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In 2021, 125 farmers in cities within Dorchester County received a total of $2 million in 235 farm subsidies, a 45.7% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $3.7 million in 475 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinger Farms Partnership | $596,897 | $279,444 | -53.2% |
| Gunter Farms | $318,106 | $119,060 | -62.6% |
| J H Westbury & Sons | $216,200 | $111,824 | -48.3% |
| Ronald K. McClure | $111,335 | $94,659 | -15% |
| Fender Farms | $166,961 | $83,404 | -50% |
| Burns Poultry, LLC | $0 | $81,993 | -- |
| Pinckney G. Murray | $118,378 | $78,840 | -33.4% |
| J & C Farms | $124,399 | $76,874 | -38.2% |
| Pendarvis Farms, LLC | $133,184 | $76,846 | -42.3% |
| Kevin Reeves | $18,552 | $71,224 | 283.9% |
| Jeffery A. Sweatman | $160,443 | $70,596 | -56% |
| James H. Weathers | $106,029 | $61,813 | -41.7% |
| Itty Biddy Farm, LLC | $0 | $57,364 | -- |
| Greg Reeves | $88,859 | $55,971 | -37% |
| Clint Gruber Trucking, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Gruber Wood, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Jody R. Weathers | $101,456 | $52,831 | -47.9% |
| John Trenton Pendarvis | $0 | $46,419 | -- |
| Twin Oaks Poultry | $0 | $45,810 | -- |
| William M. Edwins | $22,536 | $40,629 | 80.3% |
| Lucas Poultry Farm, LLC | $0 | $34,713 | -- |
| Lucas Farm & Kennel, LLC | $63,719 | $23,554 | -63% |
| Richard W. McClure | $45,805 | $21,460 | -53.1% |
| Bobbie Lou Turner | $0 | $20,345 | -- |
| I and P Farms, LLC | $31,877 | $19,766 | -38% |
| Rosemary McAlhany | $36,318 | $16,998 | -53.2% |
| Carlton B. Byrd | $66,070 | $16,786 | -74.6% |
| Trent Pendarvis | $54,337 | $14,153 | -74% |
| Adam Wynn Pendarvis | $0 | $12,915 | -- |
| Tigercrossing, LLC | $4,573 | $11,879 | 159.8% |
| Joseph C. Whetsell | $9,358 | $11,586 | 23.8% |
| James E. Fender Jr. | $28,954 | $11,194 | -61.3% |
| Whetsell Bros Farms | $29,833 | $10,794 | -63.8% |
| Furman L. Dukes | $23,365 | $10,005 | -57.2% |
| Stanley W. Gruber | $112,477 | $9,314 | -91.7% |
| Fred L. Dantzler Jr. | $12,261 | $7,440 | -39.3% |
| Bert Judy | $26,740 | $6,826 | -74.5% |
| Adam Pendarvis | $18,209 | $6,799 | -62.7% |
| William D. Hill Jr. | $8,886 | $6,797 | -23.5% |
| National Audubon Society, Inc. | $7 | $6,643 | 94,800% |
| Ella Hill | $11,613 | $6,178 | -46.8% |
| Mark Wimberly Farms, LLC | $14,252 | $5,796 | -59.3% |
| Kirkland A. Gruber | $21,837 | $5,740 | -73.7% |
| Charles Dantzler | $19,560 | $4,945 | -74.7% |
| Reeves Bros Poultry Farm | $7,492 | $4,295 | -42.7% |
| Victor Smith Jr. | $5,782 | $4,005 | -30.7% |
| Michael Jeffery Kemmerlin Jr. | $1,238 | $3,863 | 212% |
| Ryan Stanley Bishop | $6,845 | $3,740 | -45.4% |
| Mike Hilton | $6,375 | $3,664 | -42.5% |
| Michael Durr | $7,489 | $3,473 | -53.6% |
| Ella Virginia Feagin Murray | $0 | $3,266 | -- |
| Hughey E. Reeves | $4,314 | $3,229 | -25.2% |
| Agsouth Farm Credit, Aca | $0 | $3,040 | -- |
| George Sanders | $9,529 | $2,913 | -69.4% |
| Manning Bair | $6,572 | $2,533 | -61.5% |
| Andrew Bell | $2,992 | $2,340 | -21.8% |
| Eddie T. Heaton | $10,211 | $2,241 | -78.1% |
| Robert V. Hilton | $8,104 | $2,188 | -73% |
| Hugh H. Walters III | $14,540 | $2,096 | -85.6% |
| Ham Bone Farm, LLC | $186,121 | $2,091 | -98.9% |
| Billy Carter | $9,722 | $1,937 | -80.1% |
| Matt Hoover | $2,374 | $1,857 | -21.8% |
| Wayne Welch | $5,262 | $1,814 | -65.5% |
| Rodney W. Causey | $3,106 | $1,768 | -43.1% |
| Michael O. Grooms | $3,201 | $1,652 | -48.4% |
| Joyce W. Davis | $3,287 | $1,476 | -55.1% |
| Patricia Wilds | $3,576 | $1,387 | -61.2% |
| Shelley Reeves Wilds | $3,634 | $1,245 | -65.7% |
| Frances T. Pendarvis | $0 | $1,209 | -- |
| Durham Reeves | $9,193 | $1,152 | -87.5% |
| I. F. Hill III | $1,120 | $1,120 | 0% |
