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In 2021, 69 farmers in cities within Richmond County received a total of $678,685 in 135 farm subsidies, a 65.7% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2 million in 304 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Brann Farms, Inc. | $92,593 | $61,351 | -33.7% |
| David Morse Logging | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Bladendale Farms | $94,934 | $51,684 | -45.6% |
| Tidewater Dairy Farm, Inc. | $107,571 | $49,297 | -54.2% |
| Danny R. Marks | $81,460 | $41,096 | -49.6% |
| Mark E Lewis, LLC | $37,813 | $36,811 | -2.6% |
| Nomini Farms, LLC | $31,874 | $35,270 | 10.7% |
| Tanglewood Farm, Inc. | $88,329 | $33,570 | -62% |
| Judy Lee Boyle | $49,330 | $27,874 | -43.5% |
| William Randolph Ambrose | $48,889 | $26,875 | -45% |
| Orange Haven Farms, LLC | $55,109 | $25,551 | -53.6% |
| A M France JR Farms, LLC | $65,674 | $20,518 | -68.8% |
| Timothy B. Scott | $41,443 | $19,584 | -52.7% |
| J & C Farms, LLC | $37,347 | $18,741 | -49.8% |
| Richard Edwin Thomas | $37,194 | $17,766 | -52.2% |
| Randall W. Packett Jr. | $25,829 | $14,681 | -43.2% |
| Evans Lewis | $94,658 | $14,482 | -84.7% |
| Heritage Farm, LLC | $25,332 | $12,885 | -49.1% |
| Brenda L. Delano | $10,938 | $12,213 | 11.7% |
| Harold D. Delano Jr. | $21,871 | $9,433 | -56.9% |
| BLD Farms, LLC | $25,796 | $9,257 | -64.1% |
| Joseph Milton Smith | $16,542 | $8,310 | -49.8% |
| James D. Hall | $14,867 | $6,664 | -55.2% |
| Mr. Cleveland Asbury Weldon | $0 | $6,554 | -- |
| Robert L. Taylor | $9,693 | $5,339 | -44.9% |
| Edward Keith Morris | $15,871 | $5,080 | -68% |
| Daniel V Hutt JR Hutt Produce | $13,119 | $4,930 | -62.4% |
| Millbrook Farm, Inc. | $11,776 | $4,289 | -63.6% |
| Harold Delano | $25,362 | $4,083 | -83.9% |
| James L. Sanders | $6,960 | $3,412 | -51% |
| Lee Sanders | $7,027 | $2,905 | -58.7% |
| Thomas Kiple | $4,672 | $2,646 | -43.4% |
| Edward Meade Garner | $114,350 | $2,280 | -98% |
| Carroll H. Wellford | $4,193 | $2,188 | -47.8% |
| Keith B. Smith | $7,553 | $2,024 | -73.2% |
| Hutt Produce, LLC | $6,077 | $1,952 | -67.9% |
| Warren G. Withers | $3,796 | $1,941 | -48.9% |
| David P. Thomas | $4,075 | $1,927 | -52.7% |
| Clifton L. Jenkins | $1,858 | $1,858 | 0% |
| Jason Sanford | $4,385 | $1,769 | -59.7% |
| Susan Gouldin | $4,756 | $1,611 | -66.1% |
| Allen T. Norris | $0 | $1,570 | -- |
| Allen Blain Clarke | $2,525 | $1,521 | -39.8% |
| Russell G. Brown | $1,472 | $1,070 | -27.3% |
| Stonewall Land and Cattle Company L C | $2,805 | $1,018 | -63.7% |
| Rodney D. Rollins | $0 | $934 | -- |
| Marilyn C. Garland | $1,617 | $909 | -43.8% |
| Charlene M. Becker | $1,426 | $746 | -47.7% |
| William Neale Packett | $4,195 | $705 | -83.2% |
| Robert C. Sanders Jr. | $1,226 | $656 | -46.5% |
| Hillary P. Kent | $1,877 | $605 | -67.8% |
| Aaron Tucker Saunders | $303 | $540 | 78.2% |
| Nathan France | $1,100 | $539 | -51% |
| The Menokin Foundation | $972 | $512 | -47.3% |
| William L. Davis Jr. | $1,128 | $496 | -56% |
| Peggy S. Davis | $695 | $444 | -36.1% |
| David W. Hall | $165 | $352 | 113.3% |
| Thomas Jeffrey Beasley Jr. | $573 | $336 | -41.4% |
| Everett A. Smith II | $13,959 | $322 | -97.7% |
| Marie M. Fuller | $735 | $304 | -58.6% |
| Gregory M. Carey | $0 | $291 | -- |
| William F Schools | $320 | $229 | -28.4% |
| Kevin R. Bowen | $561 | $216 | -61.5% |
| Edward Todd Saunders | $276 | $207 | -25% |
| Robert B Delano, SR Trust | $664 | $204 | -69.3% |
| Andrew Packett | $194 | $194 | 0% |
| William E. Harrison | $119 | $119 | 0% |
| Todd H. Oliff | $108 | $51 | -52.8% |
| Wayne H. Oliff | $42 | $19 | -54.8% |
| Alfonso Chavez Garcia | $9,505 | $0 | -100% |
| Arnoldo Alvarez | $848 | $0 | -100% |
| Arnulfo G. Medina | $9,224 | $0 | -100% |
| Arnulfo Medina Valenica | $10,367 | $0 | -100% |
| Carey Headley | $593 | $0 | -100% |
| Edmund Wharton Fairfax Jr. | $529 | $0 | -100% |
| Enrique Franco Garcia | $1,114 | $0 | -100% |
| Esther Medina | $7,517 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $101,150 | $0 | -100% |
| Grape Hill Farms, Inc. | $53,973 | $0 | -100% |
| Guy L. Hall | $411 | $0 | -100% |
| Ha Vineyard and Farm, LLC | $3,411 | $0 | -100% |
| Irving L. Talley | $903 | $0 | -100% |
| Isidro Alvarez | $1,028 | $0 | -100% |
| Jane M. Packett | $6,009 | $0 | -100% |
| Jose Medina | $4,106 | $0 | -100% |
| Katie S. Packett | $206 | $0 | -100% |
| Leonel Lopez | $3,253 | $0 | -100% |
| Louis G. Packett | $2,051 | $0 | -100% |
| Luther L. French | $205 | $0 | -100% |
| Mark E. Vaughn | $151 | $0 | -100% |
| Nancy Ochoa J. de Rodriguez | $945 | $0 | -100% |
| Nelson M. Pleitez | $11,287 | $0 | -100% |
| Northern Neck Nursery, Inc. | $250,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Poplar Ridge Nursery, LLC | $101,857 | $0 | -100% |
| Sergio Lopez | $6,211 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,976,827 | $678,685 | -65.7% |
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