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In 2021, 209 farmers in cities within Hickory County received a total of $626,718 in 259 farm subsidies, a 71% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.2 million in 563 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 Hickory County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mabary Farms, LLC | $91,038 | $54,967 | -39.6% |
| Richard Foster | $34,635 | $46,493 | 34.2% |
| Brent A. Kennedy | $39,168 | $33,444 | -14.6% |
| R G Fields Trust | $0 | $21,368 | -- |
| Wilbur Durnell | $15,740 | $17,946 | 14% |
| Paul Harryman | $63,057 | $16,803 | -73.4% |
| Austin Lee Rains | $34,333 | $15,461 | -55% |
| Brent Foster | $46,319 | $13,575 | -70.7% |
| Jim McClurg | $50,430 | $11,262 | -77.7% |
| John S. Lewton | $28,077 | $11,020 | -60.8% |
| Claudia Driskill | $12,715 | $10,521 | -17.3% |
| Maurice Pitts | $23,161 | $9,905 | -57.2% |
| Mark Nilsson | $1,721 | $9,506 | 452.4% |
| Steve Kretz | $46,306 | $8,672 | -81.3% |
| Jerry Bybee | $38,478 | $7,708 | -80% |
| Mark Beem | $34,518 | $7,560 | -78.1% |
| Jack H. Bybee | $28,105 | $6,810 | -75.8% |
| Randy Lee Pippins | $26,219 | $6,778 | -74.1% |
| Donald E. Hodges | $31,253 | $6,742 | -78.4% |
| Larry Swearingin | $9,317 | $5,989 | -35.7% |
| Beem Farms, LLC | $26,323 | $5,784 | -78% |
| Dennis W. Heirigs | $28,094 | $5,748 | -79.5% |
| Matt Gunter | $26,201 | $5,645 | -78.5% |
| Lawrence J. Bridges | $25,213 | $5,570 | -77.9% |
| R. B. Brinlee | $15,892 | $5,530 | -65.2% |
| Tim L. Logan | $32,756 | $5,388 | -83.6% |
| Kenneth L. Piper | $21,538 | $4,923 | -77.1% |
| Allen George Carney | $11,796 | $4,528 | -61.6% |
| Matthew Whitney | $75,328 | $4,512 | -94% |
| Ron Whitney | $27,500 | $4,241 | -84.6% |
| Sam Crawford | $14,388 | $4,080 | -71.6% |
| Linda Peterman | $17,875 | $3,986 | -77.7% |
| Adam Whitney | $21,994 | $3,970 | -81.9% |
| Terry Adams | $14,615 | $3,782 | -74.1% |
| Richard Dewayne Fifer | $27,274 | $3,776 | -86.2% |
| 3B Farms, LLC | $10,340 | $3,773 | -63.5% |
| Leslie Wayne Stewart | $15,697 | $3,681 | -76.5% |
| Patsy C. Brinlee | $12,610 | $3,581 | -71.6% |
| Gordon T. Peppers | $18,047 | $3,555 | -80.3% |
| David Wayne Henry | $14,315 | $3,505 | -75.5% |
| Ivan James Stewart | $24,131 | $3,377 | -86% |
| Dale Chaney | $12,129 | $3,196 | -73.6% |
| Debra Wilson | $10,659 | $3,167 | -70.3% |
| Chuck Dobson | $10,923 | $3,127 | -71.4% |
| Rick Dean Pearson | $19,581 | $3,081 | -84.3% |
| Bryan Hodges | $16,155 | $3,044 | -81.2% |
| Russ Baker | $14,351 | $3,003 | -79.1% |
| John Lynn | $21,663 | $2,989 | -86.2% |
| Austin Yates | $0 | $2,970 | -- |
| Jay Andre Bricker | $12,921 | $2,872 | -77.8% |
