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In 2021, 122 farmers in cities within Alexander County received a total of $2.5 million in 173 farm subsidies, a 20.4% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $3.1 million in 326 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning Dew Farms, LLC | $212,829 | $278,402 | 30.8% |
| Robin Rogers | $146,801 | $276,729 | 88.5% |
| Traci St Clair | $0 | $250,000 | -- |
| Herman Dairy Farms, Inc. | $119,127 | $246,464 | 106.9% |
| Deal Orchards, Inc. | $228,703 | $180,029 | -21.3% |
| Trevor Chatham | $175,756 | $147,920 | -15.8% |
| Chapman Jersey Farm, LLC | $92,528 | $102,969 | 11.3% |
| Brookshire Farm | $0 | $90,245 | -- |
| Bryan V. Rogers | $9,220 | $84,461 | 816.1% |
| Randy Rayford Milstead | $0 | $61,709 | -- |
| Kent Herman | $65,881 | $53,420 | -18.9% |
| Precision Logging and Chipping, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Casey R. Richey | $275,841 | $52,528 | -81% |
| Brian K. Penley | $16,658 | $47,043 | 182.4% |
| B & C Poultry, LLC | $0 | $30,210 | -- |
| John W. Peterson Jr. | $0 | $28,765 | -- |
| Shawn Dale Brown | $0 | $22,898 | -- |
| Icenhour Poultry and Beef, LLC | $0 | $22,829 | -- |
| Richard Eugene White | $107,339 | $22,827 | -78.7% |
| Rickey Dale Brown | $0 | $22,818 | -- |
| Jeffrey D. Walker | $16,539 | $21,004 | 27% |
| Thomas Lee Fortner | $0 | $18,549 | -- |
| Derek E. Fox | $312,052 | $16,364 | -94.8% |
| Phillip Max Bentley | $976 | $16,138 | 1,553.5% |
| Dale L. White | $15,990 | $15,894 | -0.6% |
| Richard S. Herman | $129,147 | $15,360 | -88.1% |
| Barbara E. Herman | $0 | $14,584 | -- |
| Franklin W. Friday | $0 | $13,384 | -- |
| Penny Milstead | $0 | $11,848 | -- |
| Payne Dairy, Inc. | $54,370 | $11,677 | -78.5% |
| Randal Lee Gilleland | $0 | $11,627 | -- |
| Tommy Chatham | $53,912 | $11,312 | -79% |
| Sara Margaret Walker | $0 | $11,269 | -- |
| Amy W. Dennis | $0 | $11,096 | -- |
| Caleb G. Gilreath | $0 | $11,083 | -- |
| Jodie Leigh Dyson | $0 | $10,937 | -- |
| Stony Point Nursery and Farms, LLC | $152,028 | $10,179 | -93.3% |
| David Lee Herman Jr. | $0 | $9,071 | -- |
| Patricia V. Roberts | $0 | $8,992 | -- |
| D B Logging | $0 | $8,324 | -- |
| Sugar Loaf Farms | $0 | $7,896 | -- |
| Kim B. Echerd | $0 | $6,153 | -- |
| Gaither Barnes | $25,762 | $5,393 | -79.1% |
| Mary Ann Icenhour | $0 | $5,247 | -- |
| Kevin Scott Richey | $5,777 | $5,128 | -11.2% |
| Miles Darrin Rogers | $0 | $5,086 | -- |
| Andy T. Barnes | $16,532 | $4,941 | -70.1% |
| Charles A. Johnson | $17,458 | $4,445 | -74.5% |
| Coy M. Reese | $66,740 | $4,378 | -93.4% |
| Wes White | $0 | $4,327 | -- |
| Phil Branton | $16,157 | $4,156 | -74.3% |
| Dustin E. Queen | $15,340 | $3,887 | -74.7% |
| Byron Shaun Lackey | $15,345 | $3,604 | -76.5% |
| Danny R. Millsaps | $1,430 | $3,261 | 128% |
| Chris Howard Mecimore | $5,089 | $3,213 | -36.9% |
| Newell C. Johnson | $10,307 | $3,045 | -70.5% |
| Brandon G. Brown | $11,212 | $2,962 | -73.6% |
| Mr. Justin Craig Childers | $15,740 | $2,801 | -82.2% |
| Stephen Tyler Brown | $12,928 | $2,607 | -79.8% |
| Roger L. Smith | $34,590 | $2,561 | -92.6% |
| James Kyle St Clair | $14,073 | $2,328 | -83.5% |
| Kathy J. Gilreath | $0 | $2,188 | -- |
| Bradley G. Gilreath | $13,686 | $2,129 | -84.4% |
| Darrell E. Mitchell | $15,151 | $2,074 | -86.3% |
| Cody Jacob Fox | $51,019 | $2,058 | -96% |
| Rocky Face Beefmasters, LLC | $8,431 | $2,051 | -75.7% |
| Lawzyday Farm, LLC | $0 | $2,035 | -- |
| Cathy Chatham | $0 | $1,843 | -- |
| John David Allen Bowman | $10,952 | $1,699 | -84.5% |
| Bobby D. McLain | $6,070 | $1,586 | -73.9% |
| Lynn Sharpe | $8,384 | $1,551 | -81.5% |
| Jimmy D. Mitchell | $6,624 | $1,459 | -78% |
| Three Weed Cattle Company | $6,683 | $1,442 | -78.4% |
| Winnie M. Sloan | $7,485 | $1,399 | -81.3% |
| Eddie Lee Davis | $0 | $1,366 | -- |
