Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 73 farmers in cities within Brunswick County received a total of $457,114 in 117 farm subsidies, a 39.4% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $753,772 in 190 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windy Hill Farms, Inc. | $135,362 | $53,871 | -60.2% |
| Roberts Farms, Inc. | $135,536 | $53,869 | -60.3% |
| S R Jones JR & Sons, Inc. | $1,058 | $53,817 | 4,986.7% |
| R E Carroll Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Randy J Clary Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| W & a Farms, LLC | $106,095 | $20,001 | -81.1% |
| TTP Farm Operations, LLC | $34,135 | $14,848 | -56.5% |
| Donald B & Joel M Anderson PTR Cedar Lane Farms | $0 | $12,664 | -- |
| Cheryl C. Bowen | $0 | $12,471 | -- |
| Raymond S. Daniel Jr. | $19,361 | $11,903 | -38.5% |
| Triple H & Sons Express, LLC | $0 | $10,977 | -- |
| John B. Thomas | $18,930 | $10,608 | -44% |
| Three Cedars Farm, LLC | $24,901 | $10,294 | -58.7% |
| W. J. P. Matthews | $22,905 | $9,084 | -60.3% |
| T & T Farm, LLC | $29,691 | $8,856 | -70.2% |
| Mary H Lynch Revocable Trust | $25,610 | $7,386 | -71.2% |
| David Inge | $10,023 | $6,995 | -30.2% |
| Stephen G. Wagner | $10,802 | $4,276 | -60.4% |
| Ervin E. Moore Jr. | $18,282 | $3,948 | -78.4% |
| Alice Carol Maitland | $3,550 | $3,126 | -11.9% |
| Melvin E. Hill Jr. | $7,649 | $2,860 | -62.6% |
| Robert Ford Fam S. Tr | $4,977 | $2,603 | -47.7% |
| Joe Walton | $8,664 | $1,951 | -77.5% |
| Premier Developers, LLC | $0 | $1,946 | -- |
| Barbara Taylor Mumford | $1,944 | $1,944 | 0% |
| Steven Lewis Beville | $8,459 | $1,833 | -78.3% |
| Pattie L. Thomas | $1,719 | $1,719 | 0% |
| Anthony W. Taylor Sr. | $3,172 | $1,589 | -49.9% |
| Mary Ann Johnson | $1,455 | $1,455 | 0% |
| Jean B. Moseley | $6,079 | $1,386 | -77.2% |
| Robert E. Carroll Jr. | $1,213 | $1,213 | 0% |
| George A. Daniel | $6,568 | $1,178 | -82.1% |
| William E. Barton | $1,150 | $1,150 | 0% |
| Barbara P. Walton | $1,131 | $1,131 | 0% |
| Micky J. Clary | $6,068 | $1,114 | -81.6% |
| Stephen O. Spence | $8,924 | $1,089 | -87.8% |
| Malvern K Moseley | $4,522 | $924 | -79.6% |
| Virginia S. Crane | $3,586 | $887 | -75.3% |
| Kyle R. Moseley | $3,758 | $878 | -76.6% |
| Donald B. Anderson | $1,381 | $864 | -37.4% |
| John F Tirelis | $1,799 | $792 | -56% |
| Steve Clarke | $1,384 | $735 | -46.9% |
| Claude L. Forbes | $2,640 | $679 | -74.3% |
| Dwayne S. Hawthorne | $4,666 | $664 | -85.8% |
| Tommy F. Forbes | $2,607 | $662 | -74.6% |
| Keith W. Washburn | $1,170 | $640 | -45.3% |
| James P. Lynch | $1,782 | $638 | -64.2% |
| Hawthorne Livestock | $2,298 | $593 | -74.2% |
| William C. Bennett | $1,305 | $569 | -56.4% |
| Raymond A. Thomas | $408 | $553 | 35.5% |
| Richmond S. J. Stokley | $2,834 | $552 | -80.5% |
| Thelma L. Daniel | $523 | $523 | 0% |
| Lindsay Brown | $3,099 | $512 | -83.5% |
| Ralph A. Manuel | $659 | $479 | -27.3% |
| David O. Daniel | $1,793 | $441 | -75.4% |
| Barbara Y. Lewis | $801 | $440 | -45.1% |
| Bertha L. Eacho | $628 | $403 | -35.8% |
| Perry L. Dark | $1,688 | $398 | -76.4% |
| Robert E. Crane | $550 | $395 | -28.2% |
| Mary Starling Allgood | $348 | $348 | 0% |
| James H. Hicks | $2,061 | $261 | -87.3% |
| Julia D. Lafoon | $466 | $239 | -48.7% |
| Donald O. Seward | $1,122 | $236 | -79% |
| Mildred I. Casey | $181 | $193 | 6.6% |
| Mark C. Waskey | $510 | $163 | -68% |
| Wayne M. Coleman | $0 | $162 | -- |
| Suzanne J. Metts | $254 | $143 | -43.7% |
| Dian M. Lewis | $148 | $107 | -27.7% |
| Robert Dennis | $243 | $64 | -73.7% |
| Russell L. MacLin | $31 | $30 | -3.2% |
| Alvin L. Fields | $40 | $28 | -30% |
| William C. Connell | $334 | $8 | -97.6% |
| Herbert A. Brown Jr. | $0 | $6 | -- |
| Donald B & Joel M Anderson PTR Ce | $26,331 | $0 | -100% |
| Ronald S. Metts | $525 | $0 | -100% |
| Danny Edwards | $484 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert E. Abernathy Jr. | $534 | $0 | -100% |
| Curtis Starke | $110 | $0 | -100% |
| Donald F. Thomas | $7,622 | $0 | -100% |
| Mary A. Thomas | $145 | $0 | -100% |
| Browntown Farms, LLC | $989 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $753,772 | $457,114 | -39.4% |
Alerts Sign-up