| Justin H. Parrack | $15,663 | $2,658 | -83% |
| Cathy Shields | $10,355 | $2,594 | -74.9% |
| Shirley E. Lightfoot | $13,214 | $2,552 | -80.7% |
| Charles Marc Cooper | $11,440 | $2,548 | -77.7% |
| Steve Nance | $11,088 | $2,403 | -78.3% |
| Gary Dale Swearingin | $9,284 | $2,376 | -74.4% |
| Brent A. Pearson | $18,998 | $2,372 | -87.5% |
| Joseph G. Scott | $5,719 | $2,355 | -58.8% |
| Gary Spradling | $8,741 | $2,346 | -73.2% |
| Patricia O'Neal | $11,517 | $2,334 | -79.7% |
| Jason Daggett | $15,825 | $2,298 | -85.5% |
| Austin David O'Neal | $10,538 | $2,278 | -78.4% |
| Bart A. Davis | $14,415 | $2,248 | -84.4% |
| Robert L. Bricker | $8,646 | $2,242 | -74.1% |
| Chris Anderson | $7,150 | $2,211 | -69.1% |
| Bob Walker | $26,281 | $2,193 | -91.7% |
| Troy A. Smith | $7,566 | $2,118 | -72% |
| Steve Bybee | $11,861 | $2,101 | -82.3% |
| James E Parks | $7,654 | $2,099 | -72.6% |
| Trent J. Coffey | $8,723 | $2,071 | -76.3% |
| Benjamin A. Owsley | $10,618 | $2,053 | -80.7% |
| Kyle C. Brown | $10,326 | $2,028 | -80.4% |
| Dennis J. Wallace | $11,154 | $2,021 | -81.9% |
| Marlin Redies | $9,174 | $2,010 | -78.1% |
| Donald J. Thornton | $9,597 | $1,998 | -79.2% |
| Debbie Hash | $7,865 | $1,962 | -75.1% |
| Luke Whitney | $11,163 | $1,955 | -82.5% |
| Francis Kay Anderson | $8,894 | $1,950 | -78.1% |
| James Driskill | $7,843 | $1,930 | -75.4% |
| James Carl Dampier | $7,068 | $1,920 | -72.8% |
| Perry R. Johnson | $9,593 | $1,896 | -80.2% |
| Sheila S. Burgess | $7,955 | $1,894 | -76.2% |
| Howard H. Green | $1,892 | $1,892 | 0% |
| Marsha Vaughn | $7,828 | $1,876 | -76% |
| Joshua Kyle Worley | $8,822 | $1,815 | -79.4% |
| Sam Zimmerman | $7,866 | $1,749 | -77.8% |
| Alice M. Kugler | $8,296 | $1,728 | -79.2% |
| Michael Riebel | $9,999 | $1,690 | -83.1% |
| Lynn Gideon | $6,952 | $1,688 | -75.7% |
| Marvin O. Driskill | $9,191 | $1,687 | -81.6% |
| Laschelle Lake | $7,392 | $1,670 | -77.4% |
| Donald Hunt | $4,290 | $1,668 | -61.1% |
| Cheryl Hawkes | $6,964 | $1,619 | -76.8% |
| Kevin M. Cheek | $9,970 | $1,613 | -83.8% |
| Martin Taylor | $7,106 | $1,607 | -77.4% |
| Brittany Nikole Turnbow | $0 | $1,595 | -- |
| Heckadon Farms, LLC | $6,545 | $1,565 | -76.1% |
| Ivan Kauffman | $9,550 | $1,560 | -83.7% |
| Ethan Ray Damitz | $10,936 | $1,557 | -85.8% |
| Brent D. Epp | $1,609 | $1,537 | -4.5% |
| Melody Ann Heiserman | $4,994 | $1,534 | -69.3% |
| Mike Whitney | $5,258 | $1,528 | -70.9% |
| Charlie Dryer | $7,692 | $1,516 | -80.3% |
| Angela Parrack | $8,363 | $1,472 | -82.4% |
| Steve Hampton | $7,260 | $1,463 | -79.8% |
| Gary D. Boggs | $5,962 | $1,452 | -75.6% |
| Brett Thomas Bybee | $6,974 | $1,426 | -79.6% |
