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In 2021, 89 farmers in cities within Burke County received a total of $402,102 in 109 farm subsidies, a 76.7% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.7 million in 223 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen D. Parker | $0 | $75,596 | -- |
| Dannie A. Hudgins | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Chapman Brothers Logging, LLC | $0 | $34,279 | -- |
| Jonathan Smith | $0 | $27,611 | -- |
| Caldwell County Nursery, LLC | $0 | $26,111 | -- |
| Smith Farms of Burke, LLC | $0 | $24,471 | -- |
| Johnny N. Orders | $106,150 | $22,474 | -78.8% |
| G & F, Inc. | $37,568 | $16,183 | -56.9% |
| Jeff Houk | $6,288 | $11,607 | 84.6% |
| Terry Smith | $0 | $10,338 | -- |
| Feathers and Beaks Farm, LLC. | $0 | $9,737 | -- |
| Lee A. Bethke | $7,969 | $7,969 | 0% |
| Robert R. Lowman | $12,458 | $6,022 | -51.7% |
| Robert A. Stevenson | $5,489 | $5,489 | 0% |
| Ralph W. Berry Jr. | $16,468 | $5,451 | -66.9% |
| William C. Parton Jr. | $10,467 | $4,449 | -57.5% |
| Mary Ann Antley | $2,756 | $3,681 | 33.6% |
| Frank Queen | $28,533 | $3,254 | -88.6% |
| Daniel C. Wall | $18,994 | $3,164 | -83.3% |
| Nathan S. Hoyle | $11,961 | $3,069 | -74.3% |
| Terry Joe Perry | $0 | $2,968 | -- |
| Jeffrey Kyle Orders | $10,297 | $2,605 | -74.7% |
| Jeremy Reed | $18,825 | $2,565 | -86.4% |
| Robin Jackson | $8,770 | $2,513 | -71.3% |
| Robert Martin Smith | $4,235 | $2,219 | -47.6% |
| M J Fitzgerald Nursery, Inc. | $12,120 | $2,160 | -82.2% |
| Willie F. Young | $5,896 | $1,970 | -66.6% |
| Joseph H. Browning | $8,228 | $1,879 | -77.2% |
| Leonard Ray Tallent | $4,571 | $1,789 | -60.9% |
| K & B Mcclure Farms, LLC | $2,677 | $1,470 | -45.1% |
| Kathleen G. Andrews | $2,292 | $1,450 | -36.7% |
| James D. Berry Jr. | $5,709 | $1,364 | -76.1% |
| Buddy Leger Jr. | $7,107 | $1,252 | -82.4% |
| Randy C. Huffman | $0 | $1,071 | -- |
| Ronnie Wood | $3,850 | $994 | -74.2% |
| Walter Melvin Norman | $6,732 | $959 | -85.8% |
| David E. Taylor | $925 | $892 | -3.6% |
| Dallas Miller | $3,360 | $888 | -73.6% |
| Denise Harris | $4,031 | $867 | -78.5% |
| Teresa Diane Huffman | $4,348 | $847 | -80.5% |
| Randall Brackett | $3,696 | $778 | -79% |
| Cyrus C. McNeely III | $2,838 | $696 | -75.5% |
| Todd H. Norman | $2,816 | $651 | -76.9% |
| Jason B. Carswell | $0 | $643 | -- |
| Donald Seibel | $1,387 | $600 | -56.7% |
| Danny Edwin Hensley | $671 | $588 | -12.4% |
| John D. Pollard | $2,601 | $586 | -77.5% |
| Don J. Scott | $1,727 | $578 | -66.5% |
| Kevin Todd Sizemore | $2,557 | $550 | -78.5% |
| Ann Bossert | $438 | $538 | 22.8% |
| Kaleb J. Nicholson | $1,706 | $473 | -72.3% |
| John B. Chapman | $924 | $442 | -52.2% |
| Larry Buff | $20,786 | $434 | -97.9% |
| Nell T Palmer Trust | $222 | $415 | 86.9% |
| Gorman Pitts | $1,969 | $405 | -79.4% |
| Gary S. Michaels | $3,188 | $397 | -87.5% |
| Phillip Houk | $1,870 | $394 | -78.9% |
| Maynard Taylor | $3,041 | $386 | -87.3% |
| John J. Reynolds | $1,964 | $364 | -81.5% |
| Richard Owensby | $1,131 | $350 | -69.1% |
| Michael Leon Swink | $1,100 | $345 | -68.6% |
| Louis Bayne Setzer Jr. | $946 | $314 | -66.8% |
| Roy Ledford | $306 | $306 | 0% |
| Clinton Patton | $1,254 | $304 | -75.8% |
| Foy M. McNeely | $1,738 | $288 | -83.4% |
| Mark Anthony Smith | $1,936 | $287 | -85.2% |
| Wayne Martin | $1,122 | $246 | -78.1% |
| Thomas Wray Ware | $242 | $242 | 0% |
| Roger D. Peeler | $396 | $236 | -40.4% |
| James Richardson | $1,585 | $225 | -85.8% |
| Clyde E. Roberts Jr. | $528 | $204 | -61.4% |
| Hamilton W. Williams | $379 | $185 | -51.2% |
| Kyle Earls | $1,095 | $183 | -83.3% |
| Patricia L. Jirka | $478 | $179 | -62.6% |
| John A. Hayes | $262 | $160 | -38.9% |
| Larry L. Huffman | $363 | $159 | -56.2% |
| William Judd Townsend | $674 | $146 | -78.3% |
| Gary A. Lane | $1,722 | $138 | -92% |
| Henry Worth Houk Jr. | $508 | $133 | -73.8% |
| Vester Lee Norman | $330 | $132 | -60% |
| Samuel Emory Stephens | $3,344 | $126 | -96.2% |
| Jim Shuping | $1,507 | $124 | -91.8% |
| Bobby Ray Crawley | $1,455 | $121 | -91.7% |
| Henry Worth Houk Sr. | $572 | $114 | -80.1% |
| Matt Johnson | $868 | $114 | -86.9% |
| Rebecca Ross Shuping | $0 | $103 | -- |
| Adolph J. Jirka | $162 | $73 | -54.9% |
| Ray Lail | $629 | $71 | -88.7% |
| Kenneth Kayga | $1,539 | $24 | -98.4% |
| Emma Walters | $61 | $0 | -100% |
| Jason Carswell | $1,320 | $0 | -100% |
| James E. Morgan | $257 | $0 | -100% |
| Barney D. Laws | $825 | $0 | -100% |
| Bluebird Farm, LLC | $19,648 | $0 | -100% |
| CCC | $19,648 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $15,420 | $0 | -100% |
| Fitzgerald Nursery, Inc. | $485,263 | $0 | -100% |
| John Earle White | $383 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael Vance Morgan | $1,320 | $0 | -100% |
| North 40 Nursery, Inc. | $440,292 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul W. Patton | $660 | $0 | -100% |
| Pro-Green | $250,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Rebecca Shuping | $1,235 | $0 | -100% |
| Rex Chapman | $11,275 | $0 | -100% |
| Shelia Y. Asbury | $1,155 | $0 | -100% |
| Skydance Farm, LLC | $6,340 | $0 | -100% |
| Wind River Enterprises, LLC | $7,993 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,724,741 | $402,102 | -76.7% |
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