brown | $2,310 | $0 | -100% |
| Tony Osborne | $1,513 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $897,737 | $1,311,005 | 46% |
Alerts Sign-up