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In 2021, 97 farmers in cities within Bullitt County received a total of $366,206 in 143 farm subsidies, a 66.8% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.1 million in 308 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Brian Samuels | $122,287 | $61,465 | -49.7% |
| William Michael Conniff | $66,238 | $44,134 | -33.4% |
| Gary McGruder | $70,997 | $27,714 | -61% |
| Jimmy Myers | $14,008 | $24,444 | 74.5% |
| Mike Hammond Jr. | $44,855 | $16,708 | -62.8% |
| Michael Sivori | $14,125 | $14,125 | 0% |
| David Harrod | $19,595 | $13,583 | -30.7% |
| Buena Vista Farms, Inc. | $12,126 | $13,178 | 8.7% |
| Garland Louis Walters | $11,149 | $11,149 | 0% |
| Phillip Radford | $6,887 | $7,319 | 6.3% |
| Robards and Young Farms, LLC | $22,911 | $6,982 | -69.5% |
| Benjamin G. Hammons | $46,484 | $6,327 | -86.4% |
| Joshua Glass | $15,068 | $6,063 | -59.8% |
| David A. Bates | $17,539 | $6,036 | -65.6% |
| Young & Robards Farm, LLC | $20,286 | $5,669 | -72.1% |
| Michael Thompson | $13,081 | $5,002 | -61.8% |
| Danny Harrod | $7,634 | $4,619 | -39.5% |
| Joan Nibbelin | $10,861 | $4,539 | -58.2% |
| Joseph Weyhing | $4,455 | $4,455 | 0% |
| Jay Romine | $65,040 | $3,657 | -94.4% |
| Mike Hammond | $10,256 | $3,254 | -68.3% |
| Chris Allen | $3,214 | $3,214 | 0% |
| William E. Armstrong | $12,611 | $3,196 | -74.7% |
| Dwayne T. Milligan | $15,224 | $3,100 | -79.6% |
| James F. Fackler | $28,351 | $2,969 | -89.5% |
| Doyle Bleemel | $6,993 | $2,902 | -58.5% |
| Christopher Harrod | $1,926 | $2,568 | 33.3% |
| Buena Vista Farms, Inc. | $7,651 | $2,319 | -69.7% |
| Robert Glenn Harned Irrevocable Family Farm Trust | $2,225 | $2,225 | 0% |
| Kyle J. Skidmore | $23,387 | $2,147 | -90.8% |
| Gary R. Dawson | $13,618 | $2,130 | -84.4% |
| Stout Brothers Farm, Inc. | $0 | $2,035 | -- |
| Gary A. Lavely | $5,971 | $1,895 | -68.3% |
| Patricia Hall | $9,628 | $1,734 | -82% |
| Nathan Neil Nash | $0 | $1,646 | -- |
| Jeff Robards | $11,074 | $1,602 | -85.5% |
| Owen William Gollar | $10,166 | $1,580 | -84.5% |
| Deborah L. Alexander | $2,684 | $1,521 | -43.3% |
| Michael R. Blaker | $4,616 | $1,413 | -69.4% |
| Ronald Grant | $2,501 | $1,400 | -44% |
| Pamela Hatfield | $3,946 | $1,372 | -65.2% |
| Gary Hammond | $3,795 | $1,367 | -64% |
| William C. Harned | $3,983 | $1,356 | -66% |
| Danny Maraman | $4,481 | $1,257 | -71.9% |
| Jason Cowman | $378 | $1,236 | 227% |
| Jerry L. Sweat | $5,520 | $1,221 | -77.9% |
| Gilbert Nation | $4,158 | $1,151 | -72.3% |
| Hyte Rouse IV | $4,773 | $1,080 | -77.4% |
| Paul G. O'Bryan | $4,678 | $1,034 | -77.9% |
| Jewett Borden | $8,583 | $1,004 | -88.3% |
| William H. Nation | $0 | $990 | -- |
| Isaac Masden | $3,027 | $966 | -68.1% |
| Stacy Schmitt | $2,559 | $925 | -63.9% |
| Norman D. Philpot | $6,001 | $899 | -85% |