| Brandon L. Stafford | $11,337 | $1,326 | -88.3% |
| Edgar Wilson Friday | $6,642 | $1,325 | -80.1% |
| Zeb Leonard Kale | $13,969 | $1,317 | -90.6% |
| Kenneth T. Patterson | $0 | $1,296 | -- |
| Patrick L. Gilleland | $7,870 | $1,288 | -83.6% |
| Gary Dean Letterman | $16,223 | $1,247 | -92.3% |
| Roger Dean Miller | $5,625 | $1,110 | -80.3% |
| Gene L. Fox | $8,330 | $1,031 | -87.6% |
| Ray Allen Barnes | $3,905 | $1,021 | -73.9% |
| James McLain | $4,209 | $969 | -77% |
| James R. Fox Jr. | $4,356 | $914 | -79% |
| Troy C. Watts Jr. | $4,283 | $898 | -79% |
| Larry R. Robinson | $3,626 | $874 | -75.9% |
| Donald Ray Johnson | $6,148 | $754 | -87.7% |
| Luke Fred Elder | $6,622 | $747 | -88.7% |
| John M. Brown | $4,227 | $745 | -82.4% |
| Patricia H. Bowman | $1,683 | $716 | -57.5% |
| Jimmy Lynn Cook | $3,320 | $709 | -78.6% |
| Aaron Arrowood | $4,107 | $686 | -83.3% |
| Daniel Lee Bumgarner | $3,219 | $668 | -79.2% |
| Bryan T. Crouse | $0 | $660 | -- |
| Roy Dewayne Durmire | $3,863 | $630 | -83.7% |
| Darlene Wike Childers | $2,773 | $622 | -77.6% |
| James Lynn Dagenhart | $2,611 | $567 | -78.3% |
| William George McClelland | $1,221 | $526 | -56.9% |
| William White Jordan Jr. | $2,679 | $522 | -80.5% |
| Wesley Eric Bumgarner | $1,683 | $500 | -70.3% |
| David L. Steinmetz | $2,430 | $498 | -79.5% |
| Timothy A. Glass | $5,141 | $487 | -90.5% |
| Tammy Cline Auton | $0 | $479 | -- |
| Jermey L Hatton | $0 | $452 | -- |
| Ronald L. Cook | $2,785 | $414 | -85.1% |
| Rusty Jarrod Hammer | $1,903 | $408 | -78.6% |
| Micheal Darrin Rogers | $1,961 | $394 | -79.9% |
| Dennis Marshall Privette | $2,010 | $384 | -80.9% |
| Marty D. McLain | $2,222 | $377 | -83% |
| John Wayne Brown Jr. | $1,672 | $367 | -78.1% |
| Atwell Craig Cook | $3,242 | $298 | -90.8% |
| Ronnie M. Branton | $2,580 | $293 | -88.6% |
| Anthony Brent Partin | $1,375 | $290 | -78.9% |
| Ricky A. Fox | $1,342 | $279 | -79.2% |
| Brandi Crouch Taylor | $1,026 | $276 | -73.1% |
| Mark T. Ford | $1,342 | $262 | -80.5% |
| Troy Lee Higgs | $1,445 | $255 | -82.4% |
| Carole D. Rogers | $200 | $200 | 0% |
| Robert Darron Barnette | $594 | $107 | -82% |
| Glenn M Kurfees II | $3,434 | $104 | -97% |
| Audie Craig Sprinkle | $220 | $0 | -100% |
| Brenda Walker Sharpe | $3,135 | $0 | -100% |
| Carmen Johnson Huffman | $21,221 | $0 | -100% |
| Conrad Millsaps | $660 | $0 | -100% |
| David P. Sprinkle | $2,161 | $0 | -100% |
| Jared Kyle Adams | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Lee Justin Holcomb | $901 | $0 | -100% |
| Leonard Kale | $6,413 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael A. Millsaps | $3,245 | $0 | -100% |
| Old Mountain Berry Patch, LLC | $23,315 | $0 | -100% |
| Scott Sink | $7,045 | $0 | -100% |
| Amy I. Douglas | $9,266 | $0 | -100% |
| Carolina Cattle Farm, LLC | $3,080 | $0 | -100% |
| Carson Family Farm, LLC | $2,378 | $0 | -100% |
| Colby R. Herman | $1,265 | $0 | -100% |
| Cole Eugene White | $1,650 | $0 | -100% |
| Dennis N. Teague | $1,815 | $0 | -100% |
| Diana P. Jolly | $1,100 | $0 | -100% |
| Hunter Peyton Dagenhart | $1,980 | $0 | -100% |
| Jermey Hatton | $792 | $0 | -100% |
| Kelly Kent Lasey | $22,700 | $0 | -100% |
| Old Mill Acres, LLC | $73 | $0 | -100% |
| Phillip Dru Bowman | $1,155 | $0 | -100% |
| Randy Milstead | $48,775 | $0 | -100% |
| Ricky G. Harrington | $990 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Lynn Marshall | $1,595 | $0 | -100% |
| Rocky Dale Millsaps | $880 | $0 | -100% |
| Rogers Mountainview Farms, Inc. | $162,542 | $0 | -100% |
| Shirley Roberson | $1,427 | $0 | -100% |
| Stacy Gene Marshall | $309 | $0 | -100% |
| The Dear Berry Farm, LLC | $43 | $0 | -100% |
| William Wayne Herman | $2,970 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $3,111,548 | $2,476,424 | -20.4% |
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