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In 2021, 134 farmers in cities within Spencer County received a total of $373,720 in 188 farm subsidies, a 64.6% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.1 million in 381 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Smith | $59,370 | $35,184 | -40.7% |
| Travis Farms, Inc. | $77,610 | $33,765 | -56.5% |
| Spencer Farm Service, Inc. | $97,184 | $29,670 | -69.5% |
| Crain Sod, LLC | $0 | $26,034 | -- |
| Chad A. Herndon | $54,075 | $15,822 | -70.7% |
| Patton Farms, LLC | $58,899 | $13,403 | -77.2% |
| Joshua R. Martin | $20,680 | $13,206 | -36.1% |
| Sweasy Farms, LLC | $23,359 | $11,908 | -49% |
| Stevens Dairy Farm, Inc. | $37,756 | $9,368 | -75.2% |
| Byron Cunningham Jr. | $20,937 | $9,235 | -55.9% |
| Gerald A. Moody | $16,117 | $7,611 | -52.8% |
| Charles C. Rogers | $11,318 | $7,536 | -33.4% |
| Dennis Ray Butler | $9,489 | $7,454 | -21.4% |
| James M. Butler | $1,967 | $7,106 | 261.3% |
| William Randall Jump | $26,648 | $6,742 | -74.7% |
| James Eddie Thomas | $27,231 | $6,288 | -76.9% |
| Harold Hume | $39,471 | $5,950 | -84.9% |
| Derudder Farms, LLC | $4,312 | $5,867 | 36.1% |
| W R Van Dyke Farm | $3,045 | $5,507 | 80.9% |
| Brent Tolle | $0 | $5,500 | -- |
| Van Dyke Enterprises, Inc. | $3,932 | $4,620 | 17.5% |
| Robert K. Jump | $18,701 | $4,616 | -75.3% |
| Michael Willett | $22,490 | $4,566 | -79.7% |
| Thomas A. Morsey | $7,893 | $4,447 | -43.7% |
| Michael Todd Stevens | $21,253 | $4,407 | -79.3% |
| Patton Brothers, LLC | $19,363 | $4,359 | -77.5% |
| Larry Rogers | $5,003 | $4,173 | -16.6% |
| Timothy Marks | $12,013 | $4,052 | -66.3% |
| James M. Stevens | $20,510 | $3,758 | -81.7% |
| Martin Family Farm, LLC | $8,953 | $3,021 | -66.3% |
| Steve Bowman | $13,138 | $2,898 | -77.9% |
| Farm Investments, LLC | $5,337 | $2,640 | -50.5% |
| Pauline Stevens | $13,984 | $2,633 | -81.2% |
| Wilder Farm, Inc. | $10,155 | $2,526 | -75.1% |
| Michael E. Tobbe | $0 | $2,231 | -- |
| Jonathan R. O'Dell | $13,315 | $1,935 | -85.5% |
| Robert Thomas | $0 | $1,884 | -- |
| Jerry W. Humphrey | $10,427 | $1,814 | -82.6% |
| Paul David Jewell | $9,683 | $1,708 | -82.4% |
| Joseph D. Tobbe | $603 | $1,705 | 182.8% |
| Billy Prather | $4,415 | $1,630 | -63.1% |
| Rena Baird | $10,951 | $1,530 | -86% |
| Bradley Jeffiers | $7,770 | $1,386 | -82.2% |
| Jeremy a Jeffiers | $7,555 | $1,362 | -82% |
| Doyle Travis | $7,947 | $1,358 | -82.9% |
| Loretta Williams | $5,357 | $1,206 | -77.5% |
| Jason Morgan | $1,095 | $1,095 | 0% |
| Michael Monroe | $4,326 | $1,052 | -75.7% |
| Gary Truax | $7,079 | $1,034 | -85.4% |
| Robert W. Swift | $4,103 | $1,024 | -75% |
| Shirley Thomas | $4,369 | $950 | -78.3% |
| Gerry K. Dill | $3,355 | $949 | -71.7% |
| Ronald Woody Cheek | $5,610 | $930 | -83.4% |
| Linda Tichenor | $4,684 | $924 | -80.3% |
| Jason Butler | $5,445 | $923 | -83% |
| Goose Creek Mountain, LLC | $4,842 | $911 | -81.2% |
| David Jeffery Taylor | $2,778 | $836 | -69.9% |
| Alton Humphrey | $4,192 | $830 | -80.2% |
| William Douglas Eldridge | $4,600 | $800 | -82.6% |
| Anne Patton Schubert | $1,054 | $725 | -31.2% |
| Howard R. Rogers | $4,975 | $721 | -85.5% |
| Terry M. Waldridge Jr. | $3,652 | $679 | -81.4% |
| Preston Jeffiers | $1,287 | $673 | -47.7% |
| Roni A. Hils | $3,497 | $662 | -81.1% |
| Keith King | $3,334 | $653 | -80.4% |
| Gerard Hinton | $3,903 | $641 | -83.6% |
| Zachary John Bennett | $2,365 | $633 | -73.2% |
| Mary Lipginski Trust | $319 | $627 | 96.6% |
| Allen K. Day | $3,168 | $621 | -80.4% |
| J. B. Walls Jr. | $2,739 | $584 | -78.7% |
| Bobby Ray Yates | $3,853 | $571 | -85.2% |
