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In 2021, 140 farmers in cities within Charlotte County received a total of $534,427 in 240 farm subsidies, a 70% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.8 million in 396 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard E. Wallace | $141,121 | $72,962 | -48.3% |
| Richard E. Wallace Jr. | $91,186 | $69,587 | -23.7% |
| Timothy C. Napier | $77,961 | $56,959 | -26.9% |
| Wright Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Dwayne E. Watts | $7,315 | $22,608 | 209.1% |
| Grind 'n Stone Farms, LLC | $68,002 | $22,283 | -67.2% |
| J & W Farms, LLC | $36,125 | $21,873 | -39.5% |
| Shane J. Hanks | $51,030 | $17,799 | -65.1% |
| Canada Knoll | $7,214 | $17,478 | 142.3% |
| Randy Thomas Francis | $47,724 | $11,952 | -75% |
| Charles S. Sublett III | $8,518 | $8,201 | -3.7% |
| Thomas L. Powell Jr. | $11,684 | $7,113 | -39.1% |
| Robert O. Locke | $26,860 | $6,666 | -75.2% |
| James S. Pugh II | $13,853 | $6,437 | -53.5% |
| James Scott Pugh | $13,908 | $6,427 | -53.8% |
| Joel Mason Pugh | $13,408 | $5,522 | -58.8% |
| Austin R. Slayton | $6,378 | $5,025 | -21.2% |
| Thomas Edward Chumney | $35,879 | $4,730 | -86.8% |
| Charles E. Overstreet Jr. | $23,115 | $4,044 | -82.5% |
| Preston T. Hamlet Jr. | $8,059 | $3,987 | -50.5% |
| Julian R. Hamlet | $10,919 | $3,807 | -65.1% |
| Catherine J. Garnett | $0 | $3,520 | -- |
| Arcadia Farm & Stables | $15,136 | $3,499 | -76.9% |
| Chester J. Kellogg | $13,467 | $3,383 | -74.9% |
| David S. Barron | $6,700 | $3,093 | -53.8% |
| Dorothy Evans Hamlet | $7,497 | $3,069 | -59.1% |
| Gayle B. Harris | $2,861 | $2,669 | -6.7% |
| Andrew M. Rodriguez | $0 | $2,537 | -- |
| Reginald E. White | $11,118 | $2,507 | -77.5% |
| Bernard Lynn Royster | $10,530 | $2,504 | -76.2% |
| Kyle W. Whitlow | $7,222 | $2,289 | -68.3% |
| Jean D. Elliott | $6,610 | $2,179 | -67% |
| W. R. Elliott III | $6,632 | $2,162 | -67.4% |
| Robert Z. Tucker | $8,965 | $2,073 | -76.9% |
| Roy Bruce Francis | $20,569 | $2,031 | -90.1% |
| Bailey C. Wright | $8,107 | $1,933 | -76.2% |
| Ronald W. Duffey | $9,101 | $1,893 | -79.2% |
| Commodity Credit Corporation | $2,333 | $1,817 | -22.1% |
| M J Atkins & Son | $7,703 | $1,802 | -76.6% |
| James A. Wilmouth | $6,670 | $1,752 | -73.7% |
| Kerwin G. Kunath | $14,190 | $1,721 | -87.9% |
| Robert D. Sublett | $8,631 | $1,693 | -80.4% |
| Marshall Thackston | $9,668 | $1,601 | -83.4% |
| Warren Agee | $6,028 | $1,582 | -73.8% |
| Carey W. Nicholson | $6,447 | $1,507 | -76.6% |
| Eugene Morris | $6,345 | $1,507 | -76.2% |
| Robert S. Long | $4,155 | $1,432 | -65.5% |
| Gary Milton | $8,911 | $1,421 | -84.1% |
| Charles Kunath Jr. | $11,354 | $1,316 | -88.4% |
| Charles Randy Slayton | $6,750 | $1,315 | -80.5% |
| Richard W. Tuck | $2,343 | $1,214 | -48.2% |
| Richard Dwight Brown | $5,031 | $1,197 | -76.2% |
| Legas Holdings, LLC | $4,840 | $1,186 | -75.5% |
| Mark L. Palmer | $3,679 | $1,110 | -69.8% |
| Roanoke Creek Farm, Inc. | $3,079 | $1,088 | -64.7% |
| Randolph P. Walker | $2,112 | $1,057 | -50% |
| Dilullo Family Limited Partnership | $0 | $1,038 | -- |
| James E. Dunnavant | $4,224 | $1,000 | -76.3% |
| Austin Crews Wright | $3,938 | $990 | -74.9% |
| Randolph L. Duffer III | $6,939 | $950 | -86.3% |
| Carl W. Hailey | $5,486 | $889 | -83.8% |
| Betty Gryder | $396 | $855 | 115.9% |
| Ashley L. Myers | $4,454 | $819 | -81.6% |
| Rodney K. Harris | $4,229 | $817 | -80.7% |
| Douglas W. Seagle | $4,754 | $816 | -82.8% |
| Robert G. Brown | $2,818 | $792 | -71.9% |
| Michael L. Townsend | $1,636 | $790 | -51.7% |
| Charles B. Payne III | $17,075 | $779 | -95.4% |
| Robert G. Seamster | $3,397 | $779 | -77.1% |
| James N. Wallace | $3,512 | $766 | -78.2% |
| Haywood J. Hamlet | $4,210 | $761 | -81.9% |
| Marvin Ashley Nelson | $3,373 | $754 | -77.6% |
| Morris Wayne Overstreet Jr. | $2,275 | $733 | -67.8% |
