Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 133 farmers in cities within Lee County received a total of $2.6 million in 238 farm subsidies, a 58.3% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $6.3 million in 388 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tolson Farms | $1,200,351 | $344,063 | -71.3% |
| Barnes Farm Partnership | $753,620 | $340,569 | -54.8% |
| Tomlinson Farms of Lynchburg, LLC | $330,754 | $183,623 | -44.5% |
| C S Elmore/Sons | $353,818 | $150,288 | -57.5% |
| Dog Island Farms, Inc. | $185,524 | $79,150 | -57.3% |
| David P. Atkinson | $311,685 | $73,829 | -76.3% |
| Jordan Farms | $253,695 | $72,193 | -71.5% |
| C & S Farms, LLC | $248,699 | $68,939 | -72.3% |
| Smith Farms | $157,820 | $61,044 | -61.3% |
| Green and Mims Farms, Inc. | $197,161 | $60,464 | -69.3% |
| Joe & Joyce Atkinson Farms | $102,194 | $59,109 | -42.2% |
| Rob Jordan Farms, Inc. | $0 | $59,055 | -- |
| W. A. Tolson | $0 | $54,350 | -- |
| Mccutchen Turkey Farm, LLC | $0 | $52,358 | -- |
| Mccaskill Farms, LLC | $3,225 | $52,166 | 1,517.6% |
| Pete Beasley | $123,800 | $50,433 | -59.3% |
| Billy Smith | $93,869 | $48,467 | -48.4% |
| Huggins Family Farm | $158,351 | $43,976 | -72.2% |
| Hickory Hill Poultry | $0 | $43,590 | -- |
| Glenn Smith | $126,179 | $40,357 | -68% |
| Craven Farms | $187,855 | $39,898 | -78.8% |
| Sunnydale Farms | $45,088 | $35,169 | -22% |
| Sandwood Farms, LLC | $0 | $33,671 | -- |
| Marion G. Scott | $124,417 | $31,971 | -74.3% |
| Will J. McElveen | $89,079 | $31,951 | -64.1% |
| Samuel D. Ward | $75,917 | $30,777 | -59.5% |
| Pondville Farms | $115,645 | $30,456 | -73.7% |
| David O. Atkinson | $159,921 | $28,448 | -82.2% |
| Welsh Farms, LLC | $73,306 | $26,762 | -63.5% |
| Lynn Hopkins | $91,734 | $26,534 | -71.1% |
| C. E. Clanton Jr. | $79,279 | $25,745 | -67.5% |
| Kenneth B. Holland | $0 | $20,459 | -- |
| Cleland B. Player III | $47,436 | $19,369 | -59.2% |
| Davis A. White Jr. | $45,497 | $18,878 | -58.5% |
| Sarah G. Mozingo | $17,237 | $17,237 | 0% |
| D. C. Carraway | $67,903 | $16,281 | -76% |
| John B Kelly JR | $0 | $13,526 | -- |
| Danny A. Branham | $20,218 | $12,295 | -39.2% |
| KWF Farms, LLC | $35,965 | $11,455 | -68.1% |
| Lucknow Farms, LLC | $0 | $11,361 | -- |
| Synovus Bank | $0 | $10,948 | -- |
| Lynne B. Ward | $34,104 | $10,802 | -68.3% |
| David Holland | $35,224 | $10,797 | -69.3% |
| Ethan Holland | $17,799 | $10,363 | -41.8% |
| Dawn's Scouting Service, Inc. | $37,692 | $8,877 | -76.4% |
| Annette D. Johnson | $7,769 | $7,769 | 0% |
| Marvin Wayne Mozingo | $7,380 | $7,380 | 0% |
| Cecil L. Josey Jr. | $0 | $6,195 | -- |
| Ryan Smith | $11,705 | $5,623 | -52% |
| Marion Scott Farms | $5,440 | $5,440 | 0% |
| Mike Smith | $9,581 | $4,960 | -48.2% |
| Rose Myrtle Farm, LLC | $17,405 | $4,529 | -74% |
| James M. Woodham | $19,046 | $4,367 | -77.1% |
| King Brothers Farm | $18,620 | $3,815 | -79.5% |
| Joe Atkinson III | $3,752 | $3,752 | 0% |
| Leroy W. Atkinson | $11,905 | $3,699 | -68.9% |
| John D. Hurley | $9,727 | $3,678 | -62.2% |
| Kurt C. Wagner | $2,755 | $3,644 | 32.3% |
| Jordan-Hill Farms, LLC | $0 | $3,413 | -- |
| Porkchop Farms, LLC | $0 | $3,216 | -- |
| Willie Wilson Jr. | $0 | $3,184 | -- |
| Kevin A. Atkinson | $0 | $3,103 | -- |
| Hugh E Redick Profit Sharing Plan | $3,007 | $3,007 | 0% |
| Justin Chad Grooms | $4,288 | $2,740 | -36.1% |
| James R. Evans Jr. | $7,568 | $2,645 | -65.1% |
| William R. Alexander III | $2,477 | $2,477 | 0% |
| Leo James Hopkins Jr. | $2,543 | $2,474 | -2.7% |
| Jane C. Harrington | $2,338 | $2,338 | 0% |
| Charles M. Skinner | $2,238 | $2,238 | 0% |
| Aubrey R. Cooper | $3,422 | $2,200 | -35.7% |