| Elaine H. Westbury | $2,277 | $1,107 | -51.4% |
| Thomas Shawn Mims | $4,983 | $1,049 | -78.9% |
| Kevin Michael Hickman | $3,887 | $1,007 | -74.1% |
| Danny Jackson | $972 | $1,006 | 3.5% |
| Glenn Risher | $4,010 | $1,002 | -75% |
| Shieder Farms, LLC | $3,901 | $948 | -75.7% |
| Holcombe M. Bell Jr. | $2,680 | $925 | -65.5% |
| Daniel David Enfinger | $7,454 | $904 | -87.9% |
| Jamison D. Marchant | $844 | $844 | 0% |
| Thomas Jordan | $1,560 | $827 | -47% |
| James Limehouse Sr. | $0 | $769 | -- |
| Robert P. Deas III | $629 | $677 | 7.6% |
| Jared Weathers | $1,039 | $655 | -37% |
| George A. Reeves | $10,229 | $630 | -93.8% |
| Harvey C. Kizer Jr. | $1,617 | $618 | -61.8% |
| Richie Shuman | $1,110 | $586 | -47.2% |
| Horsepen Branch, LLC | $1,914 | $576 | -69.9% |
| Robert D. Behr | $1,010 | $530 | -47.5% |
| Cathy Thornton | $2,100 | $520 | -75.2% |
| Russell A. Weathers | $508 | $508 | 0% |
| Travis Berry | $360 | $488 | 35.6% |
| Anne K. Reeves | $487 | $487 | 0% |
| Arthur William Johnston Jr. | $0 | $471 | -- |
| Frank Hartzog | $456 | $456 | 0% |
| Rosemary D. McAlhany | $0 | $443 | -- |
| Michael Kemmerlin | $1,040 | $442 | -57.5% |
| George E. Moore Jr. | $2,632 | $427 | -83.8% |
| Thomas F. Williams | $1,122 | $421 | -62.5% |
| Shannon D. Hawkins | $2,562 | $385 | -85% |
| James Fortana | $1,837 | $358 | -80.5% |
| Ray Lemon | $1,078 | $334 | -69% |
| Eddie Joseph Myzell | $0 | $316 | -- |
| Brenda D. Weathers | $301 | $301 | 0% |
| AgSouth Farm Credit | $0 | $260 | -- |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $258 | -- |
| Theresa Murray Sweatman | $0 | $257 | -- |
| Shannon Douglas Hawkins | $0 | $256 | -- |
| George Lin Kizer | $2,388 | $247 | -89.7% |
| Amos Felder Jr. | $1,305 | $233 | -82.1% |
| Richard P. Phalen | $204 | $204 | 0% |
| Richard A. Postell | $0 | $198 | -- |
| William F. McArn Sr. | $506 | $187 | -63% |
| Charles E. Reeves | $0 | $159 | -- |
| Wilson Carn | $133 | $142 | 6.8% |
| Karen McNeill | $363 | $120 | -66.9% |
| Gilbert Baldwin | $1,110 | $110 | -90.1% |
| Eugene D. Wamer Jr. | $107 | $107 | 0% |
| John L. Parker Jr. | $1,311 | $84 | -93.6% |
| Alexander Goodwine | $1,186 | $54 | -95.4% |
| Howard K. Reeves | $109 | $45 | -58.7% |
| McArthur Young | $764 | $28 | -96.3% |
| Rachel Clayton Pendarvis | $0 | $17 | -- |
| Audrey C. McClure | $159 | $17 | -89.3% |
| Mike Crook | $1,348 | $2 | -99.9% |
| Arthur W. Johnston Jr. | $907 | $0 | -100% |
| English Pearcy | $1,825 | $0 | -100% |
| FSA | $100,013 | $0 | -100% |
| Herbert J. Bishop | $1,156 | $0 | -100% |
| Jeffy Westbury | $39,289 | $0 | -100% |
| Lenora C. Parker | $18 | $0 | -100% |
| Rachel C. Pendarvis | $159 | $0 | -100% |
| Anthony T. McAlhany | $10,508 | $0 | -100% |
| Donald J. Baker | $5,238 | $0 | -100% |
| Langston C. E. Hilton | $300 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael Jeremy Hughes | $391 | $0 | -100% |
| Roger B. Berry | $13,061 | $0 | -100% |
| FSA | $3,717 | $0 | -100% |
| Lebanon Christmas Tree Farm, LLC | $10,254 | $0 | -100% |
| Nobles and Associates, LLC | $91,972 | $0 | -100% |
| Rocky Gethers | $385 | $0 | -100% |
| Rudolph Glover | $1,010 | $0 | -100% |
| Bess M. Campbell | $598 | $0 | -100% |
| Ella Feagin Murray | $49,866 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $4,699 | $0 | -100% |
| Florence B Appleby Family | $2,367 | $0 | -100% |
| FSA | $691 | $0 | -100% |
| Lynette W. Mincey | $393 | $0 | -100% |
| Robin J. Mizzell | $86 | $0 | -100% |
| Theresa M. Sweatman | $726 | $0 | -100% |
| William H. Murray | $24,805 | $0 | -100% |
| Wishbone Heritage Farms, LLC | $4,534 | $0 | -100% |
| Darrell M. Sooter Jr. | $320 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $3,690,345 | $2,003,573 | -45.7% |
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