| Sheila Hicks | $7,634 | $1,424 | -81.3% |
| Garry L. Howard | $3,597 | $1,396 | -61.2% |
| Victor D. Phillips | $6,676 | $1,394 | -79.1% |
| Nathan Warstadt | $7,164 | $1,386 | -80.7% |
| George J. Zerr | $1,383 | $1,383 | 0% |
| Frank Browning | $0 | $1,375 | -- |
| Joshua N. Scott | $5,055 | $1,374 | -72.8% |
| Gail M. Aubuchon | $1,476 | $1,366 | -7.5% |
| Tommy Benedict | $7,282 | $1,360 | -81.3% |
| Linda Walworth | $4,008 | $1,341 | -66.5% |
| Kimberly Lake | $5,016 | $1,335 | -73.4% |
| Ronald Wilken | $4,930 | $1,325 | -73.1% |
| Eddie L. Phillips | $2,508 | $1,265 | -49.6% |
| Zane Durnell | $6,896 | $1,254 | -81.8% |
| Brian D. Wright | $3,476 | $1,249 | -64.1% |
| Mitchell L Parks | $5,720 | $1,188 | -79.2% |
| Chris Fensom | $5,434 | $1,174 | -78.4% |
| Hogsett Family, LLC | $4,957 | $1,172 | -76.4% |
| Gage Gunter | $5,512 | $1,138 | -79.4% |
| Roy Edward Bledsoe | $6,080 | $1,106 | -81.8% |
| David L. Wright | $4,689 | $1,101 | -76.5% |
| Jim Hicks | $5,650 | $1,100 | -80.5% |
| Keith L. Pitts | $5,865 | $1,085 | -81.5% |
| James M. Wells | $3,490 | $1,043 | -70.1% |
| James L. Smith | $5,247 | $1,030 | -80.4% |
| Gene Johnson | $5,525 | $1,021 | -81.5% |
| Kathy A. Dunbar | $1,004 | $1,004 | 0% |
| Jean A. Redding | $5,104 | $982 | -80.8% |
| Jarrett Lake | $3,410 | $968 | -71.6% |
| Billie Joe Wood | $296 | $950 | 220.9% |
| Jean Gilkerson | $3,971 | $945 | -76.2% |
| Wilmer England | $4,782 | $910 | -81% |
| Reggie Renee Fatino | $0 | $880 | -- |
| Cliff Damitz | $5,511 | $865 | -84.3% |
| Chase Garretson | $5,623 | $862 | -84.7% |
| Sid Lind | $3,512 | $859 | -75.5% |
| Vicki Pitts | $3,410 | $859 | -74.8% |
| Jc Owsley | $4,040 | $842 | -79.2% |
| Corey Bryan | $4,268 | $841 | -80.3% |
| Michelle K. Rife | $3,056 | $834 | -72.7% |
| Robb L. Pitts | $4,939 | $818 | -83.4% |
| R. G. Fields | $22,701 | $808 | -96.4% |
| William W. Miller | $3,823 | $800 | -79.1% |
| Kevin Lee Pitts | $4,022 | $793 | -80.3% |
| Derek Duane Kauffman | $4,433 | $786 | -82.3% |
| Joshua Paul Wood | $8,104 | $765 | -90.6% |
| Jesse Lee Turpen | $2,398 | $761 | -68.3% |
| Tony Morninton Smith | $5,186 | $754 | -85.5% |
| John Hash Jr. | $3,212 | $747 | -76.7% |
| Chris Kerr | $3,355 | $736 | -78.1% |
| Ethan Cumley | $3,157 | $731 | -76.8% |
| Joel C. Stokes | $3,003 | $700 | -76.7% |
| Jordan Stafford Lewton | $3,481 | $698 | -79.9% |
| Robert Darby | $3,209 | $626 | -80.5% |
| Karen Wright | $0 | $616 | -- |
| Christopher Todd Combes | $2,006 | $603 | -69.9% |
| Daniel Helmig | $4,982 | $596 | -88% |
| Will Carneal | $2,806 | $596 | -78.8% |
| Alisa Sharp | $8,305 | $594 | -92.8% |
| Becky Walker | $2,618 | $578 | -77.9% |
