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In 2021, 84 farmers in cities within Walton County received a total of $239,377 in 107 farm subsidies, a 74.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $937,725 in 265 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luke R Chandler | $12,848 | $29,388 | 128.7% |
| Aldo R Ramos | $0 | $24,049 | -- |
| Charles D. Whitley | $119,906 | $16,590 | -86.2% |
| J. H. Robinson Jr. | $42,218 | $10,732 | -74.6% |
| Jerome B. Tillman Jr. | $13,632 | $10,375 | -23.9% |
| T. H. Adcock Jr. | $21,185 | $9,580 | -54.8% |
| Kenneth Little | $22,918 | $9,478 | -58.6% |
| Mark S. Poss | $46,970 | $7,761 | -83.5% |
| Peggy Williams Callaway | $8,738 | $7,262 | -16.9% |
| Carson Farms, LLC | $0 | $7,015 | -- |
| William Lance Marlowe | $29,658 | $6,138 | -79.3% |
| Herman Steve Chandler Jr. | $40,220 | $5,022 | -87.5% |
| Lamar Harwell | $22,191 | $4,596 | -79.3% |
| Bonnie R. Chandler | $4,534 | $4,445 | -2% |
| Smittybuilt Farms, LLC | $24,409 | $3,827 | -84.3% |
| Buel Thomas Testamentary Trust | $6,135 | $3,823 | -37.7% |
| Terry L. Jones | $5,664 | $3,816 | -32.6% |
| Carolyn B. Chandler | $25,062 | $3,814 | -84.8% |
| Roy N. Roberts | $18,896 | $3,756 | -80.1% |
| Summer Singleton | $0 | $3,740 | -- |
| Sarah a Goudiss | $3,595 | $3,595 | 0% |
| Matthew Charles Chandler | $55,272 | $3,500 | -93.7% |
| Hugh F. Atha Jr. | $17,953 | $3,410 | -81% |
| Lewis L. Martin | $2,848 | $2,848 | 0% |
| William D. Mitchell | $13,518 | $2,466 | -81.8% |
| David Locke | $12,331 | $2,441 | -80.2% |
| Sims, Sims, & Sims, LLC | $14,198 | $2,415 | -83% |
| Joseph Lee Dillard | $20,118 | $2,233 | -88.9% |
| John K. Still | $11,875 | $2,208 | -81.4% |
| Joel M. Darden | $2,057 | $1,837 | -10.7% |
| William David Jensen | $2,455 | $1,711 | -30.3% |
| Leroy Morris | $2,859 | $1,705 | -40.4% |
| Keith Johnson | $8,885 | $1,694 | -80.9% |
| James Cody Ridgeway | $6,619 | $1,689 | -74.5% |
| Michael David Hawks | $10,764 | $1,462 | -86.4% |
| Carroll J. Parham | $7,137 | $1,414 | -80.2% |
| Linda Bolthouse | $3,250 | $1,364 | -58% |
| Wendy Studdard | $7,000 | $1,344 | -80.8% |
| James F. Sells | $6,396 | $1,276 | -80.1% |
| Christopher C. Peters | $11,822 | $1,223 | -89.7% |
| Mark Sims | $4,337 | $1,208 | -72.1% |
| J D Cattle Company, LLC | $4,047 | $1,190 | -70.6% |
| Michael Titshaw | $6,765 | $1,070 | -84.2% |
| Robert L. Williford Sr. | $4,759 | $1,037 | -78.2% |
| Teresa F. Needham | $4,518 | $1,033 | -77.1% |
| Troy W. Porterfield Jr. | $1,027 | $1,027 | 0% |
| Lalla J. Tanner | $4,308 | $993 | -76.9% |
| John H. Griscom III | $1,415 | $987 | -30.2% |
| Jeffery Donald Thomas II | $5,237 | $932 | -82.2% |
| Carol H. Anderson | $1,394 | $922 | -33.9% |
| Buel Thomas Irrevocable Living Trust | $1,456 | $908 | -37.6% |
| James David Puckett | $3,795 | $794 | -79.1% |
| Perkins Family Properties, LLLP | $1,527 | $740 | -51.5% |
| David H. Phillips III | $2,087 | $714 | -65.8% |
| Lisa Q. Almand | $4,451 | $707 | -84.1% |
| David L. Malcom | $2,842 | $673 | -76.3% |
| Robert Eric Rentfrow | $623 | $623 | 0% |
| Don A. Moon | $2,844 | $566 | -80.1% |
| RL & LK Farms, Inc. | $497 | $497 | 0% |
| Timothy M. Burkholder | $858 | $428 | -50.1% |
| Chadwick L. McCloud | $1,947 | $422 | -78.3% |
| James Morrell | $2,937 | $398 | -86.4% |
| Jeff N. Pannell | $2,013 | $387 | -80.8% |
| Cook Holliday | $2,938 | $380 | -87.1% |
| Paul H. Bryant | $1,462 | $335 | -77.1% |
| Anne Stewart Cruz | $811 | $307 | -62.1% |
| Tonya Wallace | $779 | $305 | -60.8% |
| Robert Michael Keesee | $1,586 | $282 | -82.2% |
| Alan Joseph McGinnis | $1,795 | $280 | -84.4% |
| Archie C. Burnham | $0 | $266 | -- |
| Joy Daniell | $128 | $258 | 101.6% |
| Walter Britt Hawk | $573 | $226 | -60.6% |
| Robert Allen Payne Jr. | $748 | $190 | -74.6% |
| Grant Wallis | $3,737 | $188 | -95% |
| Sean McDevitt | $0 | $134 | -- |
| Stephanie L. Pulliam | $270 | $133 | -50.7% |
| Barry E. McKissick | $0 | $132 | -- |
| Mary Pannell | $1,020 | $121 | -88.1% |
| Joseph W. Brooks | $273 | $115 | -57.9% |
| Cheryl Brady | $0 | $101 | -- |
| Ernest White | $459 | $97 | -78.9% |
| Gerald White | $459 | $97 | -78.9% |
| Joe McReynolds | $412 | $92 | -77.7% |
| Max H. Laseter | $99 | $40 | -59.6% |
| Cathy Jean Camp | $1,089 | $0 | -100% |
| David B. Yancey | $1,430 | $0 | -100% |
| Donald H. Thomas | $20,202 | $0 | -100% |
| Wayne J. Cox | $217 | $0 | -100% |
| Jamie D. Ivester | $3,131 | $0 | -100% |
| Jimmy C. Davis | $2,103 | $0 | -100% |
| Melvin Bobby Farmer | $1,879 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard S. Roberts | $299 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas G. Etris | $6,797 | $0 | -100% |
| Triple J Farms of High Shoals, LLC | $4,444 | $0 | -100% |
| Betty Troyce Sisk | $4 | $0 | -100% |
| Deborah F. Knight | $132 | $0 | -100% |
| Dorthea E. Sherrill | $136 | $0 | -100% |
| E. M. Smith Nursery and Tree Farm | $119,982 | $0 | -100% |
| Eula Mae Adcock | $123 | $0 | -100% |
| Francis B. Eck | $771 | $0 | -100% |
| Gregory Pannell | $446 | $0 | -100% |
| Matt I. Thompson II | $277 | $0 | -100% |
| James Milton Dowdy | $192 | $0 | -100% |
| Patrick N. Opolka | $2,200 | $0 | -100% |
| Pauline Oakley | $144 | $0 | -100% |
| Shaun Crowe | $818 | $0 | -100% |
| Terrell E. Wheeler | $1,540 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $937,725 | $239,377 | -74.5% |
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