Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 66 farmers in cities within Alleghany County received a total of $377,840 in 82 farm subsidies, an 81.7% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.1 million in 188 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby and Alvin Evans Dairy | $76,317 | $68,999 | -9.6% |
| Curtis D. Weaver | $35,074 | $60,856 | 73.5% |
| A & C Farms, LLC | $0 | $30,234 | -- |
| Susie J. Gambill | $112,370 | $26,408 | -76.5% |
| Leann Gambill | $39,624 | $25,191 | -36.4% |
| Howell Brothers | $0 | $17,131 | -- |
| Dalton Farms, LLC | $9,768 | $16,069 | 64.5% |
| Billy Rizal Nilo JR | $43,809 | $13,210 | -69.8% |
| Clay Edwin and James Joines | $30,493 | $6,881 | -77.4% |
| William J. Williams | $27,324 | $5,950 | -78.2% |
| Dennis B. Gambill | $24,035 | $5,572 | -76.8% |
| Floyd Murphy | $26,225 | $5,530 | -78.9% |
| Nash D. Williams | $26,648 | $5,169 | -80.6% |
| Richard L. Doughton | $12,342 | $4,820 | -60.9% |
| Robert G. Gambill | $16,753 | $4,669 | -72.1% |
| Robert Steven Mitchell | $23,208 | $4,569 | -80.3% |
| Frank Fender | $39,233 | $4,400 | -88.8% |
| Dustin Clark Sheets | $2,312 | $4,164 | 80.1% |
| Wanda Joines | $22,502 | $3,773 | -83.2% |
| Robert G. Halsey | $12,759 | $3,627 | -71.6% |
| David Gambill | $40,493 | $3,435 | -91.5% |
| John W. Sherrill | $14,113 | $3,269 | -76.8% |
| Wayne C. Sparks | $2,376 | $3,192 | 34.3% |
| Arthur Gambill Farm | $15,052 | $2,905 | -80.7% |
| James A. Perry | $19,101 | $2,835 | -85.2% |
| Hugh Hash | $13,060 | $2,685 | -79.4% |
| James Randolph Fender | $14,173 | $2,390 | -83.1% |
| Nelson Dean Weaver | $9,328 | $2,306 | -75.3% |
| Martha Jane Cook | $0 | $2,255 | -- |
| Clifton Rector | $35,568 | $2,196 | -93.8% |
| Terry Dale Kennedy | $11,407 | $2,182 | -80.9% |
| Amanda Killon-Atwood | $1,067 | $2,113 | 98% |
| Michael L. Phillips | $7,245 | $1,916 | -73.6% |
| Robert A. Kennedy | $8,217 | $1,719 | -79.1% |
| Caleb Samuel Pack | $6,952 | $1,644 | -76.4% |
| Roger Hudson | $9,889 | $1,564 | -84.2% |
| Robert E. Davis | $7,029 | $1,441 | -79.5% |
| Robert B. Williams | $6,028 | $1,419 | -76.5% |
| Billy Jameson Saltz | $6,077 | $1,310 | -78.4% |
| Joines Holsteins | $0 | $1,289 | -- |
| Bobbie J. Crouse | $6,768 | $1,058 | -84.4% |
| Tommy Hester | $4,609 | $989 | -78.5% |
| Mark E. Pardue | $7,254 | $982 | -86.5% |
| Matthew B. Rector | $0 | $970 | -- |
| Luke Martin Hampton | $4,717 | $959 | -79.7% |
| Marty Hamm | $7,967 | $945 | -88.1% |
| Intense Holsteins, LLC | $49,436 | $927 | -98.1% |
| Michael Wayne Bledsoe | $3,168 | $866 | -72.7% |
| Roger D. Todd | $3,517 | $808 | -77% |
| Mildred B. Richardson | $3,718 | $796 | -78.6% |
| Richard K. Caudill | $4,495 | $768 | -82.9% |
| Gary W. Teeter | $750 | $750 | 0% |
| Jerry Marlow | $4,434 | $721 | -83.7% |
| Charles Phillip Moxley | $1,683 | $663 | -60.6% |
| Lorene W. Atwood | $1,419 | $537 | -62.2% |
| Andrew F. Anderson | $2,861 | $518 | -81.9% |
| Adam Gambill | $1,760 | $510 | -71% |
| Jackie D. Billings | $5,720 | $455 | -92% |
| Dewayne Allen Wagner | $1,694 | $416 | -75.4% |
| Lora Hirschy | $1,664 | $404 | -75.7% |
| Alan Kennedy | $0 | $382 | -- |
| Thomas Todd | $1,948 | $297 | -84.8% |
| Billy Evans | $281 | $281 | 0% |
| Jena S. Reeves | $40,920 | $248 | -99.4% |
| Larry Cox | $1,398 | $231 | -83.5% |
| Lonnie Kyle Dalton | $72 | $72 | 0% |
| Bruner L. Sides | $68,441 | $0 | -100% |
| Wayne D. Miles | $25,551 | $0 | -100% |
| Dorothy E. Fender | $1,981 | $0 | -100% |
| Evan P. Atwood | $3,326 | $0 | -100% |
| Gary Sides | $25,819 | $0 | -100% |
| Gwyn B. Hamm | $420 | $0 | -100% |
| Homer & Bonnie Sides Trees | $140,248 | $0 | -100% |
| Jacob Seth Andrews | $48,434 | $0 | -100% |
| James M. Vestal | $2,438 | $0 | -100% |
| Jeffrey W. Miller | $825 | $0 | -100% |
| Jimmy L. Rutherford | $605 | $0 | -100% |
| John mac Murphy | $88,550 | $0 | -100% |
| John R. Kennedy Jr. | $1,392 | $0 | -100% |
| Katherine L. Shore | $250,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Locust Post Farm, LLC | $1,265 | $0 | -100% |
| Phillip C. Vestal | $2,438 | $0 | -100% |
| Randal Sides | $23,005 | $0 | -100% |
| Robbie L. Dolinger | $935 | $0 | -100% |
| Scott S. Smith | $116,051 | $0 | -100% |
| Taylor Halsey | $1,760 | $0 | -100% |
| Wanda Joines Dairy | $458 | $0 | -100% |
| Wishon Evergreens, LLC | $288,929 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,063,095 | $377,840 | -81.7% |
Alerts Sign-up