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In 2021, 84 farmers in cities within Hanover County received a total of $2.7 million in 191 farm subsidies, a 59% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $6.5 million in 305 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engel Family Farms | $1,893,504 | $711,485 | -62.4% |
| R Randolph & Sons, LLC | $204,162 | $204,367 | 0.1% |
| Kirby Farms, LLC | $1,143,181 | $156,092 | -86.3% |
| Tom Stanley & Sons, Inc. | $214,193 | $148,237 | -30.8% |
| Creamfield Farm, LLC | $228,233 | $142,501 | -37.6% |
| J M Newcomb & Sons | $254,586 | $138,711 | -45.5% |
| John N Mills & Sons | $341,567 | $108,815 | -68.1% |
| Randy D Christian & Sons | $147,777 | $87,916 | -40.5% |
| D S Terrell, Inc. | $216,640 | $80,582 | -62.8% |
| Grainfield Farm, LLC | $207,232 | $74,227 | -64.2% |
| MT Gideon, LLC | $375,372 | $64,514 | -82.8% |
| White Oak Farm - Ashland, Inc. | $106,248 | $60,476 | -43.1% |
| L. O. Bosher IV | $69,626 | $57,809 | -17% |
| Bryan Sutton Pearson | $94,226 | $57,713 | -38.8% |
| Gilman Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Gilman Trucking, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Old Dominion Timber, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| James W. Crowder | $71,131 | $51,638 | -27.4% |
| Donald Talley | $55,024 | $41,889 | -23.9% |
| Westwood Grain Farm, Inc. | $47,326 | $30,721 | -35.1% |
| William D. Shelton | $45,751 | $25,437 | -44.4% |
| Kevin S. Cauthorn | $33,547 | $20,874 | -37.8% |
| Mark David Mitchell | $44,926 | $20,559 | -54.2% |
| Richard F. Barnette | $30,705 | $19,798 | -35.5% |
| Lower Woodberry Farms, LLC | $26,953 | $19,726 | -26.8% |
| Hanovertown Farm, LLC | $54,175 | $18,605 | -65.7% |
| SGW, LLC | $21,260 | $15,686 | -26.2% |
| Benjamin Warren Waitman | $35,795 | $14,167 | -60.4% |
| Richard Flournoy III | $0 | $13,820 | -- |
| Kenneth Ray Kirby | $16,850 | $11,156 | -33.8% |
| Richard E. Vaughan Jr. | $27,154 | $10,232 | -62.3% |
| Elizabeth R. Feild | $20,031 | $10,020 | -50% |
| Thomas H. Farmer | $5,315 | $6,723 | 26.5% |
| Virginia Crop Improve Association | $28,185 | $6,349 | -77.5% |
| Mitchell Farms, LLC | $12,757 | $6,213 | -51.3% |
| Colonial Farm Credit Aca | $15,936 | $5,389 | -66.2% |
| Wirt W. Cross | $4,614 | $5,111 | 10.8% |
| Karen Gayle Smith | $7,343 | $4,485 | -38.9% |
| Norman L. Puryear | $4,376 | $3,920 | -10.4% |
| Hanover Peach Orchard, LLC | $9,158 | $3,521 | -61.6% |
| Mary Alice Cowen | $3,158 | $3,174 | 0.5% |
| Alpheus Kay Kirby | $16,062 | $2,976 | -81.5% |
| Edward Glen Talley | $4,935 | $2,852 | -42.2% |
| Milton S. Clarke Jr. | $4,893 | $2,840 | -42% |
| Jeff Sears | $25,642 | $2,735 | -89.3% |
| John T. Peace | $0 | $2,721 | -- |
| Patrick Clarke | $1,377 | $1,811 | 31.5% |
| Melissa Ann Buchanan Estate | $1,479 | $1,670 | 12.9% |
| Elizabeth Dunville Grant | $7,396 | $1,664 | -77.5% |
| Donald R. Garstang Sr. | $4,473 | $1,562 | -65.1% |
| Ellen Bedichek | $3,127 | $1,552 | -50.4% |
| Gregory H. Ray | $1,451 | $1,464 | 0.9% |
| Philip L. Bennett | $1,260 | $1,260 | 0% |
| Shirley Bogaev | $1,829 | $1,249 | -31.7% |
| Charles N. Kirby | $1,001 | $1,167 | 16.6% |
| Patricia K. Kirby | $1,670 | $1,107 | -33.7% |
| Russell G. Mills | $2,303 | $1,015 | -55.9% |
| Serendipity Farm, LLC | $0 | $992 | -- |
| Bobby R. Browder | $1,426 | $937 | -34.3% |
| Claude W. Yeatts | $30 | $929 | 2,996.7% |
| Briar Hill Holdings, LLC | $819 | $819 | 0% |
| Farm Armstrong, LLC | $1,492 | $688 | -53.9% |
| William C. Kreye II | $521 | $607 | 16.5% |
| Lindy Edward Bosher Sr. | $0 | $569 | -- |
| William R. Clark | $2,057 | $542 | -73.7% |
| Jeffrey S. Parker | $390 | $520 | 33.3% |
| Charles Cuthbert Broaddus | $1,863 | $518 | -72.2% |
| Rebecca J Cumins Trust Revocable | $929 | $483 | -48% |
| Maxine R. Dunning | $463 | $463 | 0% |
| Bradrick S. Oeth | $1,112 | $458 | -58.8% |
| Walter K. Atkinson Jr. | $614 | $442 | -28% |
| Bruce T. Anderson | $1,939 | $408 | -79% |
| Joseph M. Reamy | $460 | $363 | -21.1% |
| Fredric I. McGhee | $311 | $311 | 0% |
| John Granderson Zehmer III | $216 | $216 | 0% |
| Edward L. Talley | $469 | $202 | -56.9% |
| Jerry N. Southern | $193 | $193 | 0% |
| Larry Cridlin | $199 | $171 | -14.1% |
| Dwight Johnson III | $297 | $155 | -47.8% |
| Barbara Haney | $140 | $140 | 0% |
| Nora T. Short | $275 | $119 | -56.7% |
| Jan B. Freeman | $62 | $30 | -51.6% |
| Stephen R. Edwards | $28 | $28 | 0% |
| Jean E. Beck | $159 | $24 | -84.9% |
| Cedar Lane Farm, Ltd. | $294 | $0 | -100% |
| Constance J. Mathers | $520 | $0 | -100% |
| Franklin Martin Jr. | $258 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul Benjamin Boulden Jr. | $11,475 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles C. Mayes | $1,400 | $0 | -100% |
| E. C. C. Woods Jr. | $1,601 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael C. Sandridge | $1,015 | $0 | -100% |
| Woodworks Associates LP | $2,572 | $0 | -100% |
| Black Creek Farm, LLC | $10,122 | $0 | -100% |
| Donald Wayne Lankford | $2,165 | $0 | -100% |
| Herbert Lewis Loving Jr. | $823 | $0 | -100% |
| Juan Carlos Ordaz Barajas | $59,754 | $0 | -100% |
| Sandy's Plants | $184,104 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $6,489,482 | $2,662,255 | -59% |
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