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In 2021, 89 farmers in cities within Coweta County received a total of $652,836 in 126 farm subsidies, a 37.2% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1 million in 215 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windy Hill Dairy, Inc. | $426,042 | $268,882 | -36.9% |
| Walter Doug Benefield | $43,166 | $44,555 | 3.2% |
| Kirk J. Kumagai | $6,745 | $41,302 | 512.3% |
| Hunter Douglas Benefield | $32,280 | $32,657 | 1.2% |
| David A. Lindsey | $28,386 | $21,794 | -23.2% |
| Philip H. Beegle Jr. | $44,440 | $20,383 | -54.1% |
| David Stanford | $65,676 | $18,741 | -71.5% |
| John B. Fisher | $0 | $15,953 | -- |
| Hobson Norris Jr. | $15,641 | $15,641 | 0% |
| Jerry Lee Gordin Estate | $15,011 | $14,577 | -2.9% |
| Baxter Mckinney Estate | $0 | $12,193 | -- |
| Gary Joe Smith Jr. | $8,224 | $11,987 | 45.8% |
| Henry Milton Gibbs Jr. | $0 | $11,786 | -- |
| Dale Pepper | $7,960 | $9,987 | 25.5% |
| Darlene S. Hicks | $0 | $9,639 | -- |
| Trammell Enterprises, Inc. | $44,489 | $6,705 | -84.9% |
| Thomas E. Johnson | $10,336 | $5,215 | -49.5% |
| Henderson L. Pollard | $11,616 | $4,422 | -61.9% |
| Frazier Properties, Inc. | $9,358 | $4,340 | -53.6% |
| John Scott Adams | $7,276 | $4,267 | -41.4% |
| Claire Anderson Jones | $2,936 | $3,915 | 33.3% |
| Lowinston Jackson | $10,978 | $3,502 | -68.1% |
| Joseph R. Pate Jr. | $3,924 | $3,449 | -12.1% |
| Joel Jay Bass Revocable Trust | $16,692 | $2,822 | -83.1% |
| David P. Armstrong | $0 | $2,782 | -- |
| Sherry Horton | $11,572 | $2,670 | -76.9% |
| Suzanne K. Rode | $2,646 | $2,646 | 0% |
| Robert Allen | $15,100 | $2,612 | -82.7% |
| W. R. Arnall Jr. | $3,970 | $2,514 | -36.7% |
| Heather Simmons Corley | $2,681 | $2,389 | -10.9% |
| Robin S. Gilbert | $2,360 | $2,360 | 0% |
| Michael A. Smith | $8,279 | $2,322 | -72% |
| M. van Richardson Jr. | $2,033 | $2,302 | 13.2% |
| David R. Brown | $21,367 | $2,288 | -89.3% |
| 3 Nuts, LLC | $9,039 | $2,174 | -75.9% |
| Ann Jeffords Cole | $1,139 | $2,110 | 85.3% |
| Kolin Kirschenmann | $0 | $1,970 | -- |
| James Lamar Thompson Jr. | $5,638 | $1,896 | -66.4% |
| Justin Harmond | $1,827 | $1,873 | 2.5% |
| William T. Gill III | $2,814 | $1,668 | -40.7% |
| Gary J. Parham | $4,412 | $1,641 | -62.8% |
| Michael Terrell | $0 | $1,472 | -- |
| Paul K. Poole | $4,763 | $1,397 | -70.7% |
| Michelle Ferry | $0 | $1,316 | -- |
| Herbert Wagner | $1,304 | $1,304 | 0% |
| Brannon Whitlock | $4,520 | $1,222 | -73% |
| Michael Nalewako | $3,135 | $1,207 | -61.5% |
| Charles G. Hodges | $1,198 | $1,198 | 0% |
| Jeffrey Kyle Bowen | $1,172 | $1,142 | -2.6% |
| Christopher Michael Castleberry | $1,656 | $1,092 | -34.1% |
| Rosa Lee Husher | $2,644 | $1,084 | -59% |
| Chester Williams | $858 | $954 | 11.2% |
| Thomas Blalock | $4,422 | $884 | -80% |
| Stephen Sibley | $2,761 | $811 | -70.6% |
| Carl Harry Smith Jr. | $2,991 | $718 | -76% |
| Alice Martin Thompson | $2,156 | $673 | -68.8% |
| Sharon L. James | $462 | $634 | 37.2% |
| WB Bar Ranch | $3,609 | $621 | -82.8% |
| Alan Pettus Ashford | $1,563 | $596 | -61.9% |
| Southern Charm Farms, LLC | $0 | $552 | -- |
| Samuel P. Chapman | $2,714 | $536 | -80.3% |
| Richard Rye | $618 | $516 | -16.5% |
| Alfred B. Purcell | $4,571 | $500 | -89.1% |
| William E. Cline | $3,766 | $482 | -87.2% |
| Linda L. Smith | $750 | $439 | -41.5% |
| Sharon Monk | $1,766 | $356 | -79.8% |
| Patrice G. Miles | $791 | $353 | -55.4% |
| Pamela Walker | $854 | $331 | -61.2% |
| Anna R. Sibille | $699 | $321 | -54.1% |
| Double K Cattle Company, LLC | $561 | $293 | -47.8% |
| Marcus Johnson | $722 | $279 | -61.4% |
| Previn Blalock | $1,243 | $260 | -79.1% |
| Bernard Berry | $1,528 | $252 | -83.5% |
| William B. Brannon | $565 | $244 | -56.8% |
| Willie T. Boston Jr. | $495 | $228 | -53.9% |
| Larry Todd Hammett | $1,311 | $228 | -82.6% |
| Abby H. Tucker | $226 | $226 | 0% |
| Holly Lynn Hammett | $804 | $176 | -78.1% |
| Kyndra Resso | $167 | $167 | 0% |
| Patrick Yancey III | $623 | $147 | -76.4% |
| Barbara Yancey Chandler | $605 | $143 | -76.4% |
| Richard Yancey | $605 | $143 | -76.4% |
| Elise M. Farnham | $473 | $104 | -78% |
| Sarah Alice Crawford | $91 | $91 | 0% |
| Kanku Ngalula | $165 | $86 | -47.9% |
| Grady Luke Bethea | $1,073 | $83 | -92.3% |
| Brooke Jenae Nearman | $0 | $23 | -- |
| Floyd L. Legg | $89 | $15 | -83.1% |
| Julie Ellerbee | $0 | $6 | -- |
| James C. Adams | $1,045 | $0 | -100% |
| Barbara P. Ford | $356 | $0 | -100% |
| Bennett Berry Farms, LLC | $13,476 | $0 | -100% |
| Billy G. Harper | $370 | $0 | -100% |
| Christopher L Rivers | $3,091 | $0 | -100% |
| Daniel P. Holl | $1,980 | $0 | -100% |
| D/B/A Sherry Horton | $6,829 | $0 | -100% |
| Jason B. Storey | $2,860 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph L. Cunningham | $15,466 | $0 | -100% |
| Julia H. Hale | $111 | $0 | -100% |
| Mary F. Whittaker | $953 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael L. McBurnett | $2,365 | $0 | -100% |
| Todd Scarbrough Enterprises, Inc. | $1,344 | $0 | -100% |
| Jason Breeding | $1,265 | $0 | -100% |
| Ronald H. Whatley | $3,761 | $0 | -100% |
| Avery Sayer | $769 | $0 | -100% |
| Eugene Schultz | $4,015 | $0 | -100% |
| Marchman Farms, LLC | $1,356 | $0 | -100% |
| Tommy T. Milam | $4,336 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,038,890 | $652,836 | -37.2% |
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