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In 2021, 58 farmers in cities within Orange County received a total of $560,233 in 101 farm subsidies, a 70.2% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.9 million in 189 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenwood, LLC | $224,845 | $138,063 | -38.6% |
| Cleaveland Farm, LLC | $250,959 | $66,033 | -73.7% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $62,395 | -- |
| Custom Harvesters, Inc. | $111,457 | $45,128 | -59.5% |
| Somerset Seed and Sod, Inc. | $0 | $44,877 | -- |
| J R & J G Goodwin, LLC | $90,263 | $23,441 | -74% |
| James Vere Nicoll 2016 Irrevocable Trust | $0 | $16,872 | -- |
| Warren L. Chewning | $58,547 | $14,030 | -76% |
| Tatum Farm, LLC | $64,358 | $12,746 | -80.2% |
| Dabney C. Allen Jr. | $35,450 | $12,400 | -65% |
| Albert J. McGhee Jr. | $6,043 | $11,236 | 85.9% |
| Forest View Farm, LLC | $9,757 | $7,421 | -23.9% |
| Thomas E. Graves Jr. | $21,694 | $7,312 | -66.3% |
| HFCC, LLC | $23,467 | $6,733 | -71.3% |
| Valentine Miller Jr. | $51,842 | $6,471 | -87.5% |
| Barboursville Farms, LLC | $21,710 | $5,440 | -74.9% |
| James Corbin | $19,047 | $4,996 | -73.8% |
| Jett Farms, Inc. | $3,490 | $4,465 | 27.9% |
| Jerald Wayne Atkins | $5,976 | $4,332 | -27.5% |
| Old South Farm, LLC | $18,358 | $4,271 | -76.7% |
| Steven Lario Walsh | $0 | $4,244 | -- |
| Belle Plaine Farm, LLC | $30,992 | $4,232 | -86.3% |
| Brandon Edward Vanhoven | $11,385 | $3,952 | -65.3% |
| Richard T. Whitman | $3,668 | $3,668 | 0% |
| Henry Farms, LLC | $14,091 | $3,582 | -74.6% |
| Timothy C. Neale | $20,513 | $3,577 | -82.6% |
| Berry Run Farm, LLC | $10,049 | $3,544 | -64.7% |
| Robert D. Wilbanks | $9,548 | $3,138 | -67.1% |
| Benjamin Mcrae Banks Southard | $18,647 | $2,869 | -84.6% |
| Adam Blankenbaker | $0 | $2,797 | -- |
| Millwood Farm, Inc. | $7,513 | $2,541 | -66.2% |
| James Swart | $8,610 | $2,308 | -73.2% |
| Wayne Tatum | $4,377 | $2,283 | -47.8% |
| Joan G. Lohr | $5,665 | $1,919 | -66.1% |
| Sanford L. Harvey | $1,368 | $1,368 | 0% |
| Robert P. Brockman | $6,037 | $1,334 | -77.9% |
| Erik J. Weaver | $5,628 | $1,279 | -77.3% |
| W. J. Davis Jr. | $9,591 | $1,151 | -88% |
| Jacob Gilley | $21,123 | $1,149 | -94.6% |
| Jeff Morris | $5,631 | $1,082 | -80.8% |
| Benjiman Waddy | $5,549 | $969 | -82.5% |
| Ruth Anne Paisley | $2,787 | $866 | -68.9% |
| Patricia S Woycik-Shaw | $887 | $862 | -2.8% |
| Charles and Vicki Horn Family Trust | $0 | $731 | -- |
| Thomas C. Waddy | $3,726 | $704 | -81.1% |
| Harold Slaughter | $3,794 | $639 | -83.2% |
| John Dawson II | $2,412 | $625 | -74.1% |
| Mary D. Waddy | $2,684 | $622 | -76.8% |
| Merlyn Koontz | $2,979 | $543 | -81.8% |
| Paul K. Hale | $2,640 | $530 | -79.9% |
| Robert J. Bernard | $528 | $528 | 0% |
| Charles Elmer Engel | $1,320 | $526 | -60.2% |
| George Daniel Racer | $2,705 | $429 | -84.1% |
| Richard Cody Girten | $1,444 | $339 | -76.5% |
| Robin L. Shifflett | $429 | $268 | -37.5% |
| Ted Blevins | $198 | $182 | -8.1% |
| George S. Palmer | $185 | $171 | -7.6% |
| Dottie S. Norris | $427 | $20 | -95.3% |
| Brad Metzger | $495 | $0 | -100% |
| Carolyn R. Stanley | $1,265 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles and Vicki Horn Family Trustee | $4,711 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles Edward Graham | $2,218 | $0 | -100% |
| Clearview Greenhouses, LLC | $236,254 | $0 | -100% |
| Donovan R. Miller | $1,566 | $0 | -100% |
| Edward Machin van Hoven | $319,377 | $0 | -100% |
| Eugene Green | $1,485 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $39,896 | $0 | -100% |
| James Darnell | $11,123 | $0 | -100% |
| James Vere Nicoll 2016 Irrevocabl | $4,503 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph A. Jewett Revocable Trust | $4,966 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert L. Racer | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Signe E. Putz | $4,483 | $0 | -100% |
| Valentine E. Miller | $1,117 | $0 | -100% |
| Westwind Flowers, LLC | $1,444 | $0 | -100% |
| William Revelle | $3 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,881,849 | $560,233 | -70.2% |
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