Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 105 farmers in cities within Belmont County received a total of $650,582 in 125 farm subsidies, a 67.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2 million in 317 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Coleman | $243,318 | $73,753 | -69.7% |
| Young's Cattle Company | $260,702 | $69,525 | -73.3% |
| Triple B Trucking | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| W O Hardwoods, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Plainfield Farms, LLC | $81,685 | $52,304 | -36% |
| Gregory R. Kemp | $40,426 | $39,945 | -1.2% |
| William K. Watkins Jr. | $35,930 | $37,715 | 5% |
| Stephen C. Harris Jr. | $293,169 | $36,581 | -87.5% |
| Daniel E. Freund | $13,078 | $26,339 | 101.4% |
| Cain Farms, LLC | $39,697 | $23,519 | -40.8% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $22,313 | -- |
| Russell E. Mehlman | $15,874 | $19,525 | 23% |
| Dickinson Cattle Company | $78,721 | $13,738 | -82.5% |
| Kyle E. Miller | $11,489 | $11,639 | 1.3% |
| Robert Montag | $36,233 | $10,064 | -72.2% |
| Brian G. Porterfield | $41,613 | $8,499 | -79.6% |
| Steven Adam Smith | $28,919 | $6,152 | -78.7% |
| Allen Derosa | $40,457 | $4,362 | -89.2% |
| Ward Brothers Farm, Ltd. | $20,731 | $4,271 | -79.4% |
| Gary Jefferis | $13,993 | $3,768 | -73.1% |
| Tony L. Kemp | $47,673 | $3,542 | -92.6% |
| Fulton Family Farm Trust of 2017 | $2,267 | $3,337 | 47.2% |
| Arthur D. Monahan | $9,658 | $2,994 | -69% |
| Richard W. Pryor | $10,626 | $2,969 | -72.1% |
| Aaron Johnson Bleininger | $26,416 | $2,942 | -88.9% |
| Charles Saksa Jr. | $17,118 | $2,824 | -83.5% |
| Amy L. Grigaitis | $12,426 | $2,376 | -80.9% |
| Edward A. Stenger | $8,497 | $2,246 | -73.6% |
| Curtis Hallstrom | $16,797 | $2,135 | -87.3% |
| Mark R. McFarland | $22,682 | $2,133 | -90.6% |
| Todd R. Wells | $9,183 | $2,019 | -78% |
| St. Noco Acquisitions, LLC | $1,888 | $1,888 | 0% |
| T. J. Jefferis | $9,548 | $1,839 | -80.7% |
| Dennis Gossett | $7,708 | $1,668 | -78.4% |
| Timothy W Wojchowski | $7,701 | $1,664 | -78.4% |
| Nathan Taylor | $0 | $1,622 | -- |
| David A. Plumly | $7,404 | $1,412 | -80.9% |
| Perry Joe Plumly | $7,389 | $1,404 | -81% |
| Douglass Family Farms, LLC | $5,610 | $1,389 | -75.2% |
| James Robinson | $6,802 | $1,340 | -80.3% |
| Scott C. E. Dilley | $707 | $1,223 | 73% |
| Timothy R. Smith | $9,364 | $1,191 | -87.3% |
| James K. Andrews Jr. | $5,836 | $1,161 | -80.1% |
| Mindy L. Thornburg | $4,652 | $1,108 | -76.2% |
| Richard M. Theaker II | $4,433 | $1,107 | -75% |
| Brian Clary | $4,550 | $1,104 | -75.7% |
| Marjorie Kunze-Lewis | $3,557 | $1,102 | -69% |
| Hickenbottom Farm | $6,119 | $1,095 | -82.1% |
| Steven R. Pryor | $2,508 | $1,068 | -57.4% |
| Marvin Butler | $1,045 | $1,061 | 1.5% |
| Bruce McGee | $4,587 | $1,006 | -78.1% |
| Jeremie F. Temple | $5,379 | $985 | -81.7% |
| Dean J. Winland | $3,542 | $940 | -73.5% |
| Mark Gossett | $10,285 | $885 | -91.4% |
| Richard G. Mazgaj | $3,486 | $862 | -75.3% |
| Janette D. Carson | $6,711 | $849 | -87.3% |
| Mike Yudasz | $5,552 | $700 | -87.4% |
| Robert D. Miller | $2,616 | $688 | -73.7% |
| Shannon N. Lucas | $1,683 | $687 | -59.2% |
| Ronald W Datkuliak | $11,716 | $682 | -94.2% |
| Joshua Wayne Strope | $0 | $650 | -- |
| Suzan E. Carpenter | $2,717 | $644 | -76.3% |
| Tina M. Humphrey | $2,471 | $626 | -74.7% |
| Walter E. Brudzinski | $3,889 | $624 | -84% |
| Scott L. Clark | $2,123 | $619 | -70.8% |
| Jeffrey A. Mazgaj | $1,281 | $600 | -53.2% |
| Thad White | $1,419 | $592 | -58.3% |
| William B. Winland | $2,673 | $578 | -78.4% |
