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In 2021, 84 farmers in cities within Fredericksburg city received a total of $280,599 in 132 farm subsidies, a 69.4% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $915,781 in 222 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles L Henderson Farms, LLC | $55,871 | $42,923 | -23.2% |
| Glenn Alan Dye | $106,312 | $32,522 | -69.4% |
| Silver Ridge Farm | $65,543 | $25,341 | -61.3% |
| Richard W Meyer Family Trust | $9,782 | $23,961 | 144.9% |
| Gerald L. Young | $31,493 | $17,176 | -45.5% |
| Fredericksburg Farm Loan | $0 | $15,543 | -- |
| Farm Service Agency | $192,158 | $9,381 | -95.1% |
| Vernon A. Fratzke | $16,495 | $8,620 | -47.7% |
| Ray Humphreys | $20,529 | $7,872 | -61.7% |
| Cleo Jean Fratzke | $6,136 | $5,937 | -3.2% |
| Robert Arthur Owens | $9,827 | $5,794 | -41% |
| Fredericksburg Farm Loan Office | $0 | $5,402 | -- |
| Spencer Roberts III | $16,325 | $5,020 | -69.2% |
| Scharlotta Haasenritter | $5,474 | $4,887 | -10.7% |
| Myron L. Wooden | $6,964 | $4,283 | -38.5% |
| Arensman Limited Liability Company | $6,110 | $3,248 | -46.8% |
| T. J. Rice Jr. | $3,230 | $3,230 | 0% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $2,788 | -- |
| Edward M. Silver | $13,941 | $2,733 | -80.4% |
| Raymond Simms | $10,846 | $2,600 | -76% |
| Shell Shetti | $2,451 | $2,560 | 4.4% |
| Charles D. Bendall | $7,251 | $2,503 | -65.5% |
| Emmett Chapman Snead III | $33,479 | $2,222 | -93.4% |
| Chad Wayne Young | $7,297 | $1,984 | -72.8% |
| Lura K. Elder | $9,823 | $1,981 | -79.8% |
| Old Icehouse Corporation | $0 | $1,951 | -- |
| Brady Wenrich | $983 | $1,944 | 97.8% |
| Peggy Mathias | $0 | $1,924 | -- |
| Darrell W. Ashley | $11,096 | $1,882 | -83% |
| Robert Jankovits | $2,783 | $1,745 | -37.3% |
| Jane-Hayes Tompkins Family Trust Tompkins | $0 | $1,725 | -- |
| Elmer Fode | $1,881 | $1,721 | -8.5% |
| John L. Orrock | $9,319 | $1,558 | -83.3% |
| Ana L. Wilson | $1,445 | $1,445 | 0% |
| Christopher Shaun Robinson | $7,078 | $1,299 | -81.6% |
| Robert P. Wilson | $0 | $1,176 | -- |
| Mary Lee Hall Trust DTD 11/26/1997 | $2,206 | $1,152 | -47.8% |
| Marsha R Sirks | $3,289 | $1,125 | -65.8% |
| James F Radintz | $4,855 | $1,087 | -77.6% |
| Hargis Family Irrevoc Trust | $1,815 | $1,044 | -42.5% |
| Patricia J. Bloomingdale | $973 | $973 | 0% |
| Carolyn K. Mitchell | $0 | $953 | -- |
| Charlotte A. Woodworth | $3,296 | $948 | -71.2% |
| Vernon Blaisdell | $4,165 | $927 | -77.7% |
| Thomas Leroy Newton Jr. | $922 | $922 | 0% |
| Earth's Echo Farm, LLC | $5,552 | $816 | -85.3% |
| George Forrest Dickinson Jr. | $765 | $765 | 0% |
| Helen Pixton | $1,927 | $749 | -61.1% |
| Flintshire Farms, LLLP | $695 | $695 | 0% |
| Christian B. Franklin | $820 | $632 | -22.9% |
| Barbara Felt | $1,401 | $612 | -56.3% |
| Caroline E. Coleman | $1,112 | $589 | -47% |
| Carlton David Beach | $1,287 | $550 | -57.3% |
| Broaddus Sullivan III | $1,859 | $522 | -71.9% |
| Stewart J. Taylor | $1,775 | $513 | -71.1% |
| Kenneth Michael Meadows | $2,194 | $497 | -77.3% |
| Deborah Robinson | $2,359 | $474 | -79.9% |
| Charles Lindy Henderson Jr. | $0 | $465 | -- |
| John Henderson | $0 | $465 | -- |
| Patricia F. Burgess | $443 | $443 | 0% |
| Joan Kimberly Edwards Trust | $966 | $375 | -61.2% |
| Annette Hickman | $426 | $371 | -12.9% |
| Thomas Michael Valentour | $689 | $354 | -48.6% |
| Steven E Druiett | $730 | $321 | -56% |
| Lee I. Williams | $584 | $282 | -51.7% |
| Jerry L. Pryor | $624 | $236 | -62.2% |
| Valley Front Farm, LLC | $280 | $220 | -21.4% |
| Mioko Krehbiel | $542 | $168 | -69% |
| Joseph M. Holloway Jr. | $162 | $162 | 0% |
| Melissa H. Jackson | $159 | $159 | 0% |
| Naomi W. Boley | $305 | $137 | -55.1% |
| Vergie W. Jackson | $304 | $136 | -55.3% |
| Ryan Kahle | $472 | $124 | -73.7% |
| Edward G. Silver | $305 | $110 | -63.9% |
| Daniel N. Marks | $0 | $109 | -- |
| Marta Perry | $109 | $94 | -13.8% |
| Liberty Mills Farm Trust | $681 | $90 | -86.8% |
| Daniel Hedenberg | $86 | $86 | 0% |
| Susan Hedenberg | $86 | $86 | 0% |
| A. S. Harrison IV | $107 | $65 | -39.3% |
| Monica P. Kopf | $104 | $64 | -38.5% |
| Moria Smith | $0 | $30 | -- |
| Kathleen D Kirkemo | $427 | $20 | -95.3% |
| Joyce Childress | $10 | $1 | -90% |
| Constance R. Gloyd | $834 | $0 | -100% |
| ABCD Farms, LLC | $1,729 | $0 | -100% |
| Barbara Gallahan | $705 | $0 | -100% |
| Belvedere Plantation, Inc. | $46,648 | $0 | -100% |
| Botanical Bites & Provisions, LLC | $57 | $0 | -100% |
| C & T Produce, LLC | $87,380 | $0 | -100% |
| Curt McConnell | $3,341 | $0 | -100% |
| Douglas E. Barnett | $2,490 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $27,429 | $0 | -100% |
| Farn Service Agency | $3,967 | $0 | -100% |
| FSA | $5,083 | $0 | -100% |
| Gary Turlington | $80 | $0 | -100% |
| Jane-Hayes Tompkins Family Trust | $2,234 | $0 | -100% |
| Jerriann Mclaurin | $5,474 | $0 | -100% |
| John a Goeddey | $64 | $0 | -100% |
| Joyce C Bolthouse Living Trustee | $1,566 | $0 | -100% |
| Judd D. Kimball | $1,532 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Louzek | $264 | $0 | -100% |
| Roger L. Saville | $385 | $0 | -100% |
| Timber, LLC | $729 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $915,781 | $280,599 | -69.4% |
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