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In 2021, 90 farmers in cities within Grundy County received a total of $632,070 in 115 farm subsidies, a 46.8% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.2 million in 239 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland Mountain Nursery | $0 | $60,596 | -- |
| Bo Shane Rymer | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Jerimy B & Treva G Campbell C & C Logging | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Mark S. Rymer | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Jason L. Killian | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Kelly Grimes | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Gary Borne | $0 | $42,618 | -- |
| Dennis Garner | $109,647 | $23,614 | -78.5% |
| Chris Stockwell | $0 | $20,416 | -- |
| Eric K. Clay | $44,949 | $18,905 | -57.9% |
| Matthew Garner | $80,697 | $16,195 | -79.9% |
| Kathy Smith | $33,709 | $14,111 | -58.1% |
| Eddie Clay | $33,533 | $13,921 | -58.5% |
| Colby Rymer | $0 | $11,053 | -- |
| Kelly Blake Morrison | $1,298 | $10,611 | 717.5% |
| Bruno G. Durant | $15,338 | $10,389 | -32.3% |
| Carson Rielly Nunley | $8,026 | $8,852 | 10.3% |
| Monroe Morris | $7,976 | $8,455 | 6% |
| Tom Gunn | $27,997 | $7,915 | -71.7% |
| George M. Clay | $24,055 | $7,273 | -69.8% |
| Thomas Wesley Lusk | $30,778 | $6,488 | -78.9% |
| William V. Morrison | $42,439 | $5,934 | -86% |
| James P. Goodman | $8,802 | $4,004 | -54.5% |
| Jason Mitchell | $34,623 | $3,862 | -88.8% |
| Edward Lewis Atterton | $7,458 | $3,806 | -49% |
| Roger D. Layne | $23,718 | $3,713 | -84.3% |
| Marshall Sartain | $9,101 | $3,421 | -62.4% |
| Ralph Pickett | $6,112 | $3,065 | -49.9% |
| Steven Ahearn | $12,328 | $2,540 | -79.4% |
| Timmy Curtis | $17,431 | $2,536 | -85.5% |
| Terry Michael Partin | $10,808 | $2,452 | -77.3% |
| Brannon K. Barrett | $0 | $2,397 | -- |
| Gerry Dale Layne | $9,051 | $2,334 | -74.2% |
| Eddie Lee Birdwell | $10,702 | $2,243 | -79% |
| William C. Cox | $14,237 | $2,159 | -84.8% |
| Hubert D. Hargis | $8,514 | $2,049 | -75.9% |
| James Hampton | $9,246 | $1,888 | -79.6% |
| Cheryl Cawley | $10,154 | $1,884 | -81.4% |
| Russell Goodman | $3,960 | $1,884 | -52.4% |
| James F. Gunn | $6,331 | $1,839 | -71% |
| Wendell Layne | $6,633 | $1,790 | -73% |
| Travis Hill | $22,199 | $1,774 | -92% |
| Jerry Stockwell | $6,477 | $1,623 | -74.9% |
| John Wesley Campbell | $4,134 | $1,601 | -61.3% |
| Christine Birdwell | $3,531 | $1,555 | -56% |
| Charles Dillion Smith | $5,918 | $1,446 | -75.6% |
| Terry Winton | $5,680 | $1,316 | -76.8% |
| Charles E. White | $6,158 | $1,203 | -80.5% |
| Forrest David Nunley | $9,525 | $1,155 | -87.9% |
| Stephen Eldridge | $5,324 | $1,130 | -78.8% |
| George Benson Northcutt | $9,097 | $1,112 | -87.8% |
| John W. Hargis II | $2,365 | $1,028 | -56.5% |
| Scott Layne | $5,016 | $998 | -80.1% |