| Paul Spalding | $5,259 | $830 | -84.2% |
| Peggy Raley | $0 | $770 | -- |
| Dennis B. Terry | $3,885 | $742 | -80.9% |
| Bernard Clark | $4,391 | $724 | -83.5% |
| Thomas P. Price Jr. | $4,744 | $713 | -85% |
| Travis Lee Sipes | $4,125 | $713 | -82.7% |
| Thomas Alvey Jr. | $3,168 | $708 | -77.7% |
| Brian Bleemel | $4,281 | $664 | -84.5% |
| Condit Arnold | $3,265 | $650 | -80.1% |
| Scott Cundiff | $1,738 | $645 | -62.9% |
| Chester Philpot | $2,761 | $596 | -78.4% |
| Bruce Johnson | $1,872 | $593 | -68.3% |
| Troy Johns | $2,543 | $578 | -77.3% |
| Keith Allen Haley | $1,056 | $556 | -47.3% |
| Dennis Napper | $2,618 | $542 | -79.3% |
| Charles A. Puckett | $2,123 | $498 | -76.5% |
| Hyte Rouse III | $3,085 | $498 | -83.9% |
| Edward C. Burks | $1,562 | $484 | -69% |
| Justin D. Miller | $2,068 | $484 | -76.6% |
| George B Stone Estate | $0 | $450 | -- |
| Darvin Mann | $2,200 | $431 | -80.4% |
| Maraman Ray O'Bryan | $12,286 | $419 | -96.6% |
| Barry S. Gentry | $2,286 | $374 | -83.6% |
| Jody K. Kittle | $3,254 | $339 | -89.6% |
| Traci Judson | $957 | $326 | -65.9% |
| Mary Simpson | $1,890 | $315 | -83.3% |
| Ronald C. Kittle Jr. | $3,926 | $308 | -92.2% |
| Jerry Froman | $3,330 | $298 | -91.1% |
| Terrell Froman | $3,293 | $298 | -91% |
| Patricia Corbin Conway | $872 | $297 | -65.9% |
| Katherine N. Dallas | $1,489 | $291 | -80.5% |
| George B. Stone | $0 | $273 | -- |
| David E. Mason | $1,012 | $256 | -74.7% |
| Louis Ploetner | $1,397 | $256 | -81.7% |
| Rodney Burress | $465 | $237 | -49% |
| Billy Stephen Gillenwater | $1,337 | $225 | -83.2% |
| Rhonda Clem | $757 | $216 | -71.5% |
| Philip E. Williams | $691 | $173 | -75% |
| Wayne Spalding | $152 | $152 | 0% |
| Henley Burke | $2,773 | $148 | -94.7% |
| Murrell Waddell | $449 | $127 | -71.7% |
| Roy V. Cornell | $19,044 | $91 | -99.5% |
| Marian Faye Wells | $86 | $42 | -51.2% |
| Patricia A. Cox | $82 | $0 | -100% |
| Alvin J. Slack Jr. | $1,361 | $0 | -100% |
| Gerald Bates | $1,045 | $0 | -100% |
| James Miller | $108 | $0 | -100% |
| Kenneth McKnight | $1,045 | $0 | -100% |
| Larry Dangerfield | $500 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul Hall | $935 | $0 | -100% |
| Rosie Milliner | $37 | $0 | -100% |
| S & C Livestock, LLC | $113,075 | $0 | -100% |
| Sean A. Sivori | $3,208 | $0 | -100% |
| W. H. Myers | $1,815 | $0 | -100% |
| Dawson Agent Producers, LLC | $13,700 | $0 | -100% |
| James A. Matthews III | $5,750 | $0 | -100% |
| Rose Ethel Spalding | $92 | $0 | -100% |
| John P. Staples | $405 | $0 | -100% |
| Kenneth C. Pinyerd | $330 | $0 | -100% |
| Leonard Maraman | $2,915 | $0 | -100% |
| Mitchell Keller | $94 | $0 | -100% |
| Ronald Crumbacker | $1,005 | $0 | -100% |
| Stephen R. Wurzel | $2,403 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,101,999 | $366,206 | -66.8% |
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