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In 2021, 109 farmers in cities within Onslow County received a total of $1.6 million in 238 farm subsidies, a 45% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.9 million in 350 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cox & Cox Farms, Inc. | $148,324 | $122,088 | -17.7% |
| Stuart Howard | $152,470 | $121,045 | -20.6% |
| Julian I. Wooten | $63,449 | $106,745 | 68.2% |
| Morris Brinson | $57,509 | $97,185 | 69% |
| Seth E. Howard | $95,225 | $75,989 | -20.2% |
| Lester Pittman | $1,320 | $70,026 | 5,205% |
| Robert Cannon Aka W. Peabody | $0 | $66,045 | -- |
| RDL Poultry, LLC | $0 | $63,330 | -- |
| Ronnie Dean Jenkins | $2,941 | $62,490 | 2,024.8% |
| Barry Shepard | $147,815 | $56,559 | -61.7% |
| Daryl Parker | $19,279 | $54,758 | 184% |
| Twin Farms, Inc. | $90,174 | $53,997 | -40.1% |
| AA&J Logging | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Cecil Lynn Waller | $0 | $52,828 | -- |
| Hank Aaron Huffman | $5,283 | $47,080 | 791.2% |
| Cynthia J. Cox | $138,085 | $44,497 | -67.8% |
| R & G Farm | $90,973 | $31,219 | -65.7% |
| Cavie Farms, LLC | $0 | $30,517 | -- |
| Winzelle Taylor JR | $35,387 | $25,729 | -27.3% |
| Jody D. Cavanaugh | $0 | $24,523 | -- |
| W & W Turkey Farm, Inc. | $0 | $24,000 | -- |
| Daniel R. Morton | $25,060 | $23,306 | -7% |
| Philco Farms, LLC | $50,992 | $22,089 | -56.7% |
| Ruth E. Shuman | $0 | $18,893 | -- |
| Timothy Huffman | $32,358 | $16,857 | -47.9% |
| Phillip Morton | $35,920 | $16,854 | -53.1% |
| Cannon Brothers Farms | $28,175 | $15,285 | -45.7% |
| Bert M. Hall | $9,052 | $14,988 | 65.6% |
| Steven Ray Jarman | $15,765 | $11,721 | -25.7% |
| John D. Gurganus | $30,337 | $11,400 | -62.4% |
| Weston Hog Farm, Inc. | $0 | $11,234 | -- |
| Terry Brinson | $7,920 | $10,357 | 30.8% |
| Huffman Farms, LLC | $25,767 | $9,859 | -61.7% |
| Matthew Cox | $0 | $9,267 | -- |
| Christopher N. Cauley | $19,161 | $8,683 | -54.7% |
| Clifford E. Schaefer | $6,936 | $6,936 | 0% |
| Ricky Watkins | $16,565 | $6,623 | -60% |
| Raynor Farms, Inc. | $377 | $6,115 | 1,522% |
| Kevin L. Fidalgo | $10,595 | $5,779 | -45.5% |
| Robert Buckman | $5,395 | $5,395 | 0% |
| Bobby E. Weston | $7,482 | $5,287 | -29.3% |
| Gurman Watkins | $14,675 | $5,211 | -64.5% |
| Nellapha S Morton Trust | $0 | $5,177 | -- |
| Thomas C. Bryan | $7,953 | $4,178 | -47.5% |
| Tony Thompson | $12,991 | $4,130 | -68.2% |
| Stanley G. Craft | $16,746 | $3,854 | -77% |
| John Grayson Craft | $13,573 | $3,746 | -72.4% |
| Larry Lanier | $6,900 | $3,334 | -51.7% |
| Susan Lefler Valiante | $3,051 | $3,051 | 0% |
| Alvin Collins | $9,621 | $2,912 | -69.7% |
| Deirdre W. Foy | $4,850 | $2,699 | -44.4% |
| Marion G. Lanier | $7,374 | $2,620 | -64.5% |
| Estes Westall | $2,524 | $2,457 | -2.7% |
| Dustin C. Cauley | $4,319 | $2,379 | -44.9% |
| Kyle R. Gwynn | $4,670 | $2,373 | -49.2% |
| Burgess Allison | $2,424 | $2,354 | -2.9% |
| Doris J. Kendrick | $2,202 | $2,202 | 0% |
| Kerry D. Gillette | $11,135 | $1,938 | -82.6% |
| Paul Metters | $2,662 | $1,925 | -27.7% |
| Jeremy Swinson | $1,219 | $1,912 | 56.8% |
| Phillip Cummings | $5,196 | $1,835 | -64.7% |
| Walter E. Bostic Jr. | $0 | $1,594 | -- |
| Elsie B Jones and Mary Helen Anders T C Barbee Farms | $0 | $1,448 | -- |
