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In 2021, 83 farmers in cities within Jones County received a total of $3.9 million in 209 farm subsidies, a 35.3% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $6 million in 372 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riggs Brothers Farms Partnership | $128,411 | $421,493 | 228.2% |
| Brent Riggs Farms | $589,952 | $347,555 | -41.1% |
| Randy Darren Riggs | $243,757 | $340,581 | 39.7% |
| Rodney Riggs | $232,475 | $316,246 | 36% |
| Larry Riggs | $418,573 | $261,364 | -37.6% |
| Freda Riggs | $420,988 | $261,307 | -37.9% |
| Alfred Lewis White | $427,751 | $186,953 | -56.3% |
| Franklyn L. Higgins | $215,776 | $115,713 | -46.4% |
| David J. Collins | $303,863 | $109,998 | -63.8% |
| Sandi and Beth Riggs, LLC | $148,775 | $85,358 | -42.6% |
| Haddock Farms Partners | $312,113 | $81,187 | -74% |
| Harvey L & Sally L Rouse | $296,968 | $80,278 | -73% |
| Edgar E Mills & Sons Family Farms | $129,888 | $70,805 | -45.5% |
| Jeremy & Jennifer Rouse Partnership | $0 | $67,321 | -- |
| Harvey Rouse Jr. | $0 | $63,043 | -- |
| Joseph Wayne Stilley | $124,759 | $58,680 | -53% |
| Herbert W. Griffin | $122,437 | $58,658 | -52.1% |
| Brian Andrew Higgins | $0 | $58,455 | -- |
| Triple K Farms | $0 | $57,003 | -- |
| Lakebed Farm, LLC | $0 | $55,489 | -- |
| David Blythe, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| P & G Farms | $127,914 | $49,988 | -60.9% |
| Riggs Pork Farm, Inc. | $23,947 | $48,116 | 100.9% |
| Delbert R. Howard | $125,838 | $46,716 | -62.9% |
| Johnnie J. Houston Jr. | $91,903 | $46,384 | -49.5% |
| Eastern Carolina Breeders, Inc. | $29,624 | $43,730 | 47.6% |
| Keith A. Mills | $122,829 | $42,342 | -65.5% |
| Serendipity Farms, LLC | $98,909 | $38,268 | -61.3% |
| Kevin Earl Mills | $130,525 | $34,315 | -73.7% |
| Joseph O. Stilley | $134,993 | $32,548 | -75.9% |
| Robert Lee Cox | $23,583 | $32,463 | 37.7% |
| Joe Stilley & Son, LLC. | $49,593 | $32,428 | -34.6% |
| Bonnie H. Andrews | $0 | $32,186 | -- |
| Tyler V. Griffin | $74,184 | $28,298 | -61.9% |
| Cecil W. Adams Jr. | $20,924 | $26,702 | 27.6% |
| Joel Keith Metts | $4,016 | $20,217 | 403.4% |
| Brett Pike | $26,077 | $17,533 | -32.8% |
| Cypress Creek Farms, of NC, LLC | $36,798 | $14,846 | -59.7% |
| Elvin J. Lee III | $18,456 | $13,444 | -27.2% |
| White Oak River Farms, LLC | $0 | $12,178 | -- |
| W & P Farms, Inc. | $0 | $12,109 | -- |
| Dennis James Lee | $9,645 | $10,798 | 12% |
| Kevin W. Mills | $23,230 | $10,043 | -56.8% |
| Moore Brothers Farms, Inc. | $29,191 | $9,402 | -67.8% |
| Nicholas W. Norris | $16,466 | $8,743 | -46.9% |
| Jason Andrews | $6,663 | $8,106 | 21.7% |
| David M. Andrews Jr. | $12,650 | $6,334 | -49.9% |
| Clint Mills | $28,585 | $5,861 | -79.5% |
| Ken Mills | $28,509 | $5,861 | -79.4% |
| Thomas D. Waller | $13,976 | $5,454 | -61% |
| William V. Griffin Jr. | $976 | $3,523 | 261% |
| Jerry S. Foy | $8,062 | $3,485 | -56.8% |
| Kenneth R. Parker | $3,384 | $3,445 | 1.8% |
| Mills Farm, Inc. | $6,209 | $3,017 | -51.4% |
| David H. Allen | $0 | $2,932 | -- |
| Joseph F. Andrews | $978 | $2,762 | 182.4% |
| Gerald R. Banks | $8,047 | $2,758 | -65.7% |
| William S. Mills III | $18,295 | $2,327 | -87.3% |
| Walter L. Adams Jr. | $2,036 | $2,036 | 0% |
| William S. Mills Jr. | $10,337 | $1,453 | -85.9% |
| Rodney D. Coffey | $6,799 | $1,447 | -78.7% |
| Kyle L. Koonce | $3,730 | $1,334 | -64.2% |
| Charles Adam Flaisher | $0 | $905 | -- |
| Johnnie J. Houston | $780 | $780 | 0% |
| V. A. Bender III | $711 | $711 | 0% |
| Barry W. Jones | $705 | $705 | 0% |
| Alexander Toodle | $5,374 | $586 | -89.1% |
| Edward D. Jordan | $792 | $464 | -41.4% |
| Viola J. Kornegay | $369 | $415 | 12.5% |
| Donald W. Green | $1,113 | $413 | -62.9% |
| William Denford Eubank JR | $404 | $404 | 0% |
| Brent Riggs | $3,380 | $356 | -89.5% |
| Michael D. Jordan | $462 | $291 | -37% |
| Don G. Phillips | $1,365 | $263 | -80.7% |
| Greentown Farms, Inc. | $36,115 | $258 | -99.3% |
| Robert E. Jolly | $2,280 | $232 | -89.8% |
| Richard D. Wallace | $2,523 | $222 | -91.2% |
| Aubrey Anna Fleck | $184 | $189 | 2.7% |
| Joseph Henry Haddock IV | $184 | $189 | 2.7% |
| Bradford D. Jenkins | $1,618 | $156 | -90.4% |
| Megan M. Darke | $0 | $83 | -- |
| Terry Peters | $211 | $82 | -61.1% |
| Paul Lloyd Ingram Jr. | $875 | $42 | -95.2% |
| Chad Lawson Krantz | $244 | $0 | -100% |
| Coltin Davenport | $660 | $0 | -100% |
| Lakebed Farm, LLC. | $6,631 | $0 | -100% |
| Brian A. Higgins | $118,406 | $0 | -100% |
| American Eel Farm, LLC | $40,381 | $0 | -100% |
| Brandon Earl Smith | $39,898 | $0 | -100% |
| David Brett Pike | $5,627 | $0 | -100% |
| David H. Allen | $2,932 | $0 | -100% |
| Franky Howard | $1,780 | $0 | -100% |
| Garland Morris Pike | $7,158 | $0 | -100% |
| Gary Lee Smith | $719 | $0 | -100% |
| Jeremy & Jennifer Rouse Partnersh | $219,632 | $0 | -100% |
| Lance Wallace | $996 | $0 | -100% |
| William Henry Kornegay | $558 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $5,999,434 | $3,884,040 | -35.3% |
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