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In 2021, 76 farmers in cities within Anderson County received a total of $86,590 in 86 farm subsidies, a 76.9% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $374,898 in 208 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| David E. Kitts | $21,488 | $7,338 | -65.9% |
| Timothy L. George | $31,502 | $7,163 | -77.3% |
| Thomas Cody Martin | $0 | $6,875 | -- |
| Benjamin John Gamble | $19,031 | $4,880 | -74.4% |
| Christopher Walter George | $10,932 | $4,591 | -58% |
| Scot Winningham | $16,895 | $3,424 | -79.7% |
| Lydell Meier | $17,631 | $3,100 | -82.4% |
| Patricia Duerksen | $4,655 | $2,530 | -45.6% |
| James R. Jenkins | $7,799 | $2,249 | -71.2% |
| Roger L. Melton | $7,997 | $2,197 | -72.5% |
| Sharon Irwin | $9,943 | $2,159 | -78.3% |
| Charles R. Brogdon | $10,290 | $2,077 | -79.8% |
| Paul Robert Longmire | $2,970 | $1,738 | -41.5% |
| Thomas Fletcher Martin III | $9,301 | $1,629 | -82.5% |
| Eddie Turpin | $6,325 | $1,610 | -74.5% |
| Gordon W. Witt | $6,929 | $1,600 | -76.9% |
| Robert Longmire | $7,222 | $1,402 | -80.6% |
| Steve Mullins | $6,190 | $1,393 | -77.5% |
| James Douglas Yarber | $4,268 | $1,330 | -68.8% |
| Mark L. Glandon | $5,797 | $1,194 | -79.4% |
| Robert A. Moneymaker | $3,432 | $1,192 | -65.3% |
| Douglas K. Cooper | $3,609 | $1,187 | -67.1% |
| James Queener | $4,301 | $1,142 | -73.4% |
| Judy A. Driskill | $1,095 | $1,095 | 0% |
| Edward A. Ragsdale III | $2,946 | $978 | -66.8% |
| Paul Phillip Vandagriff | $5,046 | $940 | -81.4% |
| David Burl Humphrey | $5,373 | $873 | -83.8% |
| Terry West | $2,915 | $684 | -76.5% |
| Terry W. McKamey | $2,926 | $672 | -77% |
| Janice Sue George | $2,860 | $658 | -77% |
| James Ray Morgan | $1,996 | $648 | -67.5% |
| Stacy George | $2,805 | $640 | -77.2% |
| Gary Lamb | $3,838 | $623 | -83.8% |
| Charlotte Ann Wilshire | $2,728 | $619 | -77.3% |
| Billie S. Hammer | $951 | $610 | -35.9% |
| Wayne A. Aull | $2,420 | $598 | -75.3% |
| Dianne Farmer | $487 | $595 | 22.2% |
| George Wilkerson | $1,969 | $572 | -70.9% |
| Dennis Hashbarger | $1,848 | $563 | -69.5% |
| John W. Sharp | $792 | $552 | -30.3% |
| Robert Jason Lankford | $3,627 | $523 | -85.6% |
| Tom Saunders | $3,188 | $521 | -83.7% |
| Carol C. Scarbrough | $1,017 | $514 | -49.5% |
| Danny Graham | $1,694 | $502 | -70.4% |
| Johnny E. Sharp | $3,203 | $490 | -84.7% |
| George W. Byrge | $1,694 | $484 | -71.4% |
| Randy Hatmaker | $1,573 | $451 | -71.3% |
| Johnny Trevor Jones | $31,634 | $431 | -98.6% |
| Nancy and Hollis Large, LLC | $2,405 | $418 | -82.6% |
| Tona Mae McElroy | $1,780 | $397 | -77.7% |
| Daniel Lee Stooksbury | $1,848 | $381 | -79.4% |
| Earl T. Johnson Jr. | $6,102 | $368 | -94% |
| Sandra N Shassere | $360 | $360 | 0% |
| Jerry W. Scruggs | $2,112 | $342 | -83.8% |
| Rodney Lee Mann | $2,280 | $329 | -85.6% |
| Lyndon S. Foster | $1,243 | $323 | -74% |
| Michael Irwin | $1,435 | $322 | -77.6% |
| Lonnie S. McKamey | $1,512 | $287 | -81% |
| Michael Wayne Moore | $1,111 | $262 | -76.4% |
| Paul D. Saunders | $1,243 | $260 | -79.1% |
| John Jones | $869 | $258 | -70.3% |
| John David Queener | $1,875 | $257 | -86.3% |
| Dale Curtis Isabell | $1,089 | $231 | -78.8% |
| Randy Lowe | $946 | $211 | -77.7% |
| Kerry Welker Trust | $379 | $204 | -46.2% |
| Mark Childress | $1,364 | $204 | -85% |
| Dennis R. Dalton | $869 | $181 | -79.2% |
| Rhonda Gail Hatmaker | $792 | $180 | -77.3% |
| Douglass Morris | $759 | $171 | -77.5% |
| Justin Allen Utley | $1,796 | $170 | -90.5% |
| Carl Hembree | $539 | $163 | -69.8% |
| Thomas R. Myers | $153 | $153 | 0% |
| Merida L. Ooten Jr. | $132 | $102 | -22.7% |
| William Hammer | $561 | $90 | -84% |
| John Brian Calhoun | $385 | $72 | -81.3% |
| Eddie Carroll | $2,997 | $58 | -98.1% |
| Eileen Castle | $2 | $0 | -100% |
| Kent Worthington | $1,452 | $0 | -100% |
| David M. Harmening | $427 | $0 | -100% |
| Frank Kirkpatrick | $1,244 | $0 | -100% |
| Howard L. Farmer | $1,092 | $0 | -100% |
| James E. Jones Jr. | $1,980 | $0 | -100% |
| Jeannette Widman | $932 | $0 | -100% |
| Jennifer W. Goodrich | $1,050 | $0 | -100% |
| Joe Hall | $6,895 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael Edward Wilson | $1,545 | $0 | -100% |
| Shawn Hail | $10,211 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $374,898 | $86,590 | -76.9% |
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