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In 2021, 109 farmers in cities within Lawrence County received a total of $1.1 million in 127 farm subsidies, a 28.7% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.5 million in 226 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selman Farms | $436,652 | $165,369 | -62.1% |
| Lowe Farms | $332,970 | $109,787 | -67% |
| Billy Joseph Lowe | $5,953 | $77,360 | 1,199.5% |
| Justin Ryan Pennington | $0 | $65,041 | -- |
| John D. Wilson | $14,781 | $64,330 | 335.2% |
| CKC Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| No Hope Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Pearl River Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Jackie Wayne Taylor | $2,585 | $52,026 | 1,912.6% |
| Tanya Penn Ballard | $0 | $41,879 | -- |
| Jonathan Wayne Taylor | $0 | $32,455 | -- |
| Robert Walker Logging | $0 | $24,125 | -- |
| L & J Family Farm, LLC | $0 | $18,698 | -- |
| ENG Family Revocable Living Trust | $41,545 | $16,853 | -59.4% |
| G W Brown Trucking, LLC | $0 | $15,399 | -- |
| Albert Landon Fortenberry | $15,976 | $14,297 | -10.5% |
| Fred H. Robinson | $55,471 | $14,117 | -74.6% |
| Stacy E. Stevens | $6,022 | $13,559 | 125.2% |
| Donald Price Cole | $37,509 | $11,393 | -69.6% |
| Jackie L. Daughdrill | $42,484 | $11,117 | -73.8% |
| Virgil Mark Berry | $18,592 | $9,818 | -47.2% |
| Donald Elliott Cole | $0 | $9,020 | -- |
| Curtis Wayne Kirkland | $0 | $8,633 | -- |
| Criston Cord Corey | $0 | $7,847 | -- |
| Joel E. Hudson | $17,760 | $7,350 | -58.6% |
| Lee E. Earls Jr. | $38,032 | $6,800 | -82.1% |
| Jackie Dwayne Robbins | $20,842 | $6,334 | -69.6% |
| Billy Ford Shivers | $5,478 | $5,547 | 1.3% |
| Jewell Ladon Wallace | $18,194 | $4,940 | -72.8% |
| John S. Turnage | $35,442 | $4,882 | -86.2% |
| James Quinton Wedworth IV | $18,824 | $4,703 | -75% |
| Gerald W. Sumrall | $18,243 | $4,289 | -76.5% |
| Jeri L. Newsom | $0 | $4,155 | -- |
| Joseph L. Lane | $17,434 | $3,957 | -77.3% |
| Kay H. Strong | $3,356 | $3,356 | 0% |
| Donald K. Stephens | $14,903 | $3,214 | -78.4% |
| Stanley Stephens | $14,920 | $2,897 | -80.6% |
| Clyde W. Reves Sr. | $2,666 | $2,666 | 0% |
| Randy Cody | $13,939 | $2,262 | -83.8% |
| Roland Travis Fuller | $6,776 | $2,085 | -69.2% |
| Guysell Sherman | $10,167 | $2,081 | -79.5% |
| Holton King | $6,179 | $1,928 | -68.8% |
| Harold J. Little | $0 | $1,925 | -- |
| Moses L. Moore | $7,640 | $1,744 | -77.2% |
| Teresa A. Lambert | $0 | $1,667 | -- |
| John T. Slater | $6,853 | $1,653 | -75.9% |
| Jimmy C. Harvey Jr. | $5,197 | $1,561 | -70% |
| Jack Curtis Leonard | $7,029 | $1,476 | -79% |
| James A. Jones | $7,058 | $1,333 | -81.1% |
| Abby Rey Berry | $6,094 | $1,274 | -79.1% |
| Robert Jason Neal | $3,905 | $1,225 | -68.6% |
| Hosea Brown | $0 | $1,213 | -- |
| Alien Mitchell Barnes | $6,799 | $1,173 | -82.7% |
| Richard Brian Garner | $5,002 | $1,067 | -78.7% |
| Heath Eldon Fairburn | $4,774 | $1,016 | -78.7% |
| Charlotte C. Lee | $4,565 | $996 | -78.2% |