| William Nunley | $3,184 | $923 | -71% |
| Charles Wilson Cox | $3,578 | $777 | -78.3% |
| Randall Vanhooser | $2,827 | $776 | -72.6% |
| Phyllis Lusk | $3,119 | $728 | -76.7% |
| Larry McKenzie | $4,006 | $706 | -82.4% |
| Clarence T. Birdwell | $3,782 | $684 | -81.9% |
| Wade Hatcher | $8,463 | $580 | -93.1% |
| Jimmy Rogers | $1,848 | $576 | -68.8% |
| Daniel L. Roberts | $2,090 | $570 | -72.7% |
| Edwin Mathias Stockwell | $1,760 | $546 | -69% |
| Mike Oliver | $1,447 | $531 | -63.3% |
| Reeda K Shelton | $3,228 | $508 | -84.3% |
| Ralph Sanders | $3,789 | $506 | -86.6% |
| Jacob Ross Clay | $2,090 | $504 | -75.9% |
| David Dickerson | $1,639 | $473 | -71.1% |
| Jefferson G. Hiett | $2,662 | $444 | -83.3% |
| Sherry H. Barrett | $2,287 | $444 | -80.6% |
| Lonnie Joe King | $20,547 | $417 | -98% |
| Charles Cordell | $5,201 | $373 | -92.8% |
| Jimmy Goodman | $858 | $326 | -62% |
| Frank Brawley | $2,008 | $312 | -84.5% |
| Joshua Lockhart | $2,078 | $304 | -85.4% |
| Maria Meeks | $693 | $301 | -56.6% |
| Jeffrey A. Sells | $1,804 | $297 | -83.5% |
| Jeff Morris | $1,276 | $277 | -78.3% |
| Eric D. Green | $880 | $261 | -70.3% |
| Stacy Nicole Johnson | $0 | $246 | -- |
| Russell D. Layne | $880 | $172 | -80.5% |
| Thomas Lawson | $363 | $167 | -54% |
| Jerry R. Walling | $1,208 | $145 | -88% |
| Lisa White Griffith | $351 | $142 | -59.5% |
| Jo Anne McGinnis | $1,177 | $133 | -88.7% |
| Emily Harriman | $583 | $128 | -78% |
| Caleb Rae | $2,268 | $98 | -95.7% |
| Clarron D Lusk | $0 | $72 | -- |
| Sandra Wilkinson | $200 | $61 | -69.5% |
| David Suits | $2,120 | $34 | -98.4% |
| Jeremy Huntley | $1,293 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael A. Raines | $2,240 | $0 | -100% |
| Scott Padgett | $440 | $0 | -100% |
| Brandon McDaniel | $7,638 | $0 | -100% |
| Gene Whitman | $5,883 | $0 | -100% |
| Glenda Whitman | $89 | $0 | -100% |
| High Country Nursery | $13,818 | $0 | -100% |
| Jeffery Sweeton | $19,328 | $0 | -100% |
| Ralph Childers | $7,258 | $0 | -100% |
| David Burnett | $8,296 | $0 | -100% |
| Edwin Mathis Stockwell | $2,755 | $0 | -100% |
| David Scotty Morris | $259 | $0 | -100% |
| Ernest Harris | $2,153 | $0 | -100% |
| Freedom Tree Farms | $250,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Gregory Arp | $1,497 | $0 | -100% |
| Stephen Geier | $1,114 | $0 | -100% |
| Stephen M. Evans | $39 | $0 | -100% |
| Doyle Shrum | $229 | $0 | -100% |
| Jason Michael Johnson | $605 | $0 | -100% |
| Karen R. Haynes | $980 | $0 | -100% |
| Lisa Hampton | $3,740 | $0 | -100% |
| Louis R. Nunley | $495 | $0 | -100% |
| Mark Merrell | $432 | $0 | -100% |
| Mary E. Thomas | $236 | $0 | -100% |
| Matthew Sparacio | $5,992 | $0 | -100% |
| Stacy N. Johnson | $665 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,188,843 | $632,070 | -46.8% |
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