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In 2021, 152 farmers in cities within Clay County received a total of $1.1 million in 169 farm subsidies, a 36.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.7 million in 572 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.
Farmers and Their Subsidies in Cities Associated with Clay County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gabriel W. Farr | $14,031 | $111,645 | 695.7% |
| Mr. Jason Ty Dingler | $6,083 | $80,249 | 1,219.2% |
| Joshua N. Graben | $4,508 | $65,780 | 1,359.2% |
| Melinda Beth McCay | $0 | $59,724 | -- |
| Kennedy Boys Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Tommy Sewell | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| R. K Mcdonald Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Bennie D. Morrison | $10,526 | $50,944 | 384% |
| John A. Horn Jr. | $0 | $45,166 | -- |
| Jacob D. Porter | $13,374 | $43,929 | 228.5% |
| John D. Duncan Jr. | $1,716 | $39,909 | 2,225.7% |
| Christopher Charles Upchurch | $54,364 | $36,390 | -33.1% |
| Larry N. Upchurch | $44,809 | $30,182 | -32.6% |
| John Payton Gilbert | $6,996 | $30,148 | 330.9% |
| James Wesley Spivey | $0 | $24,663 | -- |
| Winston Blain Gilbert | $2,003 | $24,189 | 1,107.6% |
| Walker Lands & Cattle, LLC | $126,730 | $19,958 | -84.3% |
| Gregory E. Morris | $0 | $10,894 | -- |
| Gene P. Miller | $54,840 | $9,596 | -82.5% |
| James Russell Sparks | $0 | $9,444 | -- |
| Ricky H New | $1,717 | $9,084 | 429.1% |
| Charles J. Griffin | $0 | $8,002 | -- |
| Charles S. Foster | $45,495 | $7,935 | -82.6% |
| Russell E. Foster | $45,495 | $7,935 | -82.6% |
| Joseph E. Brannock | $0 | $6,160 | -- |
| George McCay | $3,180 | $6,152 | 93.5% |
| Ronald D. Mattox | $53,370 | $5,719 | -89.3% |
| Roy C. Saxon | $29,998 | $5,650 | -81.2% |
| Clay Lovelady | $0 | $5,574 | -- |
| Jason D. Upchurch | $23,279 | $4,962 | -78.7% |
| Charles David Upchurch | $27,492 | $4,742 | -82.8% |
| Charles M. Jordan | $33,190 | $4,389 | -86.8% |
| Dwain W. Rush | $22,131 | $4,374 | -80.2% |
| Ms. Denise W. Todd | $20,849 | $3,691 | -82.3% |
| Jarrod M. Smith | $11,055 | $3,618 | -67.3% |
| Randall F. Anderson | $23,459 | $3,112 | -86.7% |
| David Short | $18,346 | $3,002 | -83.6% |
| George C. Smith | $25,319 | $2,931 | -88.4% |
| Eldred S. Haywood | $14,945 | $2,814 | -81.2% |
| Stanley W. Stanford | $22,315 | $2,690 | -87.9% |
| Justin Michael Smith | $10,384 | $2,596 | -75% |
| Michael E. Summerlin | $16,898 | $2,585 | -84.7% |
| Reginald G. Blair | $23,543 | $2,512 | -89.3% |
| MLY Farms, LLC | $12,804 | $2,487 | -80.6% |
| Cherea M Roughton | $25,114 | $2,448 | -90.3% |
| Wendell L. Wolfe | $17,786 | $2,382 | -86.6% |
| Eddie D. Brown | $19,905 | $2,243 | -88.7% |
| Doyle L. Phillips | $20,914 | $2,234 | -89.3% |
| John M. Norred | $17,905 | $2,124 | -88.1% |
| Robert Jeral Clark | $13,571 | $2,099 | -84.5% |
| David M. Mattox | $16,509 | $1,979 | -88% |
| Lewis D. Johnson | $15,169 | $1,970 | -87% |
