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In 2021, 62 farmers in cities within Lewis County received a total of $145,050 in 62 farm subsidies, a 90.3% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.5 million in 179 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C. D. Cole II | $225,198 | $38,516 | -82.9% |
| Frank N Wine - Slidin W Farms | $370,084 | $26,039 | -93% |
| David Spiker | $91,285 | $9,401 | -89.7% |
| Charles Garrett Cole | $26,059 | $7,154 | -72.5% |
| Danny L. Stickel | $19,767 | $5,647 | -71.4% |
| Dawn Ross | $21,602 | $4,103 | -81% |
| Melissa Cole | $11,185 | $3,066 | -72.6% |
| Michael W. McDonald | $14,266 | $2,896 | -79.7% |
| Robert D. Starkey | $9,076 | $2,858 | -68.5% |
| Lisa Nutter | $20,053 | $2,640 | -86.8% |
| Edwin L. Stalnaker | $12,278 | $2,187 | -82.2% |
| Stephan M. Cronin | $16,145 | $2,166 | -86.6% |
| Kevin N. Britton | $7,951 | $1,794 | -77.4% |
| Michael McKee | $7,752 | $1,676 | -78.4% |
| John R. Spiker | $10,930 | $1,654 | -84.9% |
| Lynwood Wolfe | $8,203 | $1,465 | -82.1% |
| Barbara J. Davis | $4,967 | $1,402 | -71.8% |
| Gregory L. Stalnaker | $6,603 | $1,374 | -79.2% |
| Ed Garrett | $7,140 | $1,280 | -82.1% |
| W. H. Aspinall III | $5,555 | $1,278 | -77% |
| Wendell Scott Hall | $3,898 | $1,274 | -67.3% |
| Brittany Ross | $5,426 | $1,248 | -77% |
| Christopher J. Allman | $3,608 | $1,225 | -66% |
| Thomas E. Hawkins | $7,652 | $1,099 | -85.6% |
| Thomas Garrett | $5,858 | $1,040 | -82.2% |
| William R. Pratt | $14,072 | $1,022 | -92.7% |
| Eldon Ottawa Short | $3,490 | $976 | -72% |
| Kenneth Patrick Mullooly | $4,488 | $969 | -78.4% |
| Lewis Linger II | $3,868 | $861 | -77.7% |
| Michael Murray | $3,465 | $857 | -75.3% |
| John L. Spiker | $2,397 | $845 | -64.7% |
| Thomas Quinn | $7,876 | $822 | -89.6% |
| Donald Pethtel II | $4,374 | $814 | -81.4% |
| Carl Mealey | $4,092 | $801 | -80.4% |
| Nelson A. Bean Jr. | $3,619 | $800 | -77.9% |
| Joshua V. Garton | $2,816 | $774 | -72.5% |
| Daniel Fisher | $2,288 | $770 | -66.3% |
| Swisher Brothers | $2,552 | $740 | -71% |
| David Singleton | $2,816 | $737 | -73.8% |
| Ricky D. Hitt | $3,014 | $689 | -77.1% |
| Edward Ray Paugh | $2,068 | $651 | -68.5% |
| Carl M. Bosely | $2,420 | $602 | -75.1% |
| Samantha Dawn Ross | $3,721 | $595 | -84% |
| Rondal Heckert | $2,233 | $580 | -74% |
| Jason T. Stalnaker | $2,470 | $546 | -77.9% |
| Stephanie N. Hawkins | $3,156 | $505 | -84% |
| Bradford Taylor | $2,013 | $476 | -76.4% |
| William L. Coffindaffer | $2,244 | $471 | -79% |
| Robert L. Bennett | $1,947 | $464 | -76.2% |
| Michael L. Hicks | $2,332 | $412 | -82.3% |
| John S. Watson III | $3,653 | $398 | -89.1% |
| Shauna Renee Fesler | $1,496 | $332 | -77.8% |
| Stephen Perkins | $1,893 | $308 | -83.7% |
| Timothy Dalton Rinehart | $1,265 | $308 | -75.7% |
| Richard D. Carpenter | $1,364 | $284 | -79.2% |
| Scott Carpenter | $1,578 | $214 | -86.4% |
| Robert Gum | $2,090 | $207 | -90.1% |
| Robert Lynn Smith | $1,056 | $201 | -81% |
| Brian Wright | $726 | $186 | -74.4% |
| Jerry Helmick | $902 | $160 | -82.3% |
| Aubrey E. Smith | $484 | $107 | -77.9% |
| Theresa V. Brumley | $1,056 | $84 | -92% |
| Barbara Eckes-Bailey | $605 | $0 | -100% |
| Loren C. Stutler | $13,536 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael Boner | $1,595 | $0 | -100% |
| Norman Wine Farms | $439,200 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Boone Brown | $846 | $0 | -100% |
| Roger D. Wales Jr. | $1,422 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas S. Bond | $2,475 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles B. Stump | $935 | $0 | -100% |
| Christina L. Walton | $172 | $0 | -100% |
| Garry Alderman | $275 | $0 | -100% |
| Nicholas S. Jerden | $715 | $0 | -100% |
| Stephen Wilson | $385 | $0 | -100% |
| Timothy E. Cayton | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,492,646 | $145,050 | -90.3% |
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