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In 2021, 120 farmers in cities within Amite County received a total of $1.1 million in 130 farm subsidies, a 54% increase from 2020, when the total was $720,526 in 239 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. B. Westbrook Jr. | $4,400 | $191,471 | 4,251.6% |
| Brad C. Bean | $146,405 | $116,301 | -20.6% |
| T & R Dairy Farm | $9,726 | $58,500 | 501.5% |
| Arrowhead Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Deep Wood Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| LDR Trucking, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Lewis Timber Company, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| S. L. Netterville Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Spurgeon L. Netterville Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Adam Sterling Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Terrell Timber, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Magnolia Ranch, LLC | $0 | $50,709 | -- |
| Toni W. Henderson | $1,590 | $41,526 | 2,511.7% |
| Swims Trucking, LLC | $0 | $23,303 | -- |
| Maness Farms, LLC | $0 | $23,300 | -- |
| Mike Jackson Trucking, LLC | $0 | $13,594 | -- |
| Roy Tynes | $0 | $11,333 | -- |
| Fayette Lyle Johnson | $15,188 | $10,958 | -27.9% |
| Russ Vine Jr. | $35,321 | $8,498 | -75.9% |
| Noah James Abadie | $44,969 | $7,126 | -84.2% |
| Donald Kinabrew | $0 | $6,791 | -- |
| Lawrence Lee Cobb | $10,699 | $4,966 | -53.6% |
| Michael Tynes | $0 | $4,275 | -- |
| Lois Wicker | $4,269 | $4,269 | 0% |
| Jerry Dixon | $20,173 | $3,848 | -80.9% |
| Hominy Farms, LLC | $4,771 | $3,725 | -21.9% |
| Luther R. Towles | $13,640 | $3,660 | -73.2% |
| James R. Leahey | $1,177 | $3,515 | 198.6% |
| Dickie Gerald Leahey | $1,144 | $3,498 | 205.8% |
| Thomas P. Lewis | $18,995 | $3,297 | -82.6% |
| William Robert Ivey | $15,425 | $3,196 | -79.3% |
| Glenna Tumey | $12,284 | $3,191 | -74% |
| Raye Anne McMillan | $16,867 | $3,082 | -81.7% |
| Vivian Reynolds | $2,933 | $2,933 | 0% |
| Marty D. Leblanc | $20,399 | $2,773 | -86.4% |
| Allen Jones Jr. | $16,140 | $2,759 | -82.9% |
| Gary Austin | $2,709 | $2,709 | 0% |
| John L. McCabe | $4,341 | $2,672 | -38.4% |
| Dennis R. Honea | $7,766 | $2,344 | -69.8% |
| Ray Austin | $2,272 | $2,272 | 0% |
| Eddie Lee Bates | $7,260 | $2,194 | -69.8% |
| Steve Rollins | $4,213 | $2,167 | -48.6% |
| Nell Schwartz | $2,152 | $2,152 | 0% |
| David Emile Brown | $9,680 | $2,120 | -78.1% |
| David Curry | $8,745 | $2,040 | -76.7% |
| Jacob Poole | $9,339 | $1,958 | -79% |
| Roger Simmons | $4,622 | $1,892 | -59.1% |
| Jason O. White | $3,531 | $1,846 | -47.7% |
| David Morris Dixon III | $42,535 | $1,740 | -95.9% |
| Ronald E. Byrd | $9,146 | $1,524 | -83.3% |
| John A. Dixon | $8,517 | $1,405 | -83.5% |
| Tommie Weathersby | $5,175 | $1,390 | -73.1% |
| Patterson Road Hog Farm, LLC | $1,169 | $1,380 | 18% |
| Butler Causey | $3,652 | $1,304 | -64.3% |
| Susan M. Dixon | $14,300 | $1,270 | -91.1% |
| Woodside Cattle Ranch, LLC | $2,376 | $1,238 | -47.9% |
| Eugene Weathersby Jr. | $3,883 | $1,227 | -68.4% |
| Darrell Bateman | $1,110 | $1,110 | 0% |
| Don Wilkinson | $4,423 | $1,038 | -76.5% |
| Wesley K. Caston | $2,123 | $1,012 | -52.3% |
| Earl Wayne Smith | $1,002 | $1,002 | 0% |
| Maurine Freeman | $1,814 | $999 | -44.9% |
