Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 77 farmers in cities within Lee County received a total of $403,547 in 95 farm subsidies, a 49.6% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $800,179 in 187 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jared T. Horne | $181,366 | $83,734 | -53.8% |
| Levco Timber, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Baker Farms | $55,184 | $43,038 | -22% |
| FDL Investments, LLC | $0 | $35,663 | -- |
| Jeanette I. Torbert | $30,582 | $29,851 | -2.4% |
| John T Ingram & Sons | $91,063 | $25,474 | -72% |
| Richland Farms, LLC | $14,552 | $14,552 | 0% |
| Jack Houston Avery | $10,772 | $10,772 | 0% |
| RLLT Properties, LLC | $0 | $10,091 | -- |
| Crawford A. Tatum Jr. | $39,696 | $8,842 | -77.7% |
| Torbert Farms, LLC | $7,685 | $5,334 | -30.6% |
| Susan Campbell | $2,709 | $4,265 | 57.4% |
| Fred D. Cotney | $37,200 | $3,992 | -89.3% |
| Sullivan-Scivicque Farms, LLC | $6,701 | $3,989 | -40.5% |
| Wayne W. Gentry | $6,650 | $3,674 | -44.8% |
| Cynthia H. Thrash | $3,536 | $3,318 | -6.2% |
| Brenton K. Truitt | $9,340 | $3,182 | -65.9% |
| Walker Farms | $3,152 | $3,152 | 0% |
| Matthew Pamperin | $15,834 | $2,993 | -81.1% |
| Terry Wise | $2,921 | $2,843 | -2.7% |
| Derick C. Gregory | $10,529 | $2,795 | -73.5% |
| William A. Dozier Jr. | $14,442 | $2,719 | -81.2% |
| John T. Ingram Jr. | $23,454 | $2,580 | -89% |
| Kathleen Clift Steigelman | $1,200 | $2,513 | 109.4% |
| Tym Kerr | $7,403 | $2,477 | -66.5% |
| Priester Family Partnership 2, Ltd. | $2,422 | $2,422 | 0% |
| Bobby R. Parker | $10,483 | $2,298 | -78.1% |
| Danny Lowell Dansby | $13,294 | $1,720 | -87.1% |
| Catherine Lamar Jackson | $1,676 | $1,676 | 0% |
| Agnes M. Stone | $8,404 | $1,665 | -80.2% |
| Benjamin D. Ingram | $2,582 | $1,441 | -44.2% |
| George Lee Murphy | $0 | $1,441 | -- |
| Edward T. Ryan | $1,433 | $1,433 | 0% |
| Robert C. Ingram | $13,431 | $1,340 | -90% |
| Rebecca E. Haden | $957 | $1,339 | 39.9% |
| Daniel Keith Mullenix | $5,686 | $1,317 | -76.8% |
| Larry Michael Humphrey | $4,587 | $1,132 | -75.3% |
| Vicki E. Jarboe | $2,188 | $997 | -54.4% |
| Johnny Dillard | $6,792 | $985 | -85.5% |
| Randy L. Price | $3,509 | $914 | -74% |
| Waymon Horne | $2,420 | $855 | -64.7% |
| Jeffrey V. Thurmond | $785 | $785 | 0% |
| Todd S Rivers | $3,311 | $778 | -76.5% |
| David G. Floyd Sr. | $0 | $771 | -- |
| Gerald Gooden | $3,878 | $767 | -80.2% |
| Haden Elizabeth Cannon | $5,702 | $754 | -86.8% |
| Stephen Lynn Fields | $2,035 | $604 | -70.3% |
| Roger P. Ross | $2,519 | $590 | -76.6% |
| Melba Slay | $2,112 | $587 | -72.2% |
| Jeannette B. Calderon | $2,453 | $584 | -76.2% |
| Holli Myers Thompson | $2,454 | $568 | -76.9% |
| Mary R. Ingram | $2,123 | $564 | -73.4% |
| Henry Carson Jackson Jr. | $2,585 | $551 | -78.7% |
| Donald R. Ingram | $1,936 | $505 | -73.9% |
| Richard H. Lowther | $1,573 | $498 | -68.3% |
| Leon Tyner | $1,221 | $484 | -60.4% |
| Gina C. Coleman | $858 | $460 | -46.4% |
| James E. Caldwell | $1,980 | $460 | -76.8% |
| Robert G. Jones | $2,500 | $452 | -81.9% |
| David Neill Howell | $3,588 | $451 | -87.4% |
| Carolyn S. Lord | $432 | $432 | 0% |
| Michael W. Lord | $432 | $432 | 0% |
| Patrice P. Lipscomb | $1,298 | $422 | -67.5% |
| Shirley Buss | $398 | $398 | 0% |
| William Mark Slay | $1,727 | $388 | -77.5% |
| Garth D. Bowman | $3,373 | $378 | -88.8% |
| Caleb W. Pipes | $0 | $363 | -- |
| James H. Riddle | $1,287 | $332 | -74.2% |
| David Blanton III | $3,800 | $250 | -93.4% |
| Kyle M. Ross | $1,023 | $225 | -78% |
| Mike S. Patterson | $396 | $207 | -47.7% |
| George Wesley Evans Jr. | $704 | $194 | -72.4% |
| Jane C. Murphy | $2,288 | $172 | -92.5% |
| Leslie E. Digman | $704 | $138 | -80.4% |
| Nathan Evans | $539 | $138 | -74.4% |
| Erik Goldmann | $561 | $100 | -82.2% |
| Susan M. Harris | $0 | $72 | -- |
| Ann Bennett | $426 | $0 | -100% |
| Bearlander, LLC | $15,627 | $0 | -100% |
| Carolyn A. Hall | $50 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles Tillman Dudley | $3,300 | $0 | -100% |
| Christie D. Thomley | $1,503 | $0 | -100% |
| Dale S. Broussard | $3,420 | $0 | -100% |
| Jack T. Clift | $10,946 | $0 | -100% |
| John E. Harrell | $2,200 | $0 | -100% |
| John Thomas Ingram III | $6,502 | $0 | -100% |
| Kathleen M. Capps | $2,432 | $0 | -100% |
| Kersh McIntyre Jr. | $495 | $0 | -100% |
| Lucy C. Reeves | $7,123 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul Dan Limbaugh | $660 | $0 | -100% |
| Rosalind C. Burnham | $3,593 | $0 | -100% |
| Roy M. Johnson | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Tracy Buran Evens | $2,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Willa J. Parrish | $538 | $0 | -100% |
| William Eddie Walker | $20,404 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $800,179 | $403,547 | -49.6% |
Alerts Sign-up