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In 2021, 82 farmers in cities within Lunenburg County received a total of $458,937 in 148 farm subsidies, a 50.4% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $925,718 in 240 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Richard Bacon IV | $102,617 | $61,260 | -40.3% |
| Richard Thomas Hite Jr. | $94,964 | $49,454 | -47.9% |
| Samuel Wellington Bacon | $39,593 | $46,148 | 16.6% |
| William Scott Bridgforth | $60,045 | $41,412 | -31% |
| Dundas Forest Products, Inc. | $0 | $39,040 | -- |
| Wellington Bacon Jr. | $55,275 | $35,744 | -35.3% |
| Richard T. Hite | $75,984 | $19,178 | -74.8% |
| Marvin E. Reese | $8,995 | $12,576 | 39.8% |
| Ronald S. Moore | $58,024 | $11,469 | -80.2% |
| R E Wilkinson Farm | $10,576 | $11,121 | 5.2% |
| Lewis G. Tucker | $42,738 | $11,022 | -74.2% |
| W. J. Farms | $11,658 | $9,270 | -20.5% |
| Cecil Edgar Shell Jr. | $21,237 | $8,782 | -58.6% |
| Hite Farming, LLC | $26,805 | $8,431 | -68.5% |
| Gill Joseph Coffee | $13,506 | $7,117 | -47.3% |
| Johnny K. Long | $34,205 | $7,016 | -79.5% |
| Beverly C. Fowlkes | $11,621 | $6,967 | -40% |
| William Edward Parham | $29,891 | $6,957 | -76.7% |
| Cecil E. Shell | $7,564 | $5,729 | -24.3% |
| Robin G. Wrenn | $4,077 | $4,077 | 0% |
| E. M. Hart Jr. | $16,078 | $2,985 | -81.4% |
| Marcelle E. Reese | $2,849 | $2,675 | -6.1% |
| Robert Gene Zava | $9,568 | $2,504 | -73.8% |
| Kenneth P. Green | $3,361 | $2,342 | -30.3% |
| Kenneth Wayne Gee | $10,932 | $2,239 | -79.5% |
| Carolyn Ann Parsons | $9,596 | $1,879 | -80.4% |
| Albert J. Moses | $6,035 | $1,878 | -68.9% |
| Eugene C. Marker | $1,734 | $1,793 | 3.4% |
| Scott Hankley | $2,425 | $1,764 | -27.3% |
| Donna C. Anderson | $17,158 | $1,697 | -90.1% |
| Earl C. Currin | $10,684 | $1,675 | -84.3% |
| James Michael Williams | $850 | $1,596 | 87.8% |
| Markis W. Quinn | $6,835 | $1,502 | -78% |
| Elijah Wayne Parrish | $1,466 | $1,276 | -13% |
| Gordon F. Erby | $4,125 | $1,200 | -70.9% |
| Michael R. Atkins | $1,342 | $1,123 | -16.3% |
| Peter T Dolchan | $7,854 | $1,103 | -86% |
| Pamela Barnes Wilkinson | $0 | $1,016 | -- |
| Dixie Lee Farms, Inc. | $3,064 | $1,003 | -67.3% |
| Terry L. Hazelwood | $4,999 | $989 | -80.2% |
| Billy Shaw Smith Jr. | $7,276 | $981 | -86.5% |
| Steve A. Ortlip | $970 | $970 | 0% |
| Grace Marshall Estate | $0 | $925 | -- |
| Haynie M. Hite Jr. | $5,313 | $917 | -82.7% |
| John Nelson | $2,754 | $916 | -66.7% |
| Joseph A. Green | $2,239 | $914 | -59.2% |
| Kenneth Slaughter | $332 | $910 | 174.1% |
| Earl N. Atkins | $857 | $857 | 0% |
| Harvey L. Tisdale | $3,718 | $852 | -77.1% |
| Glenn Bagley | $4,087 | $831 | -79.7% |
| Alan D. Bagley | $5,225 | $824 | -84.2% |
| Charles D. Neblett | $815 | $815 | 0% |
| John M. Osborne | $2,629 | $633 | -75.9% |
| Ennis J. Epley | $82 | $629 | 667.1% |
| Leland Scott Marker | $610 | $610 | 0% |
| Ruth Renee Hardell | $289 | $603 | 108.7% |
| Claude L. Barnes Jr. | $0 | $599 | -- |
| James E. Gaulding | $1,848 | $580 | -68.6% |
| Charles D. Martin | $2,750 | $571 | -79.2% |
| Bernice A. Wilkinson | $524 | $524 | 0% |
| John L. Crigler | $4,258 | $520 | -87.8% |
| Marvin F. Alder III | $2,476 | $520 | -79% |
| James M. Arroyo | $2,453 | $502 | -79.5% |
| E. L. Jeter | $978 | $471 | -51.8% |
| Clyde J. Spencer | $1,430 | $463 | -67.6% |
| Claude Ball | $2,788 | $436 | -84.4% |
| Eldridge Bagley | $300 | $371 | 23.7% |
| Michael J. Beattie | $2,332 | $361 | -84.5% |
| Austin W Branzelle | $5,508 | $353 | -93.6% |
| Jeffrey B. Childers Sr. | $1,776 | $336 | -81.1% |
| Warren L. Jackson | $1,309 | $331 | -74.7% |
| James H. Elsaesser | $2,014 | $308 | -84.7% |
| Patricia S. Washburn | $487 | $301 | -38.2% |
| Billy Shaw Smith III | $1,381 | $246 | -82.2% |
| Marvin D. Hickam | $1,285 | $245 | -80.9% |
| Ruth Paige Zava | $57 | $204 | 257.9% |
| George P. White | $759 | $173 | -77.2% |
| Eula S. Gary | $487 | $157 | -67.8% |
| Steven Hunter Gary | $0 | $72 | -- |
| Richard S. Moody Jr. | $0 | $53 | -- |
| Lavater Lambert-Brown | $37 | $37 | 0% |
| Gail F. Hunter | $18 | $7 | -61.1% |
| Margaret S. Williams | $430 | $0 | -100% |
| Sterling A. Noblin Jr. | $2,090 | $0 | -100% |
| William Scott Bridgforth | $17,979 | $0 | -100% |
| Joan C. Parker | $241 | $0 | -100% |
| Joan J Zava | $197 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $925,718 | $458,937 | -50.4% |
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