| Rod L. Hester | $2,519 | $557 | -77.9% |
| Kyle Douglas Martin | $1,584 | $548 | -65.4% |
| Doug Williams | $2,629 | $543 | -79.3% |
| Steven Scott Williams | $2,629 | $543 | -79.3% |
| Juanita Richardson | $595 | $521 | -12.4% |
| Jeff Hatzman | $2,249 | $506 | -77.5% |
| Paul K. Adcock | $3,518 | $491 | -86% |
| Gordon R. Schubert | $2,472 | $482 | -80.5% |
| John Reid Jr. | $1,771 | $482 | -72.8% |
| David A. Shelburne | $1,837 | $478 | -74% |
| Elaine D. Ingram | $0 | $471 | -- |
| James T. Tennill | $2,145 | $462 | -78.5% |
| Herndon Farm, LLC | $2,013 | $453 | -77.5% |
| Darrell Herndon | $2,101 | $452 | -78.5% |
| Mildred Montgomery | $2,711 | $450 | -83.4% |
| John Mark Snider | $3,089 | $434 | -86% |
| James Allen Tipton Trust | $2,013 | $432 | -78.5% |
| Lisa Crow | $762 | $432 | -43.3% |
| Rudolph Spurr | $2,146 | $424 | -80.2% |
| Stephen T. McClain | $1,474 | $405 | -72.5% |
| Jessie G. Bowman | $2,713 | $398 | -85.3% |
| Ronald W. Poole | $1,980 | $384 | -80.6% |
| Jerry Humes | $3,059 | $376 | -87.7% |
| Franklin L. Owen | $792 | $373 | -52.9% |
| William D. Poole | $1,947 | $367 | -81.2% |
| Larry J. Goodlett | $1,496 | $357 | -76.1% |
| Thomas P Hatzman | $2,660 | $354 | -86.7% |
| Anna L. Stokley | $517 | $344 | -33.5% |
| William K. Bramer | $1,496 | $336 | -77.5% |
| Mary F. Tindle | $1,408 | $332 | -76.4% |
| Frank W. Nix | $1,643 | $330 | -79.9% |
| Troy Tindle | $1,408 | $321 | -77.2% |
| Jonathan Travis O'Dell | $2,617 | $320 | -87.8% |
| Candice Miller | $1,274 | $314 | -75.4% |
| Jeremy Truax | $2,596 | $308 | -88.1% |
| Jeffery Goodlett | $1,345 | $270 | -79.9% |
| John D. Dale Jr. | $1,188 | $270 | -77.3% |
| Donald Wayne Ingram | $1,506 | $269 | -82.1% |
| Terry Clay | $1,232 | $258 | -79.1% |
| Betty L. Bentley | $0 | $228 | -- |
| Barry Keith Holeman | $1,031 | $225 | -78.2% |
| Cody Lunsford | $803 | $223 | -72.2% |
| Scott Newell | $4,545 | $206 | -95.5% |
| Mitchell Bentley | $1,968 | $190 | -90.3% |
| Eugene Hoene | $444 | $153 | -65.5% |
| Richie Shepherd | $1,083 | $149 | -86.2% |
| Adam P. Haggard | $715 | $130 | -81.8% |
| Danny Nelson Cox | $925 | $114 | -87.7% |
| Chris Zabenco | $821 | $104 | -87.3% |
| Kimberly Dawn Bogard-Rogers | $0 | $79 | -- |
| Rhonda Barnes | $153 | $66 | -56.9% |
| Sue Walls | $0 | $56 | -- |
| Barry Husband | $0 | $46 | -- |
| Deborah Burnett | $0 | $40 | -- |
| Shawna D. Ingram | $0 | $37 | -- |
| Connor Matthew Goodlett | $176 | $34 | -80.7% |
| Dwayne Martin | $55 | $25 | -54.5% |
| Keith Martin | $45 | $25 | -44.4% |
| Amy C. Peterson | $87 | $24 | -72.4% |
| Dwight D. Greenwell | $1,311 | $19 | -98.6% |
| Harold Keith Cotton | $1,040 | $17 | -98.4% |
| Linda B. Morrow | $0 | $8 | -- |
| Jason Jewell | $528 | $6 | -98.9% |
| Anthony E. Shouse | $1,320 | $0 | -100% |
| Bobby Dewayne Montgomery | $1,424 | $0 | -100% |
| Brandon T. Cotton | $404 | $0 | -100% |
| Cory Osbourne | $533 | $0 | -100% |
| Douglas R. Matheny | $1,210 | $0 | -100% |
| Edith F. Judd | $71 | $0 | -100% |
| Edward Ray Davidson | $440 | $0 | -100% |
| Frank Hammond | $165 | $0 | -100% |
| Gilbert R. Montgomery | $220 | $0 | -100% |
| Happy Sprouts Farm, LLC | $9,141 | $0 | -100% |
| Herschel D. Lawson III | $275 | $0 | -100% |
| Hobert H. Judd | $130 | $0 | -100% |
| James Matthew Jeffiers | $2,526 | $0 | -100% |
| John Ihnen | $3,355 | $0 | -100% |
| Keith A. Seigle | $1,760 | $0 | -100% |
| Scott Humphrey | $110 | $0 | -100% |
| Timothy Prather | $2,156 | $0 | -100% |
| Tommy L. Cotton | $402 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,055,346 | $373,720 | -64.6% |
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