Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 59 farmers in cities within Wayne County received a total of $620,710 in 97 farm subsidies, a 47.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.2 million in 254 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher J. McCloskey | $75,816 | $85,649 | 13% |
| Wesley Bates | $25,354 | $49,825 | 96.5% |
| Highland Farm Enterprises, LLC | $56,099 | $48,788 | -13% |
| Terry Roberts Logging | $0 | $41,640 | -- |
| Matthew D. Weist | $27,165 | $31,928 | 17.5% |
| Steep Hill Dairy, LLC | $44,532 | $30,522 | -31.5% |
| Harold Welch | $35,575 | $30,094 | -15.4% |
| Darl Haynes | $35,004 | $29,008 | -17.1% |
| Charles J. Theobald | $23,185 | $28,374 | 22.4% |
| Jack Downton | $34,171 | $27,420 | -19.8% |
| Roger E. Olver | $7,314 | $23,223 | 217.5% |
| John Rickard Jr. | $27,642 | $22,603 | -18.2% |
| Donald Stiles | $24,623 | $21,842 | -11.3% |
| AL-Ko Timber Harvesting, LLC | $0 | $17,375 | -- |
| Anne Marie Martzen-Trapper | $25,930 | $14,861 | -42.7% |
| Randy L. Howell | $18,078 | $12,205 | -32.5% |
| Albert G. Mignerey Jr. | $6,276 | $10,559 | 68.2% |
| Anthony Palonis | $9,938 | $9,938 | 0% |
| John Lackey | $9,616 | $9,616 | 0% |
| Mary Ann Miller | $8,636 | $8,072 | -6.5% |
| Brett H. Stallsmith | $22,583 | $7,855 | -65.2% |
| Gall's Farm | $2,322 | $6,039 | 160.1% |
| Jeremy Kleinhans | $0 | $5,371 | -- |
| James N. Reges | $8,562 | $4,163 | -51.4% |
| James Yatsonsky | $10,246 | $4,069 | -60.3% |
| Timothy Riefler | $20,175 | $3,336 | -83.5% |
| Robert J Suhosky | $28,997 | $3,302 | -88.6% |
| Randy Shook | $9,671 | $2,978 | -69.2% |
| Robert Schweinsburg | $7,592 | $2,217 | -70.8% |
| Lester Bates | $3,903 | $1,879 | -51.9% |
| Nathan Howard Chess | $2,791 | $1,851 | -33.7% |
| Mary Evans | $2,014 | $1,750 | -13.1% |
| Timothy Knecht | $7,554 | $1,582 | -79.1% |
| Joseph E. Davitt | $5,295 | $1,450 | -72.6% |
| Rowe Brothers | $6,297 | $1,410 | -77.6% |
| Lloyd Marvin Wallace | $2,684 | $1,306 | -51.3% |
| John Riefler | $8,857 | $1,300 | -85.3% |
| Robert Gilleran | $1,267 | $1,267 | 0% |
| Mark Latourette | $2,379 | $1,141 | -52% |
| Paul Kennedy Jr. | $4,100 | $1,118 | -72.7% |
| Lois Sperow | $3,743 | $1,078 | -71.2% |
| Henry Curtis Jr. | $21,425 | $1,043 | -95.1% |
| William Bryant | $981 | $981 | 0% |
| John Wetmore | $4,854 | $965 | -80.1% |
| Scott Peterman | $4,086 | $935 | -77.1% |
| Mark Lopatofsky | $4,139 | $917 | -77.8% |
| Four Story Hill Farm, Inc. | $7,150 | $728 | -89.8% |
| Frank Millen | $3,442 | $678 | -80.3% |
| Sondra Rolison | $2,684 | $658 | -75.5% |
| Bill Terrel | $4,094 | $648 | -84.2% |
| Stephanie Martzen | $9,813 | $614 | -93.7% |
| Charles Howell | $4,325 | $559 | -87.1% |
| Robert Munger | $8,820 | $418 | -95.3% |
| Kevin Johannes | $1,974 | $388 | -80.3% |
| John Hochreither | $294 | $294 | 0% |
| Robert Hochreither | $294 | $294 | 0% |
| Edward Grossman | $254 | $254 | 0% |
| S&G Farms, LLC | $178 | $178 | 0% |
| Jacqueline Rickard | $638 | $154 | -75.9% |
| Blue Moon Acres | $371,414 | $0 | -100% |
| Brian J. Cline | $2,052 | $0 | -100% |
| Howard M. Smith Jr. | $334 | $0 | -100% |
| W William Sapala JR | $2,155 | $0 | -100% |
| Karl Eisenhauer | $554 | $0 | -100% |
| Chad Brussell | $14,775 | $0 | -100% |
| Clarence W. Rickard | $1,524 | $0 | -100% |
| Doris Bates | $123 | $0 | -100% |
| Enrico Franciosa | $8,083 | $0 | -100% |
| Evan Morgan | $1,491 | $0 | -100% |
| Gerald & William Hansen | $3,985 | $0 | -100% |
| Heinrich Hochreither | $357 | $0 | -100% |
| Joshua R. Korb | $4,546 | $0 | -100% |
| Roger Hill | $654 | $0 | -100% |
| Ronald Pykus | $658 | $0 | -100% |
| Sile Bay Properties, LLC | $194 | $0 | -100% |
| Steven R. Adams | $47 | $0 | -100% |
| William C Yatsonsky | $8,118 | $0 | -100% |
| William E. Bowen | $190 | $0 | -100% |
| William R and R Zachary Bryant | $1,261 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert S. Lunt III | $512 | $0 | -100% |
| Kenneth Ulmer | $21,064 | $0 | -100% |
| Ronald E. Shemanski | $3,584 | $0 | -100% |
| David Williams | $63 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,183,169 | $620,710 | -47.5% |
Alerts Sign-up