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In 2021, 102 farmers in cities within Stonewall County received a total of $1.1 million in 277 farm subsidies, a 50.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.2 million in 441 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myers Farms | $205,895 | $123,088 | -40.2% |
| Gary G. Myers | $157,514 | $104,553 | -33.6% |
| Springer Bar S Ranch, LLC | $108,460 | $66,898 | -38.3% |
| Branch Land & Cattle Company, LLC | $138,536 | $63,881 | -53.9% |
| Jeff Sedberry | $74,684 | $56,578 | -24.2% |
| WJ Flowers, LLC | $183,645 | $49,172 | -73.2% |
| Nance Farms 1, Ltd. | $101,285 | $43,620 | -56.9% |
| Claybourne F. Clarke | $63,111 | $31,783 | -49.6% |
| Ronnie Lackey | $48,774 | $30,390 | -37.7% |
| Bill Meador | $53,952 | $29,650 | -45% |
| Cow Water Drilling Company | $60,152 | $27,705 | -53.9% |
| Justin G. Myers | $50,605 | $27,059 | -46.5% |
| Bailey T. Myers | $39,990 | $23,922 | -40.2% |
| Bob Richardson | $29,968 | $23,692 | -20.9% |
| Richard A. Hawkins | $39,067 | $21,599 | -44.7% |
| Roy R. Winter | $32,308 | $19,082 | -40.9% |
| Michael Cole English | $27,187 | $18,740 | -31.1% |
| Bobby Mcgough Trust | $18,159 | $17,420 | -4.1% |
| Billy Kirk Meador | $50,655 | $16,970 | -66.5% |
| James C. Hecht | $30,996 | $15,397 | -50.3% |
| Brent Meador | $23,745 | $15,302 | -35.6% |
| William A. Gholson | $21,097 | $11,537 | -45.3% |
| Ronald Jeffrey Harvey | $11,927 | $10,494 | -12% |
| Myers Family Farms, LLC | $28,186 | $9,630 | -65.8% |
| Lyndell Dickerson | $26,918 | $9,625 | -64.2% |
| Steve Carl Teichelman | $11,700 | $9,244 | -21% |
| Brenda A. Hawkins | $7,927 | $8,732 | 10.2% |
| Vineyards at Double Mountain, LLC | $15,096 | $8,092 | -46.4% |
| Joe F. Beierschmitt | $25,513 | $7,948 | -68.8% |
| Rocking P Land and Cattle, LLC | $6,426 | $7,839 | 22% |
| Ac LC | $12,618 | $7,368 | -41.6% |
| Flyn Simmons | $35,428 | $7,295 | -79.4% |
| Cross Shield Ranch, LLC | $16,735 | $6,865 | -59% |
| Wanna M Rash Estate | $3,344 | $6,565 | 96.3% |
| Nuding Brothers | $15,718 | $6,419 | -59.2% |
| Cody Myers | $16,019 | $6,217 | -61.2% |
| Mike Hill | $13,664 | $5,850 | -57.2% |
| Donald Cradduck | $11,599 | $5,719 | -50.7% |
| Ivy R. Swink | $11,601 | $5,483 | -52.7% |
| Troy S. Swink | $9,482 | $5,402 | -43% |
| Alex R. Long | $6,502 | $5,036 | -22.5% |
| Shirley B. Freeman | $7,090 | $4,969 | -29.9% |
| Jimmy Pittcock | $8,601 | $4,751 | -44.8% |
| Johnny E Pittcock | $8,197 | $4,667 | -43.1% |
| James Clifton Kolb | $7,755 | $4,648 | -40.1% |
| 7777, Inc. | $18,343 | $4,587 | -75% |
| Dorothy Myers | $0 | $4,413 | -- |
| Jerry Hahn | $9,989 | $4,245 | -57.5% |
| Sharp Cattle Ranch, LLC | $21,702 | $4,150 | -80.9% |
| John D. Gholson | $9,510 | $3,720 | -60.9% |
| Jared H. Bell | $9,063 | $3,544 | -60.9% |
| Peggy J. Gray | $5,386 | $3,350 | -37.8% |
| Deborah Joyce Roberson | $6,112 | $3,066 | -49.8% |
| Charles Shorty Martin | $8,103 | $3,013 | -62.8% |