| R. B. Clark | $3,553 | $730 | -79.5% |
| Kenneth E. Colley III | $3,260 | $728 | -77.7% |
| Betty V. Walker | $4,286 | $724 | -83.1% |
| Jack W. Reynolds | $1,067 | $706 | -33.8% |
| Clifford A. Blackwelder | $3,506 | $633 | -81.9% |
| Richard E. Vaughan | $3,592 | $618 | -82.8% |
| Roscoe Richard Routt | $298 | $617 | 107% |
| Donald J. Vaughan Jr. | $3,614 | $601 | -83.4% |
| Richard Zachary Brown | $2,475 | $592 | -76.1% |
| Bruce C. Wright | $4,397 | $578 | -86.9% |
| Randy S. Hall | $3,155 | $574 | -81.8% |
| William Berry Lyle Jr. | $3,744 | $573 | -84.7% |
| Cedar Grove-Rice Farm, LLC | $762 | $564 | -26% |
| Justin K. Nichols | $4,450 | $550 | -87.6% |
| Adam Algeier | $3,814 | $538 | -85.9% |
| Thomas E. Garnett | $2,497 | $523 | -79.1% |
| M. O. Chappell Jr. | $3,676 | $516 | -86% |
| Franklin L. Hanks | $419 | $514 | 22.7% |
| Leonard Martin | $2,999 | $498 | -83.4% |
| W. R. Allen | $1,562 | $498 | -68.1% |
| William M. Watts | $3,450 | $467 | -86.5% |
| Kenneth M. Townsend | $3,026 | $464 | -84.7% |
| Michael W Church | $2,519 | $440 | -82.5% |
| Wayne E. Dail | $2,366 | $432 | -81.7% |
| Debbie Marie Fifield | $3,327 | $411 | -87.6% |
| Abraham L. Wilmoth | $1,793 | $391 | -78.2% |
| Kevin G. Seamster | $1,847 | $390 | -78.9% |
| Marian D. Shortt | $660 | $387 | -41.4% |
| Edward H. Jeter | $0 | $369 | -- |
| Thomas L. Hanks | $1,265 | $362 | -71.4% |
| Robert W. Whitehead | $1,947 | $357 | -81.7% |
| Henry C. Lapradd | $2,068 | $346 | -83.3% |
| Carey Robertson Fuller | $1,378 | $345 | -75% |
| Michael M. Beck | $790 | $339 | -57.1% |
| Tracy H. Fulcher | $2,265 | $328 | -85.5% |
| Howard Wayne Hudson | $2,009 | $322 | -84% |
| Mary C. Hanmer | $731 | $311 | -57.5% |
| Lorrie W. Barron | $3,228 | $310 | -90.4% |
| Gregory Jason Hamlett | $1,232 | $289 | -76.5% |
| Robert G. Moore | $0 | $279 | -- |
| Jerald K. McCullar | $278 | $278 | 0% |
| Donald Ray Barker | $924 | $266 | -71.2% |
| Rachelle P. Wright | $2,333 | $262 | -88.8% |
| Larry G. Hurt Sr. | $1,805 | $245 | -86.4% |
| Rogers P. Dejarnette Jr. | $237 | $237 | 0% |
| Robert H. Meeks | $606 | $228 | -62.4% |
| Robert Lynwood Hanks | $1,056 | $222 | -79% |
| Stanley G. Hamlett Sr. | $0 | $221 | -- |
| Leo Whitehead Jr. | $1,765 | $211 | -88% |
| John O. Wright Jr. | $1,226 | $197 | -83.9% |
| Wayne Venable | $1,041 | $194 | -81.4% |
| Jerry Pillow | $1,611 | $192 | -88.1% |
| Jean J. Kunath | $0 | $191 | -- |
| Betty Watts Moore | $0 | $138 | -- |
| Virginia B. Gillispie | $0 | $120 | -- |
| Marshall L. Bailey | $0 | $114 | -- |
| Michael Bruce Brown | $605 | $108 | -82.1% |
| Samuel M Church | $484 | $97 | -80% |
| Bennie R. Childress | $0 | $77 | -- |
| Thomas D. Jones | $123 | $60 | -51.2% |
| Annette H. Card | $0 | $59 | -- |
| Harriet Garrett | $114 | $55 | -51.8% |
| Kenneth Fredman | $0 | $38 | -- |
| Carol Depetro | $384 | $34 | -91.1% |
| William E. Green Jr. | $236 | $32 | -86.4% |
| Joyce T. Bridges | $24 | $10 | -58.3% |
| Mark Curtis Dix | $398 | $5 | -98.7% |
| Amy L. Carwile | $7,756 | $0 | -100% |
| Dilullo Family Limited Partnershi | $7,050 | $0 | -100% |
| Dawn C. Townsend | $2,708 | $0 | -100% |
| Jerry Robinson | $1,734 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert A. Newcomb | $2,035 | $0 | -100% |
| Andrea Magen Powell | $59,217 | $0 | -100% |
| Geraldine P. Bailey | $574 | $0 | -100% |
| Golden Leaf Farms | $500,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Lance K. Lumadue | $370 | $0 | -100% |
| Marlo Powell Turman | $59,217 | $0 | -100% |
| Marvin E. Whirley Sr. | $440 | $0 | -100% |
| Randall S. Crawford | $770 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas F. Rothwell | $1,540 | $0 | -100% |
| Patrick Andrews | $825 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,780,272 | $534,427 | -70% |
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