| Travis Lee Cummings | $1,544 | $1,421 | -8% |
| Richard W. Meadows | $3,083 | $1,284 | -58.4% |
| Brian C. Raynor | $4,961 | $994 | -80% |
| Ricky L. Edwards | $3,523 | $992 | -71.8% |
| Albert J. Huffman | $8,057 | $968 | -88% |
| Anthony R. Lanier | $2,368 | $944 | -60.1% |
| Anthony Randall Beck | $0 | $856 | -- |
| Linda Provow Whaley | $0 | $774 | -- |
| TCB Farms, LLC | $3,572 | $756 | -78.8% |
| Woodrow W. Lanier Jr. | $4,921 | $705 | -85.7% |
| Alvin Batchelor | $1,122 | $645 | -42.5% |
| Virgil Lee Styles | $501 | $592 | 18.2% |
| Robert G. Justice | $7,853 | $579 | -92.6% |
| Andy B. Davis | $1,523 | $560 | -63.2% |
| Cheryl Davis | $2,074 | $524 | -74.7% |
| James Harold Morton | $6,314 | $509 | -91.9% |
| Michael L. Cummings Sr. | $430 | $430 | 0% |
| Terri Ann Cummings | $430 | $430 | 0% |
| Jeremy P. Shipp | $1,744 | $416 | -76.1% |
| John T. Smith | $2,471 | $405 | -83.6% |
| Roy Lee Brown | $930 | $380 | -59.1% |
| Purser Farms, LLC | $732 | $366 | -50% |
| Harold R. Comer | $0 | $294 | -- |
| Robin V. Comer | $0 | $294 | -- |
| Rex Dowless Sidbury | $598 | $271 | -54.7% |
| Linwood Brinson Jr. | $480 | $210 | -56.3% |
| Daniel R. Bowman | $0 | $194 | -- |
| Melissa League | $176 | $176 | 0% |
| Dennis Collins | $1,974 | $164 | -91.7% |
| Matthew Bell Pelletier | $796 | $160 | -79.9% |
| Melissa M. Gray | $2,540 | $142 | -94.4% |
| George Donald Pierce | $727 | $138 | -81% |
| Mary M. Stout | $202 | $132 | -34.7% |
| Adron H Whaley III | $572 | $132 | -76.9% |
| Jerry M. Weston | $0 | $126 | -- |
| Michael Samuel Brown | $0 | $125 | -- |
| Ray Horne | $506 | $121 | -76.1% |
| Cora B. Elkins | $0 | $110 | -- |
| Margaret W. Goodson | $0 | $72 | -- |
| Linda Lanier Shepard | $278 | $71 | -74.5% |
| Floyd Jones Jr. | $589 | $66 | -88.8% |
| Norwood Davis | $205 | $32 | -84.4% |
| Norwood Thomas Lanier | $300 | $27 | -91% |
| Paul W. Shipp Jr. | $0 | $12 | -- |
| Dwight A. Houston | $0 | $6 | -- |
| Milton O. Cooper | $1,428 | $4 | -99.7% |
| Marguerite S. Hill | $1,290 | $0 | -100% |
| Steven M. Wells | $9,161 | $0 | -100% |
| Alfred A. Gurganus | $1 | $0 | -100% |
| Brandon Howard | $1,147 | $0 | -100% |
| Isiac Dewayne Silance | $3,390 | $0 | -100% |
| Jacob Evans Jr. | $1,194 | $0 | -100% |
| James H. Marshburn Jr. | $4,618 | $0 | -100% |
| Meadow Pork | $1,010,084 | $0 | -100% |
| Nellapha S Morton | $5,177 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul Brady Fisher | $165 | $0 | -100% |
| Timothy Thomas | $492 | $0 | -100% |
| Sarah Jane Allison | $2,423 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles Edward Fountain | $2,014 | $0 | -100% |
| David Trott | $1,782 | $0 | -100% |
| Edward G. Hobbs | $935 | $0 | -100% |
| Elsie B Jones and Mary Helen Ande | $10,025 | $0 | -100% |
| Herman Morris Brinson | $28,142 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph A. Scott | $1,153 | $0 | -100% |
| Karen Cowan Edwards | $776 | $0 | -100% |
| Melissa Evans Huffman | $399 | $0 | -100% |
| Richlands Farms, Inc. | $245,760 | $0 | -100% |
| Wilbert F. Foy | $366 | $0 | -100% |
| George Steven Lowe | $1,130 | $0 | -100% |
| Keith Walls | $3,206 | $0 | -100% |
| Judy Vick Willsey | $1,355 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,915,885 | $1,602,391 | -45% |
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