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In 2021, 95 farmers in cities within Cherokee County received a total of $251,437 in 118 farm subsidies, an 82.3% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.4 million in 280 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notla Farms, LLC | $62,655 | $47,257 | -24.6% |
| Ricky Joe Stiles | $189,068 | $31,266 | -83.5% |
| Timothy Russell Davis | $54,148 | $19,014 | -64.9% |
| Earl Ray Ricks | $17,002 | $15,418 | -9.3% |
| Wood Farm, LLC | $29,707 | $9,799 | -67% |
| Nelson Daughters | $13,569 | $9,285 | -31.6% |
| Ronald Gordon Bevins | $0 | $8,355 | -- |
| John W. Bruce | $0 | $7,368 | -- |
| Burke T West | $33,811 | $7,248 | -78.6% |
| Albert Matthew Raper | $90,685 | $6,641 | -92.7% |
| Matthew E. Wood | $20,240 | $5,865 | -71% |
| James Brandon Hyde | $19,586 | $5,014 | -74.4% |
| Robert E. Ledford | $14,740 | $4,415 | -70% |
| Jamie Lance | $10,451 | $4,283 | -59% |
| Deborah Ricks | $4,738 | $4,093 | -13.6% |
| Michael D. Davis | $33,446 | $4,052 | -87.9% |
| Rondal L. Phillips | $5,203 | $3,415 | -34.4% |
| Keaton T. Killian | $16,225 | $2,932 | -81.9% |
| Kenneth Wayne Moore | $8,162 | $2,436 | -70.2% |
| James Michael Higdon | $13,519 | $2,116 | -84.3% |
| Thomas P. Little Sr. | $12,967 | $2,075 | -84% |
| Truman L. McNabb | $6,666 | $1,900 | -71.5% |
| Johnson Farm | $5,341 | $1,830 | -65.7% |
| Charles Richard Higdon | $10,058 | $1,804 | -82.1% |
| Arnold Starks | $5,274 | $1,792 | -66% |
| Jerry R. Kilpatrick | $10,367 | $1,746 | -83.2% |
| Barbara Raper | $78,124 | $1,741 | -97.8% |
| Dana Luther | $10,725 | $1,730 | -83.9% |
| Timothy Leon Boring | $7,084 | $1,705 | -75.9% |
| Tyler O'brien Boatwright | $9,845 | $1,565 | -84.1% |
| Kenneth H. Phillips | $2,915 | $1,533 | -47.4% |
| Michael Stiles | $6,424 | $1,465 | -77.2% |
| George L. Mashburn | $7,581 | $1,262 | -83.4% |
| John Q. Fogle | $0 | $1,210 | -- |
| Jerry Kephart | $5,816 | $1,093 | -81.2% |
| Gary Rogers | $5,955 | $1,065 | -82.1% |
| Glenda Faye Laney | $3,256 | $1,059 | -67.5% |
| Mcclure Rentals | $8,440 | $1,025 | -87.9% |
| David A. Newman | $944 | $1,018 | 7.8% |
| Bedford Chambers | $2,959 | $973 | -67.1% |
| Edward Lee Ferguson | $2,386 | $961 | -59.7% |
| Doil Payne | $649 | $919 | 41.6% |
| Roy Brown | $3,641 | $818 | -77.5% |
| Phillip S. Ledford | $3,674 | $775 | -78.9% |
| Gregory James Moore | $5,669 | $774 | -86.3% |
| Jonathan Scott Jenkins | $8,757 | $770 | -91.2% |
| Mitchell Myers | $1,623 | $770 | -52.6% |
| Larry H. Stalcup | $591 | $752 | 27.2% |
| Anderson Mountain Farm, LLC | $8,098 | $710 | -91.2% |
| Richard S. Carver | $0 | $690 | -- |
| Sharon Bevins | $883 | $686 | -22.3% |
| Michael Edward Carter | $3,526 | $673 | -80.9% |
| David Owen Cook | $2,690 | $638 | -76.3% |