| Tommie Barnes | $5,480 | $994 | -81.9% |
| Weston Joel Leblanc | $7,668 | $979 | -87.2% |
| Linda M. Sterling | $971 | $971 | 0% |
| Bert Thornton | $4,642 | $963 | -79.3% |
| Kenneth Weathersby Sr. | $3,928 | $949 | -75.8% |
| Stephen E. Brady | $3,421 | $930 | -72.8% |
| John Henry Wilkinson | $2,970 | $910 | -69.4% |
| Dottie Brady | $3,300 | $789 | -76.1% |
| Weslie Causey | $3,219 | $745 | -76.9% |
| Roy G. Wilson | $1,969 | $712 | -63.8% |
| J. L. McKnight III | $1,925 | $712 | -63% |
| Curtiss Allen Reid | $2,640 | $703 | -73.4% |
| John Micah McKnight | $1,496 | $658 | -56% |
| Sally Newman | $0 | $622 | -- |
| Minnette Whittington | $617 | $617 | 0% |
| Michael L. Womack | $1,419 | $574 | -59.5% |
| Jerry L. Brown | $2,774 | $571 | -79.4% |
| Emanuel Powell | $2,519 | $553 | -78% |
| Freddie Perry | $1,529 | $543 | -64.5% |
| Darrell Thurman | $3,310 | $540 | -83.7% |
| Olevia Anderson Ballard | $1,661 | $532 | -68% |
| Anderson Taplin | $1,562 | $530 | -66.1% |
| Juanita Bates | $2,711 | $527 | -80.6% |
| Brenda J. Chaney | $2,068 | $520 | -74.9% |
| Charles R. Reid Sr. | $1,188 | $498 | -58.1% |
| Gail Kirkland | $466 | $466 | 0% |
| Cathy Causey | $2,134 | $456 | -78.6% |
| Helen Lea | $1,232 | $451 | -63.4% |
| Dollie Patterson | $1,386 | $439 | -68.3% |
| Morty Reid | $2,013 | $433 | -78.5% |
| Juanita Royal | $2,169 | $432 | -80.1% |
| Bobby Weatherspoon | $792 | $414 | -47.7% |
| Leroy Nunnery | $1,624 | $394 | -75.7% |
| Lillie Mae Anderson | $1,474 | $391 | -73.5% |
| Sylvester Patterson | $2,337 | $368 | -84.3% |
| Joel Fleming | $1,612 | $364 | -77.4% |
| Mattie Graham | $0 | $330 | -- |
| Bobby Maxwell | $1,331 | $328 | -75.4% |
| Thomas B. Lanius | $1,473 | $325 | -77.9% |
| Dudley Allen Jones III | $1,732 | $315 | -81.8% |
| Warren Williams | $1,683 | $305 | -81.9% |
| Norman Stevenson | $1,276 | $298 | -76.6% |
| Johnathan Latham | $1,056 | $242 | -77.1% |
| Robert Earl Brock | $770 | $224 | -70.9% |
| Cleophas Winding | $1,155 | $218 | -81.1% |
| Donald R. Thomas | $1,513 | $203 | -86.6% |
| Benjamin Hewitt Wilkinson | $916 | $194 | -78.8% |
| Donald Ray Winding | $803 | $194 | -75.8% |
| Jesse L. Weatherspoon | $330 | $187 | -43.3% |
| Terry L. Jackson | $429 | $163 | -62% |
| Loutisha Thornton | $396 | $156 | -60.6% |
| Ellen Henry | $550 | $152 | -72.4% |
| Tim Wilkinson | $631 | $107 | -83% |
| Geneva Patterson-Reid | $98 | $98 | 0% |
| Lillian Brady | $2,070 | $69 | -96.7% |
| Lisa M. Leake | $63 | $63 | 0% |
| Byrd Catfish Farm | $0 | $50 | -- |
| Richard H. Lewis | $1,565 | $47 | -97% |
| Edward Perry Jr. | $275 | $0 | -100% |
| Ernest Lee Williams Jr. | $220 | $0 | -100% |
| Gregory T. Randall | $10,890 | $0 | -100% |
| Alan J. Priest | $4,830 | $0 | -100% |
| WI Stewart Farm, LLC | $1,430 | $0 | -100% |
| William Jason Bass | $1,688 | $0 | -100% |
| Anthony H. Medine Jr. | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Antonio Robinson | $2,530 | $0 | -100% |
| Barbara Mabry | $4,809 | $0 | -100% |
| Christine Mae Shilling | $660 | $0 | -100% |
| David Justin Dixon | $1,210 | $0 | -100% |
| Julius Chancey O'Brien | $770 | $0 | -100% |
| Melvin Jackson | $330 | $0 | -100% |
| Milton R. Henderson Jr. | $3,898 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $720,526 | $1,109,920 | 54% |
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