| Robert V. Mattox | $14,282 | $1,967 | -86.2% |
| Matthew B. Collum | $7,923 | $1,949 | -75.4% |
| Lori S. Duke | $9,781 | $1,948 | -80.1% |
| DeWitt Ashley | $1,842 | $1,842 | 0% |
| Bruce Q. Hembree | $18,934 | $1,821 | -90.4% |
| Jeffery Fuller | $15,893 | $1,812 | -88.6% |
| Billy Mark Carr | $16,927 | $1,746 | -89.7% |
| Danny R. Haynes | $13,937 | $1,738 | -87.5% |
| James R. Green | $12,884 | $1,680 | -87% |
| Troy Medforth | $9,741 | $1,676 | -82.8% |
| Kelli Few Hubbard | $11,350 | $1,636 | -85.6% |
| Colvin D. Mitchell | $10,282 | $1,631 | -84.1% |
| James A. Allen | $11,025 | $1,587 | -85.6% |
| Charles Kevin Foster | $1,988 | $1,578 | -20.6% |
| Justin K. Simpkins | $11,604 | $1,576 | -86.4% |
| Robert S. Miller | $11,296 | $1,532 | -86.4% |
| Charles Dwight Upchurch | $10,416 | $1,486 | -85.7% |
| King Land and Cattle, LLC | $4,758 | $1,432 | -69.9% |
| Glen C. Brown | $8,860 | $1,429 | -83.9% |
| Dale McCollum | $11,166 | $1,385 | -87.6% |
| Billy Thomas McLean | $11,979 | $1,346 | -88.8% |
| Mary S. Horn | $9,755 | $1,337 | -86.3% |
| Joseph Byars | $6,988 | $1,284 | -81.6% |
| Keith W. Gilbert | $7,002 | $1,278 | -81.7% |
| Timothy Charles Mathews | $8,240 | $1,267 | -84.6% |
| James H. Bowman | $0 | $1,221 | -- |
| Justin W. McCollum | $8,863 | $1,212 | -86.3% |
| Steven Lynn Stanford | $7,134 | $1,206 | -83.1% |
| Freeman Brothers Farm, LLC | $6,995 | $1,206 | -82.8% |
| Troy C. Spurlin | $13,999 | $1,199 | -91.4% |
| Berlon R Rice SR | $11,452 | $1,196 | -89.6% |
| Jeremy D. Kennedy | $5,798 | $1,160 | -80% |
| Wendell Patterson | $9,437 | $1,130 | -88% |
| Reginald G. Barrett | $8,114 | $1,128 | -86.1% |
| Tyler R. Jennings | $5,134 | $1,028 | -80% |
| Mary S. Turley | $5,697 | $1,016 | -82.2% |
| Tanner H. Denney | $4,807 | $983 | -79.6% |
| Ben H. Griffin | $11,053 | $982 | -91.1% |
| Kathy M. Dawkins | $10,364 | $981 | -90.5% |
| James B. Hendrix | $11,398 | $975 | -91.4% |
| Hunter L. Denney | $4,672 | $966 | -79.3% |
| James M. Perry | $8,347 | $896 | -89.3% |
| Wayne Daryl Mathews | $1,617 | $892 | -44.8% |
| Christopher B. Wakefield | $4,607 | $888 | -80.7% |
| Robert M. King Sr. | $12,341 | $880 | -92.9% |
| Gwendolyn M. McCollum | $10,627 | $878 | -91.7% |
| Hubert D. Hallman | $6,406 | $877 | -86.3% |
| Buster Lamar Hurst | $7,170 | $862 | -88% |
| Fred W. McLeod | $8,748 | $845 | -90.3% |
| Randy G. Curvin | $5,037 | $830 | -83.5% |
| Ben H. Griffin Jr. | $7,008 | $810 | -88.4% |
| Walt Runyan | $5,137 | $795 | -84.5% |
| John K. Dennis | $5,074 | $791 | -84.4% |
| Michael D. Pettis | $8,306 | $790 | -90.5% |
| Brandon Michael Brown | $2,675 | $789 | -70.5% |
| Jeffery Hayden Odom | $10,262 | $781 | -92.4% |
| Justin K. Waits | $4,899 | $766 | -84.4% |
| Brian L. Askew | $7,374 | $720 | -90.2% |
| Erin B. Smith | $5,014 | $689 | -86.3% |
| Charles F. Hill | $2,988 | $688 | -77% |
| Gene Ray Strother | $5,706 | $687 | -88% |
| John Zenus Pettus | $4,006 | $680 | -83% |
| Eric G. Carr | $3,102 | $662 | -78.7% |
