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In 2021, 140 farmers in cities within Laurens County received a total of $995,782 in 179 farm subsidies, a 49.7% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2 million in 438 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael L. Weatherford | $8,033 | $141,886 | 1,666.3% |
| Glen D. Easter | $149,388 | $120,797 | -19.1% |
| Stoddard's Oak Grove Farm | $161,500 | $89,547 | -44.6% |
| Patterson Ranch, LLC | $0 | $78,536 | -- |
| David R. Coggins | $29,963 | $65,157 | 117.5% |
| Pulpco, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Indian Springs Ranch, LLC | $0 | $50,188 | -- |
| Alexander Family Farms, LLC | $0 | $43,958 | -- |
| Timothy E. Faulkner | $7,818 | $39,261 | 402.2% |
| Thomas E. Holsonback | $0 | $37,263 | -- |
| William Patrick Garrett | $0 | $34,353 | -- |
| Rough Cut Farm, LLC | $0 | $27,752 | -- |
| Richard Howland - Richard L Howland Dec of Trustee | $57,622 | $17,190 | -70.2% |
| Joe Ben Hunter III | $130,406 | $16,881 | -87.1% |
| Simmons Broiler Farm, LLC | $0 | $9,330 | -- |
| Brandon Hurley | $75,064 | $7,003 | -90.7% |
| Jim Meeks | $60,111 | $6,978 | -88.4% |
| Sarah Lester Smith | $34,602 | $6,767 | -80.4% |
| Wayne S. Womble | $33,730 | $5,975 | -82.3% |
| Heath C. Copeland | $35,668 | $5,106 | -85.7% |
| Michael Strickland Jr. | $10,775 | $4,522 | -58% |
| M. C. Young Sr. | $6,992 | $4,521 | -35.3% |
| Tommy Sherman Jr. | $0 | $4,397 | -- |
| Keith M. Martin | $34,686 | $4,330 | -87.5% |
| Morgan Duckett | $18,918 | $4,316 | -77.2% |
| Wesley C. Knight | $31,502 | $3,978 | -87.4% |
| Curtis Childress | $24,666 | $3,859 | -84.4% |
| John M. Simmons Jr. | $18,939 | $3,238 | -82.9% |
| Thomas H. Coggins Sr. | $17,517 | $3,210 | -81.7% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $3,060 | -- |
| Billy R. Abercrombie | $29,985 | $3,019 | -89.9% |
| William C. Hunter Jr. | $23,586 | $2,894 | -87.7% |
| Wayne L. Garber | $13,581 | $2,834 | -79.1% |
| Ken J. Treadway | $13,179 | $2,760 | -79.1% |
| W. L. Patterson Jr. | $14,398 | $2,650 | -81.6% |
| Don Rackley | $29,846 | $2,639 | -91.2% |
| Barton Farms, LLC | $5,484 | $2,589 | -52.8% |
| Ray Whiteford | $14,109 | $2,162 | -84.7% |
| Ray Stoddard | $19,515 | $2,007 | -89.7% |
| Thomas J. Bates | $1,903 | $1,903 | 0% |
| Robi Owens | $676 | $1,776 | 162.7% |
| Nelson Crisp | $16,376 | $1,672 | -89.8% |
| Blackwell Farm, LLC | $0 | $1,650 | -- |
| Pat Hunter Jr. | $15,404 | $1,648 | -89.3% |
| Jerry Wayne Darby | $18,632 | $1,633 | -91.2% |
| Bruce A. Marshall | $10,017 | $1,626 | -83.8% |
| William Todd Rackley | $7,175 | $1,503 | -79.1% |
| Ronald Barnes Jr. | $6,192 | $1,430 | -76.9% |
| Kenneth E. Sprouse | $7,651 | $1,379 | -82% |
| William Lewis Croxton | $15,462 | $1,360 | -91.2% |
| James M. Addy | $12,113 | $1,330 | -89% |
| Roy T. Smith | $8,485 | $1,309 | -84.6% |
| Monty Childress | $44,184 | $1,277 | -97.1% |
| David C. Hurley | $5,527 | $1,252 | -77.3% |
| Will Riser Culbertson | $8,653 | $1,239 | -85.7% |
| William K. Hodges | $16,333 | $1,233 | -92.5% |
| Ted W. Taylor | $9,632 | $1,222 | -87.3% |
| Anna Faye Childress | $9,553 | $1,190 | -87.5% |
| Clear Creek Farms, Inc. | $1,450 | $1,172 | -19.2% |
| Bradley D. Bishop | $5,509 | $1,156 | -79% |
| William R. Garrett Jr. | $13,169 | $1,110 | -91.6% |
| Joseph W. Wham | $7,999 | $1,106 | -86.2% |
| K & R Cattle Company, LLC | $7,452 | $1,101 | -85.2% |
| William E. Adair Jr. | $7,628 | $1,086 | -85.8% |
| J. W. Childress | $6,221 | $1,055 | -83% |
| J. M. Wham Jr. | $14,486 | $1,048 | -92.8% |
| Rufus Cannon | $14,504 | $1,039 | -92.8% |
| James Addison III | $16,116 | $1,037 | -93.6% |
| William E. Tinsley | $5,332 | $1,003 | -81.2% |
| William L. Patterson III | $10,396 | $988 | -90.5% |
| Eddie Gene Holliday | $8,545 | $987 | -88.4% |
| Keith R. Hodges | $4,496 | $984 | -78.1% |
| James T. Martin | $0 | $972 | -- |
