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In 2021, 64 farmers in cities within Sussex County received a total of $1.7 million in 145 farm subsidies, a 50.1% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $3.5 million in 249 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Springhill Farms Partnership | $398,615 | $252,635 | -36.6% |
| Bailey A. L. Farms | $478,079 | $209,895 | -56.1% |
| Old Hickory Farms, Inc. | $442,885 | $197,321 | -55.4% |
| Hanzlik Farms, Inc. | $303,424 | $152,391 | -49.8% |
| Barnes Farms, LLC | $276,756 | $125,334 | -54.7% |
| Double Branch Farms, LLC | $215,289 | $101,747 | -52.7% |
| Lewis Farms, LLC | $147,694 | $98,029 | -33.6% |
| Clarke Farms, LLC | $116,439 | $75,845 | -34.9% |
| Wyatt J. Cox | $230,147 | $74,528 | -67.6% |
| Nottoway Farms | $120,354 | $70,433 | -41.5% |
| Arthur Gray Garter Jr. | $120,340 | $69,608 | -42.2% |
| Ronald W. Nicholson | $129,988 | $59,736 | -54% |
| Warthan Farms, Inc. | $57,812 | $48,258 | -16.5% |
| Spiers Farm, LLC | $54,207 | $25,548 | -52.9% |
| Richard B. Scott | $23,509 | $19,570 | -16.8% |
| Mark E. Wheeler | $27,011 | $15,957 | -40.9% |
| James F. Corl | $24,565 | $14,149 | -42.4% |
| Landon M West | $47,115 | $13,209 | -72% |
| Darnell Freeman | $22,470 | $11,787 | -47.5% |
| Mary Lilley Conover | $5,452 | $8,287 | 52% |
| Russell E. Smith Sr. | $22,919 | $7,285 | -68.2% |
| Elwood B. Wooden Jr. | $11,513 | $6,779 | -41.1% |
| Barnes Brothers, LLC | $29,669 | $6,078 | -79.5% |
| David Wheeler | $9,021 | $5,319 | -41% |
| Roger Bishop Collier | $5,773 | $4,858 | -15.8% |
| Howells Quarter, LLC | $5,113 | $4,396 | -14% |
| Landon Scott West | $3,480 | $4,253 | 22.2% |
| Laurance Richard Matthews | $11,339 | $3,865 | -65.9% |
| Randy L. Everett | $4,844 | $3,330 | -31.3% |
| Stanley T. Winfield Jr. | $4,730 | $3,312 | -30% |
| Dean N. Pittman | $6,267 | $3,273 | -47.8% |
| Peggie E. Owen | $3,167 | $3,167 | 0% |
| Mark Walter Rosbicki | $1,111 | $2,464 | 121.8% |
| Charles J. Cox | $4,677 | $2,296 | -50.9% |
| Henry D. Griffin | $2,704 | $2,251 | -16.8% |
| Samuel Shands | $3,944 | $2,117 | -46.3% |
| R. L. Allen Jr. | $3,905 | $2,070 | -47% |
| James L. Tucker Sr. | $2,807 | $1,969 | -29.9% |
| A P Lilley, LLC | $1,848 | $1,848 | 0% |
| Robert G. Gornto | $4,166 | $1,608 | -61.4% |
| Walter E. Westbrook | $9,710 | $1,509 | -84.5% |
| Hines Homestead Realty, LLC | $1,922 | $1,498 | -22.1% |
| Charles H. Moseley III | $892 | $1,350 | 51.3% |
| Ted Upton Jr. | $3,829 | $1,277 | -66.6% |
| Marvin Stephenson Jr. | $2,687 | $1,165 | -56.6% |
| Charles H. Owen | $4,080 | $1,146 | -71.9% |
| Joe Gray | $3,773 | $862 | -77.2% |
| Bowling Green Farms, LLC | $40,289 | $855 | -97.9% |
| Glover W Pegram Survivors Trust UTD Jan 20 1997 | $0 | $803 | -- |
| Cynthia Ann Jones | $1,715 | $718 | -58.1% |
| Byron Bishop | $1,104 | $710 | -35.7% |
| Armand Wyatt | $702 | $650 | -7.4% |
| Connie Young | $1,862 | $635 | -65.9% |
| Ernest Pegram | $696 | $611 | -12.2% |
| Raymond Warren | $1,097 | $494 | -55% |
| Elysian Grove Farms, LLC | $425 | $425 | 0% |
| Thomas B. Harrison | $2,219 | $424 | -80.9% |
| Tola G. Morgan Estate | $0 | $392 | -- |
| Carolyn C. Wright | $405 | $354 | -12.6% |
| Janet A. Pomier | $405 | $354 | -12.6% |
| Bruce W. Thornton | $323 | $323 | 0% |
| Jules Walker | $2,286 | $284 | -87.6% |
| June Chambers Noblitt | $1,063 | $181 | -83% |
| Patricia Westbrook Jenkins | $189 | $110 | -41.8% |
| Aubrey P. Elder | $120 | $0 | -100% |
| Cheryl P. Poole | $178 | $0 | -100% |
| Francis W. Barnes | $71 | $0 | -100% |
| Glover W Pegram Survivors Trust U | $841 | $0 | -100% |
| James A. Parker | $64 | $0 | -100% |
| Joyce C. Wells | $3,850 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $3,471,945 | $1,733,935 | -50.1% |
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