| Tommy J. Messick | $6,338 | $2,949 | -53.5% |
| Cory Myers | $2,777 | $2,908 | 4.7% |
| Melany Hope | $1,320 | $2,830 | 114.4% |
| Jim B. Ward | $4,706 | $2,804 | -40.4% |
| Sidney H. Hart | $5,756 | $2,767 | -51.9% |
| Guy N. Walker | $4,984 | $2,681 | -46.2% |
| Jay D. Hagins | $6,075 | $2,637 | -56.6% |
| Renee Spikes | $5,849 | $2,635 | -54.9% |
| Sandra C. Watts | $4,351 | $2,610 | -40% |
| Nita Isbell | $9,482 | $2,409 | -74.6% |
| David Jouett | $17,171 | $2,338 | -86.4% |
| Marvin Vahlenkamp | $7,058 | $2,321 | -67.1% |
| Dorothy Dickerson | $11,321 | $2,097 | -81.5% |
| Ethel S. Hart | $4,414 | $1,887 | -57.2% |
| James Bay Hecht | $8,404 | $1,846 | -78% |
| Carolyn Douglass Swink | $2,145 | $1,708 | -20.4% |
| Alicia Marie Tate | $4,488 | $1,579 | -64.8% |
| Ford Spikes | $8,147 | $1,465 | -82% |
| Dana Kay Myers | $3,449 | $1,388 | -59.8% |
| Angela Teichelman | $1,418 | $1,384 | -2.4% |
| Joe P. Holland | $376 | $1,336 | 255.3% |
| Irvin Wesley Brooks | $3,316 | $1,243 | -62.5% |
| Vicki Gilley | $4,066 | $1,230 | -69.7% |
| C&D Materials, LLC | $0 | $1,214 | -- |
| Rick Mitchell | $3,770 | $1,127 | -70.1% |
| Kenny Moore | $0 | $1,082 | -- |
| W G Flowers, Inc. | $3,111 | $1,055 | -66.1% |
| William Alex Gholson Jr. | $2,387 | $1,054 | -55.8% |
| Marvin Rick Wilson | $3,130 | $938 | -70% |
| Susan Martin | $1,630 | $797 | -51.1% |
| Patterson Family No 1, Ltd. | $14,795 | $735 | -95% |
| John R. Godfrey | $0 | $682 | -- |
| Marvin Rick Wilson II | $2,150 | $665 | -69.1% |
| Dwayne Wilson | $1,965 | $617 | -68.6% |
| Linda J. Messick | $984 | $565 | -42.6% |
| Elfred Lloyd Hatfield | $1,540 | $548 | -64.4% |
| Monica Montez | $1,189 | $495 | -58.4% |
| Matthew Charles Meuth | $435 | $487 | 12% |
| Terry Hucks | $598 | $479 | -19.9% |
| Ross W. Bransford | $0 | $424 | -- |
| Jim Bob Mullen | $3,052 | $412 | -86.5% |
| Toby Mullen | $3,107 | $412 | -86.7% |
| Kenneth Sean Smith | $1,397 | $410 | -70.7% |
| Jonnie Hise | $923 | $327 | -64.6% |
| Rhonda McDowell | $3,483 | $241 | -93.1% |
| Chris Ward | $536 | $238 | -55.6% |
| Joseph Robert Turner | $616 | $191 | -69% |
| Tommy A. Smith | $358 | $175 | -51.1% |
| Alicia Tate | $54 | $0 | -100% |
| Arvel Mccoy III | $122 | $0 | -100% |
| Carla Clark | $1,705 | $0 | -100% |
| Carole G. Smith | $21,712 | $0 | -100% |
| Charlotte Mims | $1,105 | $0 | -100% |
| Clay Gentry | $632 | $0 | -100% |
| Clyde Boydstun Estate | $11,255 | $0 | -100% |
| Elva M. Thigpen | $270 | $0 | -100% |
| Gwynn B. Myers | $4,413 | $0 | -100% |
| Kathy Castaneda | $930 | $0 | -100% |
| LaVerne Rash Estate | $479 | $0 | -100% |
| Lola Jean Gholson | $147 | $0 | -100% |
| Miles Spread Partners | $3,340 | $0 | -100% |
| Vickie Gilley | $2,841 | $0 | -100% |
| Wanna Rash Estate | $11,106 | $0 | -100% |
| Wendell A. Morgan | $6,736 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,211,453 | $1,095,406 | -50.5% |
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