| Benjamin Pernitzke | $733 | $1,986 | 170.9% |
| Edna L. Kinder | $1,932 | $1,932 | 0% |
| Millsap-Beasley Farm, LLC | $0 | $1,772 | -- |
| James R. Stokes | $8,917 | $1,703 | -80.9% |
| Gregory S. Logan | $11,196 | $1,624 | -85.5% |
| Robert Justin Boyce | $0 | $1,543 | -- |
| Susan K. Eckelberger | $4,904 | $1,490 | -69.6% |
| Kayla M. Player | $3,688 | $1,439 | -61% |
| Claude S. Elmore | $1,812 | $1,418 | -21.7% |
| John B. Kelly | $1,812 | $1,418 | -21.7% |
| William R. Gaskins | $0 | $1,281 | -- |
| Jacob Hill Jennings | $0 | $1,260 | -- |
| William Johnson | $6,216 | $1,260 | -79.7% |
| Steve Lowder Farms | $1,109 | $1,171 | 5.6% |
| Larry D. Cassidy | $815 | $1,091 | 33.9% |
| Blake Evans | $3,156 | $1,078 | -65.8% |
| Wesley Hopkins | $1,203 | $1,036 | -13.9% |
| Jeffery S. Chewning | $1,001 | $1,001 | 0% |
| Elijah Bradley Jr. | $0 | $948 | -- |
| Kenneth R. Evans | $860 | $897 | 4.3% |
| Joanna R. Redick | $875 | $875 | 0% |
| Fowle Family Irrevocable Trust | $2,262 | $817 | -63.9% |
| Mary Cousar Laney | $804 | $804 | 0% |
| Roberta B. Cousar | $804 | $804 | 0% |
| Don E. Watts | $2,750 | $798 | -71% |
| Gloria Slater | $773 | $773 | 0% |
| James Michael Godwin | $735 | $735 | 0% |
| Michael Atkinson | $3,284 | $733 | -77.7% |
| Matthew R. Fountain | $1,997 | $705 | -64.7% |
| Cecil L. Stevens | $657 | $657 | 0% |
| June K. Stevens | $657 | $657 | 0% |
| Donald W. Gardner | $2,831 | $599 | -78.8% |
| LS Lemmon Farms, LLC | $946 | $545 | -42.4% |
| Joseph G. Arledge Jr. | $383 | $531 | 38.6% |
| Blake T. Watson | $0 | $504 | -- |
| Harry E. McLeod | $0 | $500 | -- |
| Calvin Albert Rouse | $1,848 | $496 | -73.2% |
| Travis Windham | $0 | $463 | -- |
| Juniors Laws | $0 | $440 | -- |
| Jimmy Helms | $2,014 | $348 | -82.7% |
| Donna A. Meares | $822 | $342 | -58.4% |
| Winnie J. Johnson | $335 | $335 | 0% |
| Gary E. Rembert Jr. | $1,878 | $318 | -83.1% |
| Stephen Mclaurin Lowder | $0 | $262 | -- |
| Charles Huggins | $3,431 | $262 | -92.4% |
| Wayne Davis | $254 | $254 | 0% |
| Eddie Lee Josey | $0 | $225 | -- |
| Alfred Bradley | $797 | $216 | -72.9% |
| Harry L. Elmore | $0 | $208 | -- |
| Ronnie Davis | $0 | $191 | -- |
| Luann H. Craven | $187 | $187 | 0% |
| Charles Larry Altman | $0 | $161 | -- |
| Chalmos Lowery JR | $0 | $138 | -- |
| Gary Randy Hall | $0 | $134 | -- |
| Barbara S. McElveen | $0 | $120 | -- |
| Paula L. Johnson | $332 | $113 | -66% |
| Brenda C. Atkinson | $117 | $95 | -18.8% |
| Thomas V. Nolan | $0 | $88 | -- |
| Barbara M. Boyce | $0 | $72 | -- |
| Mary Lizzie Durant | $69 | $69 | 0% |
| Willy B. McGill | $69 | $69 | 0% |
| Delores H. Hall | $0 | $24 | -- |
| James A. Hall Jr. | $0 | $16 | -- |
| Bosmith Furniture Company, Inc. | $269 | $0 | -100% |
| Coastal Plains Farms, LLC | $5,991 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency | $1,633 | $0 | -100% |
| Gary R. Hall | $198 | $0 | -100% |
| Kay M. Elmore | $1,413 | $0 | -100% |
| Kerry Welsh Frazier | $4,822 | $0 | -100% |
| Lee County Farm Service Agency | $1,927 | $0 | -100% |
| Marion Lynn Hopkins | $1,579 | $0 | -100% |
| Sylvia H. Floyd | $772 | $0 | -100% |
| William R. Gardner | $990 | $0 | -100% |
| William R. Gaskins | $1,281 | $0 | -100% |
| Archimedes Lemmon | $3,378 | $0 | -100% |
| Britt E. Rowe | $875 | $0 | -100% |
| Celestine Boone | $255 | $0 | -100% |
| Green & Mims, LLC | $6,785 | $0 | -100% |
| Hallie F. McCray | $1,957 | $0 | -100% |
| Isaiah Brunson | $252 | $0 | -100% |
| Jackie L. McElveen | $389 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael W. Mixon | $1,596 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $6,272,654 | $2,613,970 | -58.3% |
Alerts Sign-up