| Walter Noble | $5,604 | $952 | -83% |
| Dana Jones | $8,566 | $941 | -89% |
| Eddie D. Robinson | $5,994 | $914 | -84.8% |
| William Burns | $0 | $901 | -- |
| Judy E. Manly | $890 | $890 | 0% |
| Colton Bazzle | $5,415 | $862 | -84.1% |
| Ronnie Sprouse | $4,837 | $854 | -82.3% |
| Jackie D. Stoddard | $8,023 | $847 | -89.4% |
| Mike Johnson | $4,061 | $844 | -79.2% |
| Judith Burns | $3,260 | $811 | -75.1% |
| Charles D. Jacks Jr. | $5,205 | $811 | -84.4% |
| Robert M. Thomason | $8,792 | $788 | -91% |
| Thomas L. Copeland | $7,572 | $784 | -89.6% |
| Edwin P. Alexander | $4,959 | $778 | -84.3% |
| Glen Wilson Sr. | $1,485 | $776 | -47.7% |
| Lenard Stoddard | $7,029 | $762 | -89.2% |
| Stanley Thomas Penland | $6,094 | $742 | -87.8% |
| Christy L. Lawson | $5,857 | $720 | -87.7% |
| John W. Irwin | $10,433 | $706 | -93.2% |
| Barbara a Howland Trust | $2,644 | $693 | -73.8% |
| Chris A. Skinner | $5,712 | $692 | -87.9% |
| William F. Blakely | $5,827 | $631 | -89.2% |
| Charles M. Wilson | $4,811 | $623 | -87.1% |
| Alan Barker | $5,023 | $598 | -88.1% |
| William D. Armstrong | $6,183 | $587 | -90.5% |
| John Stevens | $7,599 | $586 | -92.3% |
| Bertha J. Huber | $1,380 | $562 | -59.3% |
| William M. Sumerel Sr. | $1,735 | $532 | -69.3% |
| James Compton | $2,435 | $501 | -79.4% |
| Sara E. Shealy | $491 | $491 | 0% |
| Anthony W. Stutes | $4,241 | $484 | -88.6% |
| Bryan W. Fogle Jr. | $0 | $473 | -- |
| Roberta H. Massey | $2,079 | $469 | -77.4% |
| Tony Tumblin | $2,465 | $460 | -81.3% |
| Rachel A. Mahon | $0 | $440 | -- |
| Terry Varner | $1,771 | $439 | -75.2% |
| Alice Jane Cleveland | $4,749 | $436 | -90.8% |
| Jonathan Cann | $2,225 | $428 | -80.8% |
| Tom Robertson | $2,856 | $418 | -85.4% |
| Lewis Compton | $3,432 | $409 | -88.1% |
| Andrea Baumberger | $2,555 | $397 | -84.5% |
| Carol Dewitt | $4,268 | $377 | -91.2% |
| John H. Stephens | $2,002 | $377 | -81.2% |
| Cartledge Farm, LLC | $1,518 | $350 | -76.9% |
| Desiree Avery | $3,285 | $349 | -89.4% |
| Charles Ray McHone | $2,564 | $343 | -86.6% |
| Richard Sanders | $2,123 | $330 | -84.5% |
| Thomas G. Arnold | $1,558 | $310 | -80.1% |
| Daniel Byron Verdin Jr. | $1,606 | $308 | -80.8% |
| Bradley Brewington | $1,976 | $274 | -86.1% |
| Doug G. Sims | $924 | $266 | -71.2% |
| Michael W. Estes | $2,189 | $242 | -88.9% |
| Harold C. Cheek Jr. | $2,117 | $242 | -88.6% |
| Jim A. Curry Jr. | $2,319 | $235 | -89.9% |
| Steven M. Finley | $1,995 | $207 | -89.6% |
| Rachel Wofford Siviter | $0 | $203 | -- |
| Denise M. Gordin | $0 | $192 | -- |
| Jayne Johnson | $1,133 | $189 | -83.3% |
| Steve Martin | $1,724 | $187 | -89.2% |
| June M. Wilson | $0 | $142 | -- |
| Thomas B Sawyer Trust | $264 | $107 | -59.5% |
| Braden Iusti | $583 | $86 | -85.2% |
| Samuel M. Bowden Jr. | $45 | $45 | 0% |
| Diane S Rischbieter | $107 | $33 | -69.2% |
| Linda W. Martin | $62 | $31 | -50% |
| Robert Walker | $63 | $31 | -50.8% |
| Billy R. Walker | $63 | $30 | -52.4% |
| Braden Iusti | $132 | $0 | -100% |
| Jay J. Peay | $139 | $0 | -100% |
| Matthew Allen Evans | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard Silver | $990 | $0 | -100% |
| Collin Cleer | $1,404 | $0 | -100% |
| Drew Eliot Davidson | $368 | $0 | -100% |
| Kevin E. Boiter | $219 | $0 | -100% |
| Marcus E. Cook | $38,131 | $0 | -100% |
| Martin Nursery, Inc. | $231,994 | $0 | -100% |
| Mary Ellen Coates | $1,265 | $0 | -100% |
| Mary Sue Shook | $372 | $0 | -100% |
| William A. Rice | $990 | $0 | -100% |
| Dawn Glass | $361 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $1,258 | $0 | -100% |
| Lisa Sumerel | $880 | $0 | -100% |
| William I. Coburn | $1,205 | $0 | -100% |
| Dale T. Taylor | $40,703 | $0 | -100% |
| Mark W. Taylor | $793 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,979,385 | $995,782 | -49.7% |
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