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In 2021, 96 farmers in cities within Emporia city received a total of $1.4 million in 173 farm subsidies, a 56.4% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $3.1 million in 283 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| L&G Farms | $476,117 | $221,002 | -53.6% |
| F & F Farms | $404,239 | $180,794 | -55.3% |
| Brandon W. Clements | $200,568 | $137,023 | -31.7% |
| David B. Lee | $184,416 | $98,499 | -46.6% |
| James S. Ferguson Sr. | $181,680 | $82,658 | -54.5% |
| Joey Glenwood Doyle | $166,303 | $80,082 | -51.8% |
| James S. Ferguson Jr. | $155,984 | $69,527 | -55.4% |
| The Bank of Southside Virginia | $79,915 | $65,423 | -18.1% |
| Sidney R. Robinson | $108,909 | $61,053 | -43.9% |
| Dianis Bros | $287,164 | $48,540 | -83.1% |
| L Fajna & J Roach Farms, LLC | $94,466 | $47,440 | -49.8% |
| Southampton Farms, LLC | $120,815 | $30,121 | -75.1% |
| Joe Brna | $34,118 | $21,331 | -37.5% |
| Ronnie L. Allen | $26,134 | $17,487 | -33.1% |
| Michael W. Moss | $59,486 | $17,330 | -70.9% |
| Patsy Ferguson | $19,539 | $15,735 | -19.5% |
| Taylor Farms, Inc. | $32,608 | $15,680 | -51.9% |
| Robert M. Taylor | $14,204 | $8,136 | -42.7% |
| James Payton Doyle | $21,728 | $7,346 | -66.2% |
| Earl J. Taylor | $7,237 | $7,237 | 0% |
| The Elliott W B Sadler Irrevocable Trust | $0 | $6,939 | -- |
| Bobby G. Lee Jr. | $27,820 | $6,508 | -76.6% |
| Jesse Harrell | $10,686 | $6,095 | -43% |
| Ryland C. Fox Jr. | $5,488 | $6,033 | 9.9% |
| Glenn Hayes Hawkins Jr. | $10,216 | $5,929 | -42% |
| Cecil Allen Jr. | $10,786 | $5,891 | -45.4% |
| Doyle & Doyle Farms, LLC | $34,226 | $5,371 | -84.3% |
| William S. Fox | $7,725 | $5,318 | -31.2% |
| Phyllis J. Brna | $7,899 | $5,046 | -36.1% |
| William H Ligon Revocable Trust | $4,946 | $4,946 | 0% |
| William C. Slate Jr. | $4,802 | $4,802 | 0% |
| Jeffrey W. Rawlings | $4,316 | $4,625 | 7.2% |
| Richard J. Doyle | $6,034 | $4,135 | -31.5% |
| Eugene C. Wills | $4,324 | $3,808 | -11.9% |
| Ray Ligon | $3,826 | $3,578 | -6.5% |
| Jeffrey Roach | $5,301 | $3,413 | -35.6% |
| Mike Robinson Farms, Inc. | $127,422 | $3,341 | -97.4% |
| Linda B. Brna | $4,399 | $3,063 | -30.4% |
| Richard H. Short III | $3,519 | $2,674 | -24% |
| Willie Howard Foster | $2,800 | $2,486 | -11.2% |
| Thomas W. Allen | $2,006 | $2,006 | 0% |
| Walter W. Robinson | $6,464 | $1,972 | -69.5% |
| Scott A. Lifsey | $1,918 | $1,918 | 0% |
| Reginald P. Ferguson | $1,905 | $1,905 | 0% |
| William Thompson | $2,294 | $1,715 | -25.2% |
| Charles Purdy King | $6,875 | $1,701 | -75.3% |
| Allen Meade Blackwell | $3,311 | $1,692 | -48.9% |
| Amy Walton King | $6,215 | $1,676 | -73% |
| Southampton Land Company, LLC | $6,952 | $1,567 | -77.5% |
| Howard Ferguson | $5,676 | $1,532 | -73% |
| Deborah L. Owen | $1,259 | $1,259 | 0% |
| Slagle Lake Land Trust | $1,200 | $1,200 | 0% |
| James W. Fleming | $2,230 | $1,176 | -47.3% |
| David Keith Harrell Jr. | $0 | $1,057 | -- |
| Charles D. Kasper | $1,997 | $956 | -52.1% |
| Robert O'Hara | $895 | $895 | 0% |
| Michael W. Rook | $4,323 | $839 | -80.6% |
| Alfred R. Holland | $0 | $819 | -- |
| Deborah H. Delbridge | $0 | $795 | -- |
| Rita H. Barnes | $0 | $795 | -- |
| Susan M. Gordon | $822 | $740 | -10% |
| Weaver's Low Ground, LLC | $680 | $680 | 0% |
| Louise Marie Holland | $3,311 | $535 | -83.8% |
| Michael W. Ferguson | $511 | $511 | 0% |
| Hersheal D Mitchell | $484 | $484 | 0% |
| Slate Enterprises, Inc. | $472 | $472 | 0% |
| Thurman L. Moore | $2,586 | $429 | -83.4% |
| James Kent Baird | $1,628 | $412 | -74.7% |
| Gene Allen | $396 | $396 | 0% |
| Lofton Allen | $396 | $396 | 0% |
| Richard F. Watson | $341 | $363 | 6.5% |
| Benjamin E. Matthews | $353 | $353 | 0% |
| Claudia A. Matthews | $353 | $353 | 0% |
| D. C. Roach | $2,121 | $301 | -85.8% |
| W. T. Wright Jr. | $521 | $296 | -43.2% |
| Daniel W. Garrett | $1,462 | $283 | -80.6% |
| Quinton Wade Powell | $1,602 | $282 | -82.4% |
| Anna M Kreienbaum | $0 | $255 | -- |
| Sandra D. Wrenn | $693 | $206 | -70.3% |
| Kenneth B. Mitchell | $190 | $190 | 0% |
| Kimberly M. Walton | $190 | $190 | 0% |
| Troy Allen Jr. | $847 | $190 | -77.6% |
| Charles D. Upchurch | $0 | $177 | -- |
| Murphy Grigg Enterprises, LLC | $147 | $132 | -10.2% |
| H. W. Roach | $407 | $124 | -69.5% |
| Lynwood M. Matthews | $90 | $90 | 0% |
| Ben S. Lee | $67 | $67 | 0% |
| Clarence Lee | $67 | $67 | 0% |
| Nancy B. Squire | $77 | $61 | -20.8% |
| Roger S. Parson | $68 | $54 | -20.6% |
| Deborah G. Myrick | $26 | $26 | 0% |
| Donald E. Grizzard Sr. | $26 | $26 | 0% |
| Mary G. Conwell | $26 | $26 | 0% |
| Timothy W. Grizzard | $26 | $26 | 0% |
| Norfleet Givens | $0 | $10 | -- |
| Paul Adams | $78 | $2 | -97.4% |
| Blanche J. Mullen | $164 | $0 | -100% |
| Carroll A. Roach | $187 | $0 | -100% |
| Commodity Credit Corporation | $2,076 | $0 | -100% |
| Kaleb Wayne Powell | $46,115 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert A. Clements | $132 | $0 | -100% |
| The Elliott W B Sadler Irrevocabl | $6,939 | $0 | -100% |
| Tom M. Clements | $30,256 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $3,124,618 | $1,363,125 | -56.4% |
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