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In 2021, 132 farmers in cities within Owen County received a total of $297,655 in 186 farm subsidies, a 77.1% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.3 million in 398 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Forsee | $218,548 | $59,759 | -72.7% |
| Fairdale Farm, LLC | $25,640 | $20,695 | -19.3% |
| Rodney Perkins | $59,697 | $19,777 | -66.9% |
| Larry G. Smith | $32,254 | $18,456 | -42.8% |
| David Smith | $16,745 | $11,281 | -32.6% |
| Michael Walker | $34,822 | $9,264 | -73.4% |
| James Young | $0 | $7,971 | -- |
| Kim Juett | $58,028 | $6,951 | -88% |
| Paul Smoot | $36,242 | $6,571 | -81.9% |
| Bentley Bush | $22,764 | $5,086 | -77.7% |
| Daryl Perkins | $18,578 | $5,023 | -73% |
| Steve Wright | $47,657 | $4,908 | -89.7% |
| David Chappell | $18,281 | $4,790 | -73.8% |
| Bobby Kemper | $19,957 | $4,530 | -77.3% |
| John Dempsey | $0 | $4,510 | -- |
| Kyle Jacobs | $24,843 | $4,133 | -83.4% |
| Danny W. Jacobs | $17,365 | $3,581 | -79.4% |
| Tony Karsner | $5,594 | $3,531 | -36.9% |
| Brett McDonald | $19,691 | $3,398 | -82.7% |
| Garroll Shryock | $10,279 | $3,231 | -68.6% |
| Bruce True | $0 | $2,860 | -- |
| Johnny Smith | $11,879 | $2,663 | -77.6% |
| Chris Courtney | $13,928 | $2,216 | -84.1% |
| Rickie Snell | $9,227 | $2,198 | -76.2% |
| John Russell New | $8,214 | $2,188 | -73.4% |
| David D. Hamilton | $6,878 | $2,144 | -68.8% |
| Jeff Gibson | $10,499 | $2,046 | -80.5% |
| John L Hetterman | $17,379 | $1,862 | -89.3% |
| James Keith | $67,494 | $1,826 | -97.3% |
| Cody Allen Matt | $2,475 | $1,774 | -28.3% |
| David Spaeth | $383 | $1,705 | 345.2% |
| Billy Ray Stewart | $7,437 | $1,704 | -77.1% |
| Greg Stinson | $6,546 | $1,591 | -75.7% |
| John L. Smith | $6,515 | $1,590 | -75.6% |
| Greg Hudnall | $10,152 | $1,538 | -84.9% |
| Charles Jeffrey Wright | $7,430 | $1,532 | -79.4% |
| BF & RP Farms, LLC | $7,882 | $1,504 | -80.9% |
| Jim Bush | $6,867 | $1,484 | -78.4% |
| Charles Colligan | $7,862 | $1,416 | -82% |
| Allen Bell | $7,379 | $1,403 | -81% |
| Bruce Cobb | $5,687 | $1,377 | -75.8% |
| John Colligan | $9,417 | $1,369 | -85.5% |
| Ricky Perkins | $5,185 | $1,282 | -75.3% |
| Ricky Fitzgerald | $10,480 | $1,269 | -87.9% |
| Daniel Humphries | $12,444 | $1,248 | -90% |
| Mark Baldwin | $5,192 | $1,222 | -76.5% |
| John Paul Hanson | $4,136 | $1,198 | -71% |
| Ricky Jacobs | $8,596 | $1,173 | -86.4% |
| Lowell Osborne | $6,408 | $1,127 | -82.4% |
| Danny Cobb | $5,939 | $1,087 | -81.7% |
| Carl David Jones | $5,353 | $1,074 | -79.9% |
| Patrick J. Colligan | $7,097 | $1,025 | -85.6% |
| Donald Gaines | $5,994 | $1,015 | -83.1% |
| Troy Bramblett | $3,351 | $1,002 | -70.1% |
| Gary W. Perkins | $5,084 | $957 | -81.2% |
| James Gash | $5,432 | $955 | -82.4% |
| Douglas Deatherage | $2,376 | $894 | -62.4% |
| Charles E. Richardson | $4,169 | $882 | -78.8% |
| David Cook | $5,175 | $882 | -83% |
| Annette Widener | $0 | $880 | -- |
| Diana Ray Perkins | $4,081 | $844 | -79.3% |
| Timmy House | $2,299 | $830 | -63.9% |
| John D. Criswell | $5,647 | $824 | -85.4% |
| Amber R Wodarcyk | $2,882 | $815 | -71.7% |
| Seldom Rest Farms, Inc. | $3,677 | $806 | -78.1% |
| Glenn Wright | $7,211 | $792 | -89% |
| Stan Bibb | $4,827 | $780 | -83.8% |
| Hershel Wayne Harris | $2,842 | $775 | -72.7% |
| George Callaghan Jr. | $2,046 | $767 | -62.5% |