| Johnny Lee Williamson | $0 | $962 | -- |
| Kevin W. Steen | $1,989 | $953 | -52.1% |
| Rebecca L. Bozeman | $949 | $949 | 0% |
| James Earl Baldwin | $2,343 | $930 | -60.3% |
| William Douglas Martin | $4,356 | $930 | -78.7% |
| Patricia N. Berry | $3,172 | $929 | -70.7% |
| Terry Coy Newsom | $2,376 | $883 | -62.8% |
| James Phillip Lang | $3,498 | $878 | -74.9% |
| Robert L. Alford Jr. | $4,103 | $864 | -78.9% |
| Tommy Breeland | $3,300 | $838 | -74.6% |
| Gerald Wigington | $806 | $806 | 0% |
| Marcus Feazell | $3,278 | $761 | -76.8% |
| Robert Lavern Alford III | $741 | $741 | 0% |
| Thomas R. Russell III | $2,717 | $724 | -73.4% |
| Walter Mccoy Johnson | $2,717 | $671 | -75.3% |
| Michael Keith Ballard | $4,826 | $668 | -86.2% |
| Jerry W. Calvert | $6,711 | $661 | -90.2% |
| Tommy Glen Walker | $3,880 | $658 | -83% |
| Jerry L. Bryant | $3,745 | $640 | -82.9% |
| Ruby Lee Walker | $4,913 | $634 | -87.1% |
| Robert Collier | $2,937 | $630 | -78.5% |
| Gary P. Bass | $1,694 | $619 | -63.5% |
| Donald Gregory McGuffee | $2,233 | $592 | -73.5% |
| Larry K. Bass | $3,357 | $581 | -82.7% |
| Mikell Wyatt Sandifer | $2,035 | $559 | -72.5% |
| Robert Lee Smith | $1,023 | $556 | -45.7% |
| Archie Ross | $1,518 | $543 | -64.2% |
| Gerald Branson | $2,970 | $542 | -81.8% |
| Louise T. Davis | $1,102 | $539 | -51.1% |
| Clifford Butler | $2,299 | $506 | -78% |
| Lessie James Butler | $2,266 | $488 | -78.5% |
| Arttee Moore | $2,316 | $478 | -79.4% |
| Jerry P. Gholar | $1,870 | $425 | -77.3% |
| Delane Haynes | $1,470 | $346 | -76.5% |
| Orange Perkins | $1,628 | $346 | -78.7% |
| Michael Lynn Ballard | $20,414 | $304 | -98.5% |
| Grover Cato | $1,639 | $284 | -82.7% |
| Tanner Cain Peavy | $1,921 | $283 | -85.3% |
| Emma Ruth Smith | $1,243 | $280 | -77.5% |
| Lauria McDuffey | $2,234 | $278 | -87.6% |
| James D. Sherman | $1,816 | $270 | -85.1% |
| Jimmy D. Gholar | $1,770 | $270 | -84.7% |
| Marzett Walker | $1,197 | $246 | -79.4% |
| Recia Harlan Ward | $1,008 | $235 | -76.7% |
| Daniel Wayne Lambert | $957 | $215 | -77.5% |
| Russell Jerome Garrett | $429 | $208 | -51.5% |
| Phillip Carey Hedgepeth | $462 | $200 | -56.7% |
| Jerrie T. Barnes | $737 | $190 | -74.2% |
| Thomas L. Saul | $462 | $184 | -60.2% |
| Houston Gregory Hartzog | $517 | $162 | -68.7% |
| Robert James McDuffey | $801 | $142 | -82.3% |
| Zelda H. Davis | $0 | $32 | -- |
| Patricia B. Garner | $53 | $11 | -79.2% |
| Billy W. Sumrall | $252 | $0 | -100% |
| Plunkett's Farm Supply & Greenhouses, Inc. | $8,704 | $0 | -100% |
| Tommie Lyndon Pittman | $4,645 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles E. Nichols | $389 | $0 | -100% |
| James Turnage | $138 | $0 | -100% |
| Laura Davis A. Bush | $1,728 | $0 | -100% |
| Mary L. Acy | $5,618 | $0 | -100% |
| Rebecca R. Speights | $821 | $0 | -100% |
| Willie Glynn Garner | $876 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,490,580 | $1,062,141 | -28.7% |
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