| Cullen Bybee | $4,455 | $570 | -87.2% |
| Bernita Smith | $3,436 | $567 | -83.5% |
| Devan Scott Looney | $2,607 | $564 | -78.4% |
| John Garrison | $3,002 | $561 | -81.3% |
| Chad Baker | $4,060 | $554 | -86.4% |
| Jody Dell Phillips | $2,189 | $512 | -76.6% |
| Franklin Walker | $3,346 | $512 | -84.7% |
| Roger Riley | $1,441 | $507 | -64.8% |
| Madonna Walker | $2,178 | $498 | -77.1% |
| Larry Cain | $2,134 | $477 | -77.6% |
| Melissa Walker | $4,024 | $461 | -88.5% |
| Brad Hoover | $2,211 | $454 | -79.5% |
| Michael Redding | $2,435 | $442 | -81.8% |
| Carl Breshears | $1,958 | $430 | -78% |
| Robert Arnett | $2,273 | $411 | -81.9% |
| Kyla Hunziger | $1,804 | $403 | -77.7% |
| Alice Wisdom | $1,089 | $385 | -64.6% |
| Nathan Douglas Maddux | $2,938 | $374 | -87.3% |
| Alice Beck | $3,025 | $372 | -87.7% |
| Marsha Jones | $759 | $366 | -51.8% |
| Victoria Viets | $1,529 | $364 | -76.2% |
| Tanner Kennedy | $3,321 | $363 | -89.1% |
| Zach Wallace | $1,843 | $360 | -80.5% |
| Greg P. Burke | $1,276 | $347 | -72.8% |
| Mark Whitney | $1,408 | $346 | -75.4% |
| Mark Powell | $1,320 | $300 | -77.3% |
| Danny Benedict | $1,951 | $298 | -84.7% |
| David Crawford | $1,287 | $289 | -77.5% |
| James L. Arnett | $6,559 | $284 | -95.7% |
| Ronnie Kallweit | $1,133 | $280 | -75.3% |
| Tony Long | $2,041 | $263 | -87.1% |
| Rosalie Kerr | $1,484 | $246 | -83.4% |
| Paula Wisdom | $561 | $220 | -60.8% |
| Donald L. Bybee | $3,676 | $176 | -95.2% |
| Ronald D. Bybee | $3,676 | $176 | -95.2% |
| Mike Bybee | $682 | $98 | -85.6% |
| Gail L. Rudolph | $533 | $76 | -85.7% |
| Jeremy Owen | $330 | $74 | -77.6% |
| Cindy M. Anderson | $363 | $73 | -79.9% |
| Darrell Dearing | $726 | $58 | -92% |
| Gary M. Griffin | $364 | $56 | -84.6% |
| Shirley Costelow | $6,416 | $24 | -99.6% |
| Brandon Lake | $790 | $0 | -100% |
| Chase Andrew Glor | $880 | $0 | -100% |
| Deana Retherford | $495 | $0 | -100% |
| Frank Kays | $1,540 | $0 | -100% |
| Ryan Edde | $1,210 | $0 | -100% |
| William J. Phillips | $275 | $0 | -100% |
| Brandon Benedict | $1,054 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Supernault | $385 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas J Urmie | $275 | $0 | -100% |
| Violet B. Howard | $3,410 | $0 | -100% |
| Linda Parke | $495 | $0 | -100% |
| Chan Eugene Pearson | $3,630 | $0 | -100% |
| Green Gate Family Farms, LLC | $5,544 | $0 | -100% |
| Jonathan Lewton | $1,738 | $0 | -100% |
| Marvin Taylor | $2,640 | $0 | -100% |
| Randy Gilmore | $1,210 | $0 | -100% |
| Randy Walder | $385 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,161,334 | $626,718 | -71% |
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