| H & S Farms, LLC | $6,129 | $764 | -87.5% |
| Charlotte Gibson | $1,518 | $759 | -50% |
| Tammy Bradbury | $3,915 | $726 | -81.5% |
| Shelby N. Benton | $3,107 | $713 | -77.1% |
| Barry Maddox | $6,473 | $712 | -89% |
| Gary D. Coley | $2,409 | $690 | -71.4% |
| Pam Stockdale | $3,633 | $682 | -81.2% |
| Estate of Randy Cobb | $5,365 | $668 | -87.5% |
| Delbert Mason | $3,121 | $659 | -78.9% |
| Arvin Epperson | $1,718 | $658 | -61.7% |
| Robert Craig Howard | $2,541 | $643 | -74.7% |
| Matt Edmondson | $3,482 | $636 | -81.7% |
| Joel Grugin | $3,444 | $580 | -83.2% |
| James Johnson | $2,778 | $566 | -79.6% |
| David Wayne Stewart | $2,299 | $547 | -76.2% |
| Ganzie Perkins | $2,144 | $519 | -75.8% |
| Todd Marston | $2,112 | $517 | -75.5% |
| Lisa Wilhoite | $2,762 | $514 | -81.4% |
| Rodney Forsee | $2,178 | $508 | -76.7% |
| Rodney Cobb | $2,123 | $500 | -76.4% |
| Steven Moore | $2,692 | $474 | -82.4% |
| Frankie Pryor | $3,419 | $469 | -86.3% |
| Darin Howard | $2,489 | $468 | -81.2% |
| Roy D. Howard | $2,442 | $468 | -80.8% |
| Mitchell Gaines | $2,636 | $466 | -82.3% |
| Rodney Bell | $1,661 | $455 | -72.6% |
| Michael J. Clark | $2,448 | $454 | -81.5% |
| Craig Webster | $2,164 | $448 | -79.3% |
| Shaunna M. Voges | $1,804 | $434 | -75.9% |
| Tim Hudnall | $1,672 | $428 | -74.4% |
| Robert L. Hawes | $1,892 | $388 | -79.5% |
| Kenneth Widener | $957 | $386 | -59.7% |
| Matthew E. Marsh | $1,672 | $352 | -78.9% |
| Billy Wilhoite | $2,575 | $343 | -86.7% |
| Daniel Scott Driskell | $884 | $341 | -61.4% |
| Brandon Kemper | $96,131 | $340 | -99.6% |
| Charles Mason | $1,774 | $312 | -82.4% |
| Fadana Bramblett | $1,533 | $301 | -80.4% |
| Blake Robertson | $968 | $262 | -72.9% |
| Kevin Courtney | $10,634 | $251 | -97.6% |
| Steven W. Banks | $1,977 | $246 | -87.6% |
| Terry Alford | $1,442 | $239 | -83.4% |
| Pansy Harris | $627 | $225 | -64.1% |
| Tina Eades | $666 | $221 | -66.8% |
| Dane Perkins | $1,100 | $218 | -80.2% |
| Lainna P Smalara | $1,520 | $197 | -87% |
| Linda Gordon | $721 | $194 | -73.1% |
| James E. Cook | $880 | $187 | -78.8% |
| Mike Wainscott | $869 | $183 | -78.9% |
| Kenneth Smith | $1,590 | $177 | -88.9% |
| Dale Turner | $506 | $146 | -71.1% |
| Lesley Wilhoite | $1,345 | $142 | -89.4% |
| Patricia Petzinger | $1,545 | $138 | -91.1% |
| Judith Hetterman | $0 | $136 | -- |
| Jordan Alford | $883 | $135 | -84.7% |
| Lucy Jacobs | $901 | $132 | -85.3% |
| Benjamin C. Benton | $891 | $128 | -85.6% |
| Bruce Wash | $484 | $116 | -76% |
| David Srouder | $308 | $104 | -66.2% |
| Brent Caldwell | $1,297 | $70 | -94.6% |
| Adam Dwight Culbertson | $2,805 | $51 | -98.2% |
| Hannah Johnson | $99 | $21 | -78.8% |
| Brenda Turner | $0 | $7 | -- |
| Alan Scott Ogden | $5,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Cassie Renfro | $385 | $0 | -100% |
| Emily Bunch | $816 | $0 | -100% |
| Jane Haines Johnson | $59 | $0 | -100% |
| Jonathan House | $1,045 | $0 | -100% |
| Joy Obanion | $166 | $0 | -100% |
| Joyce Claxon | $74 | $0 | -100% |
| Kenneth W. Tanksley | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Lonnie Dwayne Miller | $1,029 | $0 | -100% |
| Oldham Smith | $1,430 | $0 | -100% |
| Patricia S. Pearce | $1,308 | $0 | -100% |
| Preston Forsee | $2,809 | $0 | -100% |
| Scottie Dorton | $1,036 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,300,299 | $297,655 | -77.1% |
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