| William T. Bristol | $2,233 | $597 | -73.3% |
| Jerry Morrow | $1,810 | $579 | -68% |
| Daniel Roberts | $2,590 | $560 | -78.4% |
| Zachary Orton | $3,109 | $515 | -83.4% |
| Steve Phillips | $2,013 | $502 | -75.1% |
| Timothy Darrell White | $1,995 | $488 | -75.5% |
| Edward J. Rogers | $3,149 | $480 | -84.8% |
| Gary E. Stalcup | $554 | $463 | -16.4% |
| Rebecca Ann Ritz | $1,133 | $463 | -59.1% |
| Nicholas Alexander Adams | $1,496 | $434 | -71% |
| Kathryn Deweese | $1,859 | $412 | -77.8% |
| Michael J Compasso | $387 | $387 | 0% |
| Paul Mashburn | $1,573 | $348 | -77.9% |
| Richard Martin | $1,832 | $348 | -81% |
| James F. Hendrix | $1,661 | $343 | -79.3% |
| J. C. Radford | $1,298 | $322 | -75.2% |
| Randall J. Patterson | $946 | $298 | -68.5% |
| Stephen Bradley Stiles | $693 | $270 | -61% |
| Thad Denny Laney | $461 | $269 | -41.6% |
| Bill Cresmen | $14 | $242 | 1,628.6% |
| Donald Stiles | $880 | $242 | -72.5% |
| John B. Reeves | $5,225 | $241 | -95.4% |
| LR Farms, LLC | $1,353 | $239 | -82.3% |
| Darlene Scroggs | $4,645 | $238 | -94.9% |
| Donnie Glenn Palmer | $8,819 | $238 | -97.3% |
| Lamar Roberts | $1,255 | $228 | -81.8% |
| Dwight Clifton Henry | $2,197 | $225 | -89.8% |
| James Homer Johnson | $1,959 | $218 | -88.9% |
| Diana Hamby | $836 | $211 | -74.8% |
| Scott Douglas Wike | $1,604 | $187 | -88.3% |
| Travis J. Decker | $814 | $178 | -78.1% |
| Kenneth E. Rogers Jr. | $820 | $123 | -85% |
| Joan Tidwell | $120 | $120 | 0% |
| Glenn Crowe | $845 | $118 | -86% |
| Brandon D. Rogers | $0 | $96 | -- |
| Marcus Larey | $652 | $76 | -88.3% |
| James C. Stanley | $814 | $76 | -90.7% |
| Carol Ware | $991 | $72 | -92.7% |
| Linda W. Allen | $352 | $69 | -80.4% |
| Herbert B. Clark II | $2,207 | $60 | -97.3% |
| Constance G. McClure | $2,249 | $35 | -98.4% |
| Barbara K. Lovingood | $438 | $28 | -93.6% |
| CR Brown Enterprises, Inc. | $272,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Dutt & Wagner of North Carolina | $157,194 | $0 | -100% |
| Joshua J. Postell | $2,529 | $0 | -100% |
| Roger D. Gibson | $407 | $0 | -100% |
| Woo S. Um | $5,436 | $0 | -100% |
| David M. Fuller | $775 | $0 | -100% |
| James Patterson | $69 | $0 | -100% |
| Joshua B. Vaught | $121 | $0 | -100% |
| Calvin J. Mashburn | $1,739 | $0 | -100% |
| Carolyn Postell Cordell | $2,070 | $0 | -100% |
| David Liden | $1,463 | $0 | -100% |
| Elaine Dockery | $3,408 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $18,549 | $0 | -100% |
| Gregory Scott Childs | $1,428 | $0 | -100% |
| Jacob Adam Dockery | $1,306 | $0 | -100% |
| John M. Strawn | $2,666 | $0 | -100% |
| Nancy Diane Long | $1,639 | $0 | -100% |
| Nottely River Valley Farms, LLC | $870 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,423,433 | $251,437 | -82.3% |
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