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In 2021, 90 farmers in cities within Bland County received a total of $166,708 in 132 farm subsidies, a 73.8% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $636,262 in 261 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rachel Havens | $20,553 | $15,066 | -26.7% |
| Sandra B. Eastep | $37,667 | $15,033 | -60.1% |
| William H. Muncy | $11,758 | $8,521 | -27.5% |
| Tamela S. Stuart | $24,240 | $8,128 | -66.5% |
| Hill Dairy, Inc. | $34,203 | $8,005 | -76.6% |
| Julie D. Sloop | $25,046 | $7,254 | -71% |
| D. S. Miller II | $36,054 | $5,010 | -86.1% |
| Clinton Mitchell Munsey | $9,046 | $4,502 | -50.2% |
| Lucy B. Litton | $10,832 | $4,333 | -60% |
| Jonathon C. Melvin | $18,167 | $4,326 | -76.2% |
| LPR Farms, Inc. | $5,115 | $3,952 | -22.7% |
| Alan Strock | $12,196 | $3,876 | -68.2% |
| Robert O. Munsey | $15,833 | $3,208 | -79.7% |
| Charles F. Parsons | $18,431 | $3,165 | -82.8% |
| David E. Melvin | $9,517 | $2,845 | -70.1% |
| James R. Morehead | $8,932 | $2,816 | -68.5% |
| Wayne R. Umbarger | $6,520 | $2,699 | -58.6% |
| Helen Christine Havens | $8,825 | $2,553 | -71.1% |
| Frank James Michael | $22,300 | $2,376 | -89.3% |
| Thomas Scott | $24,511 | $2,368 | -90.3% |
| Roger D. Thompson | $7,314 | $2,210 | -69.8% |
| Theola Christine Michael | $0 | $2,135 | -- |
| Molly P. Thompson | $4,980 | $2,023 | -59.4% |
| James Daniel Faulkner | $0 | $1,755 | -- |
| J. P. Munsey | $10,218 | $1,740 | -83% |
| James R. Penley | $5,907 | $1,643 | -72.2% |
| Sharon Gordon | $4,012 | $1,553 | -61.3% |
| Meek H. Bowen III | $8,123 | $1,526 | -81.2% |
| Robert Walter Davis | $3,979 | $1,522 | -61.7% |
| Garold L. Schepers | $9,197 | $1,433 | -84.4% |
| Larry Radford | $4,983 | $1,400 | -71.9% |
| Joshua Taylor | $2,949 | $1,292 | -56.2% |
| Robert M. Dawson | $6,686 | $1,285 | -80.8% |
| Beulah T. Newberry | $1,223 | $1,160 | -5.2% |
| James Gary Munsey | $6,385 | $1,153 | -81.9% |
| Michael Havens | $6,276 | $1,119 | -82.2% |
| Michael D. Pauley | $4,785 | $1,066 | -77.7% |
| Kenneth G. May | $4,466 | $1,052 | -76.4% |
| Robert C. Newberry | $5,148 | $962 | -81.3% |
| David A. Simmons | $2,677 | $960 | -64.1% |
| Jeffrey Johnson | $20,803 | $946 | -95.5% |
| Charles Horne | $4,400 | $926 | -79% |
| Robert P. Kegley | $7,078 | $921 | -87% |
| David E. Morehead Sr. | $3,367 | $877 | -74% |
| Donald Eugene Lambert | $6,062 | $873 | -85.6% |
| Larry D. Perkey | $4,101 | $866 | -78.9% |
| Gerald B. Fanning | $4,953 | $860 | -82.6% |
| Clinton Kegley | $6,472 | $833 | -87.1% |
| Mary J. Fanning | $0 | $828 | -- |
| Eric S. Strock | $3,982 | $827 | -79.2% |
| John Stafford | $0 | $825 | -- |
| James R. Meadows | $3,381 | $824 | -75.6% |
| Vance L. Lambert Jr. | $2,600 | $820 | -68.5% |
| James Lancaster | $3,240 | $815 | -74.8% |
| John Ethan Reed | $2,750 | $815 | -70.4% |
| Colene M. Pauley | $0 | $751 | -- |
| Morning Dew Farms, LLC | $13,718 | $750 | -94.5% |
| Stephen Fanning | $3,317 | $730 | -78% |
| Danny R. Sarver | $3,561 | $701 | -80.3% |
| James T. Simmons | $6,772 | $696 | -89.7% |
| Randall L. Johnson | $5,280 | $695 | -86.8% |
| James F. Miller | $3,432 | $665 | -80.6% |
| Olen B. Sexton | $1,914 | $654 | -65.8% |
| S. P. Bernard Jr. | $3,124 | $652 | -79.1% |
| James R. Bruce | $2,937 | $622 | -78.8% |
| Fulton Kegley | $5,146 | $612 | -88.1% |
| Richard J. Berry | $2,891 | $581 | -79.9% |
| Richard Bradley Dillow | $1,870 | $518 | -72.3% |
| Annette M. Burton | $2,354 | $502 | -78.7% |
| Robert L. Green | $1,749 | $492 | -71.9% |
| Richard L. Lambert | $2,288 | $482 | -78.9% |
| Mark J. Gusler | $1,984 | $462 | -76.7% |
| Kenney R. Wright | $2,158 | $435 | -79.8% |
| John M. Mustard | $2,217 | $422 | -81% |
| Michael A. Dillow | $1,672 | $418 | -75% |
| Thomas Myers | $2,998 | $417 | -86.1% |
| Michael Fanning | $1,738 | $402 | -76.9% |
| Joann Tickle Scott | $858 | $326 | -62% |
| Steve C. Johnson | $1,709 | $281 | -83.6% |
| Johnny J. Meadows | $2,244 | $212 | -90.6% |
| Debra French | $2,321 | $189 | -91.9% |
| Todd Parker | $902 | $188 | -79.2% |
| Richard Strock | $1,023 | $184 | -82% |
| Bryan Williams | $961 | $173 | -82% |
| Ellen M. Harner | $153 | $153 | 0% |
| Amy Allison Roberts | $154 | $133 | -13.6% |
| David T. Williams | $686 | $128 | -81.3% |
| Gary Dalton | $2,497 | $114 | -95.4% |
| Rhonda Hungate | $2,250 | $70 | -96.9% |
| Ike Gillespie | $135 | $17 | -87.4% |
| Anita C. Melvin | $23 | $0 | -100% |
| Grady S. Sloop | $543 | $0 | -100% |
| James Faulkner | $9,246 | $0 | -100% |
| Lloyd Breedlove Jr. | $1,540 | $0 | -100% |
| Mark Eugene Sarver | $495 | $0 | -100% |
| Patricia G. Everhart | $483 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Randolph Davis | $735 | $0 | -100% |
| Stacy Alan Hardin | $990 | $0 | -100% |
| Timothy Romano | $951 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $636,262 | $166,708 | -73.8% |
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