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In 2021, 31 farmers in cities within Dare County received a total of $85,283 in 52 farm subsidies, an 85.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $589,806 in 91 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph A. Hodges Jr. | $42,077 | $22,384 | -46.8% |
| Jim Bowman | $18,852 | $18,219 | -3.4% |
| Rosewood Swine Farms, LLC | $0 | $14,373 | -- |
| Smith Oyster Company, LLC | $12,740 | $9,883 | -22.4% |
| Marion Peebles Harrison | $0 | $4,111 | -- |
| Jacob R. Elliott | $1,902 | $3,350 | 76.1% |
| Kemper S. Yancey | $3,397 | $1,635 | -51.9% |
| Mark Scott Woodard | $0 | $1,199 | -- |
| Ruth Jolly Wilson | $1,122 | $1,122 | 0% |
| John H. Woolard Jr. | $1,099 | $1,099 | 0% |
| Clifford C. Byrum Jr. | $2,149 | $1,046 | -51.3% |
| Mark R. Adams | $1,104 | $911 | -17.5% |
| Jonathan W. Tomlinson | $1,851 | $686 | -62.9% |
| Jacob A. Stafford | $1,151 | $662 | -42.5% |
| John Karl Helmkamp | $581 | $580 | -0.2% |
| Kathlene A. Dornblaser | $581 | $580 | -0.2% |
| Ruth A. Engdahl | $584 | $520 | -11% |
| Jeffrey M. Kluger | $967 | $394 | -59.3% |
| Loumac, LLC | $2,231 | $390 | -82.5% |
| Terry A. Beasley | $319 | $319 | 0% |
| Ruth McCulloch | $461 | $266 | -42.3% |
| Joe Rainey Winstead | $262 | $262 | 0% |
| Charlene Heroux Cahoon | $116 | $252 | 117.2% |
| Henry Eugene Harrison III | $239 | $239 | 0% |
| Martha J. Worrell | $286 | $178 | -37.8% |
| Dempsey D. Burgess | $296 | $176 | -40.5% |
| Robert E. Weeks | $115 | $157 | 36.5% |
| Renee Cahoon | $261 | $107 | -59% |
| Tammy Davenport Bundy | $0 | $89 | -- |
| William J. Hedspeth | $86 | $79 | -8.1% |
| Anne Stafford McCann | $30 | $15 | -50% |
| Cape Hatteras Oyster, Inc. | $18,725 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert D. McBride | $2,233 | $0 | -100% |
| Walter Dorris, Corp. | $2,310 | $0 | -100% |
| John B. Shields | $858 | $0 | -100% |
| Kings Point Oysters, LLC | $12,974 | $0 | -100% |
| Slash Creek Waterworks, Inc. | $8,568 | $0 | -100% |
| William T. Ballance | $1,554 | $0 | -100% |
| Fox Run Farm, Inc. | $718 | $0 | -100% |
| James Oliver Tucker Jr. | $226 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert W Pokelwaldt | $14,601 | $0 | -100% |
| Roy Wayne Byrum | $7,159 | $0 | -100% |
| Sandbriar Farm, LLC | $365 | $0 | -100% |
| Francis D Hemilright JR | $1,030 | $0 | -100% |
| Roanoke Fish Company, Inc. | $5,080 | $0 | -100% |
| Carole Slayton | $2,499 | $0 | -100% |
| Donald G. Elliot | $4,202 | $0 | -100% |
| Fish, Inc. | $8,075 | $0 | -100% |
| Glen A. Hopkins | $10,968 | $0 | -100% |
| Jamie Stuart Wescott | $5,494 | $0 | -100% |
| Marguerite Martin | $305 | $0 | -100% |
| Hardway Fisheries, Inc. | $19,023 | $0 | -100% |
| James A. Ruhle | $237,490 | $0 | -100% |
| Linda Gayle, Inc. | $94,213 | $0 | -100% |
| Oyster Creek Seafood, Inc. | $9,122 | $0 | -100% |
| Seneca Fisheries, Inc. | $7,127 | $0 | -100% |
| William Callaway | $11,860 | $0 | -100% |
| William S. Brown III | $8,168 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $589,806 | $85,283 | -85.5% |
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