| David L. Fisher | $2,508 | $572 | -77.2% |
| Wesley Wells | $2,099 | $556 | -73.5% |
| Scott J. Schnegg | $3,849 | $543 | -85.9% |
| Samuel M. Haverty | $6,460 | $538 | -91.7% |
| Robert D. Detling | $3,466 | $527 | -84.8% |
| Rachel Carpenter | $2,187 | $515 | -76.5% |
| Jeff Mercer | $2,613 | $511 | -80.4% |
| Joshua J. Moore | $2,972 | $498 | -83.2% |
| Paul D. Mayberry | $2,516 | $494 | -80.4% |
| Thomas Raab | $1,188 | $492 | -58.6% |
| Carol F. Carpenter | $1,090 | $490 | -55% |
| James Gustina | $1,496 | $485 | -67.6% |
| Donald C. Wood | $871 | $466 | -46.5% |
| William D. Green | $1,309 | $454 | -65.3% |
| Thomas Burga | $2,099 | $447 | -78.7% |
| Joseph P Wodarcyk | $1,826 | $446 | -75.6% |
| Ronnie W. Stephen | $2,035 | $400 | -80.3% |
| David A. McGee | $1,009 | $385 | -61.8% |
| Wesley Dean Brown | $1,815 | $364 | -79.9% |
| Melvin Hannan | $2,196 | $364 | -83.4% |
| Jarrett Thomas Burga | $1,427 | $314 | -78% |
| John E. Dudzik | $1,834 | $289 | -84.2% |
| Doug Riemenschneider | $1,378 | $287 | -79.2% |
| Donald Martin | $1,077 | $280 | -74% |
| Matthew R. Wise | $528 | $278 | -47.3% |
| Donald Clary | $1,735 | $274 | -84.2% |
| Daniel L. Messenger | $1,001 | $211 | -78.9% |
| Benjamin D. Messenger | $1,034 | $206 | -80.1% |
| Joseph R Yudasz JR | $1,528 | $197 | -87.1% |
| Jaime Dawn Scott | $7,690 | $146 | -98.1% |
| Russ Alan Cunard | $8,071 | $138 | -98.3% |
| William J West | $638 | $138 | -78.4% |
| Bonita A. Shemenski | $352 | $102 | -71% |
| Donald F. Giffin | $4,968 | $84 | -98.3% |
| Charles Darren Leach | $2,748 | $71 | -97.4% |
| David W. Wise | $1,755 | $70 | -96% |
| Ross A. Kemp | $547 | $8 | -98.5% |
| David J. Hines | $1,430 | $0 | -100% |
| Donald M. Cook | $385 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $16,336 | $0 | -100% |
| William G. Duvall | $6,765 | $0 | -100% |
| Gary L. Schafer | $55 | $0 | -100% |
| Greg L. Anderson | $3,135 | $0 | -100% |
| Jason Allen Gallager | $330 | $0 | -100% |
| John R. Moore | $1,375 | $0 | -100% |
| John Scott Moore | $1,210 | $0 | -100% |
| Justin Moore | $3,839 | $0 | -100% |
| Marisa K. Duvall | $3,861 | $0 | -100% |
| Matthew T. Smith | $2,200 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael D. Beckett | $495 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael G. Burkhart | $10,444 | $0 | -100% |
| Ralph E. McGinnis | $2,585 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas J. Welch | $2,897 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Dale Workman | $5,294 | $0 | -100% |
| Susan West | $10,714 | $0 | -100% |
| Jay A. Stephens | $2,805 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Darrin Straight | $1,430 | $0 | -100% |
| Clifford Collins | $2,640 | $0 | -100% |
| Dale R. Russell | $313 | $0 | -100% |
| Jerry Ebbert | $2,370 | $0 | -100% |
| Marilyn K. White | $1,320 | $0 | -100% |
| Tony G Kolanski | $1,485 | $0 | -100% |
| The Thomas V Bazar and Evelyn M B | $17,840 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert A. Shugert | $123,475 | $0 | -100% |
| Donald Pandzik | $935 | $0 | -100% |
| Roger Ogilbee | $1,705 | $0 | -100% |
| Brian L. Murphy | $1,416 | $0 | -100% |
| Edward Antolak | $3,749 | $0 | -100% |
| Fred Holub Jr. | $12,257 | $0 | -100% |
| James D. Ross | $7,295 | $0 | -100% |
| Justin W. Welty | $1,279 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael Kurth | $1,005 | $0 | -100% |
| Nikki Filicky | $3,300 | $0 | -100% |
| Stanley J. Pempek Jr. | $2,310 | $0 | -100% |
| Walter Maas | $220 | $0 | -100% |
| Brandon G. Farris | $4,175 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,998,918 | $650,582 | -67.5% |
Alerts Sign-up