| Bobby H. Watts | $2,871 | $641 | -77.7% |
| Douglas O. Gortney | $3,824 | $627 | -83.6% |
| Lisa J. Shelton | $3,711 | $626 | -83.1% |
| Neal A. Hurst | $5,263 | $620 | -88.2% |
| Earnest R. Clarke Jr. | $3,002 | $612 | -79.6% |
| Robert E. Reynolds | $6,286 | $594 | -90.6% |
| Virgil C. Freeman | $2,673 | $552 | -79.3% |
| Charlie L. Harris | $4,230 | $546 | -87.1% |
| Vicki Clark | $3,012 | $536 | -82.2% |
| Kenneth L. Lockard | $2,631 | $524 | -80.1% |
| Byron W. Clarke | $2,453 | $496 | -79.8% |
| Dalton Davis | $1,606 | $478 | -70.2% |
| White Oak Land & Livestock, LLC | $3,202 | $475 | -85.2% |
| Christopher D. McCollum | $4,206 | $468 | -88.9% |
| James L. Forbus | $3,992 | $467 | -88.3% |
| Wendell Kevin Sparks | $5,353 | $460 | -91.4% |
| James S. Miller | $5,480 | $429 | -92.2% |
| Stephen R. Cabeza | $3,131 | $412 | -86.8% |
| Jack G. Dingler | $2,765 | $409 | -85.2% |
| Jeremy Ryan Smith | $3,718 | $398 | -89.3% |
| Alan L. Denney | $1,552 | $372 | -76% |
| Michael L. Dick | $726 | $361 | -50.3% |
| Ralph Headrick | $1,521 | $360 | -76.3% |
| David L. Stephens | $1,353 | $356 | -73.7% |
| Brad Allen Wolfe | $2,512 | $347 | -86.2% |
| Chad Wolfe | $2,512 | $347 | -86.2% |
| Larry J. Fetner | $3,196 | $336 | -89.5% |
| Ronald E. Ligon | $2,052 | $312 | -84.8% |
| Charles Lane Elliott | $3,491 | $294 | -91.6% |
| Michael D. Morrison | $1,793 | $276 | -84.6% |
| Merrell C. Bell Jr. | $693 | $272 | -60.8% |
| Jeffery Anthony Kinder | $2,133 | $239 | -88.8% |
| Jody Rice | $1,524 | $239 | -84.3% |
| Patrick Frye | $1,144 | $228 | -80.1% |
| William Doyle Loveless | $1,539 | $183 | -88.1% |
| Tony O. Davis | $892 | $132 | -85.2% |
| Kelsey R. Morrison | $1,063 | $124 | -88.3% |
| Amelia Michelle Yates Davidson | $844 | $0 | -100% |
| Dwight E. Harris | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Freda J. Denney | $1,650 | $0 | -100% |
| Jameson W. Carr | $596 | $0 | -100% |
| Jason Edward Walker | $5,280 | $0 | -100% |
| June Johnson | $1,105 | $0 | -100% |
| Linda W. Rochester | $4,557 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert M. King Jr. | $2,826 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Randy Kerr | $281 | $0 | -100% |
| Steven J. Taylor | $518 | $0 | -100% |
| James B. Lacy | $1,053 | $0 | -100% |
| Marlin V. Kemp | $1,671 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert C. Yates | $6,410 | $0 | -100% |
| Rodney E. Walker | $49,650 | $0 | -100% |
| Roger D. Phillips | $717 | $0 | -100% |
| Burdette Farms | $770 | $0 | -100% |
| Caffey E. Smith | $381 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles E. Mathews | $5,934 | $0 | -100% |
| Dale Rush | $1,420 | $0 | -100% |
| David L. Griffin | $440 | $0 | -100% |
| Erin D. Shanley | $1,653 | $0 | -100% |
| Fred Amason | $1,739 | $0 | -100% |
| William F. Robertson Jr. | $2,501 | $0 | -100% |
| William Joseph Sawtelle | $921 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,688,910 | $1,071,826 | -36.5% |
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