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In 2021, 76 farmers in cities within Ouachita County received a total of $874,029 in 95 farm subsidies, a 227.3% increase from 2020, when the total was just $267,068 in 133 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 |
---|---|---|---|
James C. Marks | $2,871 | $123,508 | 4,201.9% |
Harry Clemons | $7,538 | $60,765 | 706.1% |
Biomass Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
M & M Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
Seth Word | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
Green Pine Timber Company, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
Hickory Ridge Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
Prologger, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
Protim Transporation, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
Reynolds Construction Services, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
Evans Logging, Inc. | $0 | $49,106 | -- |
Harry Clemons Jr. | $0 | $43,327 | -- |
River Bottom Logging | $0 | $39,605 | -- |
David O'Hara | $0 | $28,763 | -- |
Hugh W. Bragg III | $46,464 | $16,908 | -63.6% |
Matt Atkinson Trucking, LLC | $0 | $9,774 | -- |
Tracy D. Rucker | $0 | $9,070 | -- |
John Wesley Lindsey | $4,235 | $8,856 | 109.1% |
Tina O'Hara | $16,014 | $4,900 | -69.4% |
Charles Garner Revocable Trust | $3,924 | $3,924 | 0% |
James L. Word | $14,834 | $3,848 | -74.1% |
Mary Mann Barnes | $1,006 | $2,970 | 195.2% |
Charles Milholland | $2,827 | $2,827 | 0% |
John S. Marlar | $5,560 | $2,705 | -51.3% |
Melvin G. Barner | $8,613 | $2,319 | -73.1% |
Jeffry B. Zachry | $9,646 | $2,018 | -79.1% |
Jimmy D. Starr | $13,576 | $1,806 | -86.7% |
Wilma Leggitt | $1,797 | $1,797 | 0% |
Michael O. Hall | $7,172 | $1,776 | -75.2% |
Sean M. Reynolds | $6,919 | $1,650 | -76.2% |
Mike Dorflinger | $5,852 | $1,614 | -72.4% |
Kenneth G. Yeager | $6,908 | $1,506 | -78.2% |
Helen M. Corder | $1,534 | $1,224 | -20.2% |
Donnie V. Fawver | $851 | $1,216 | 42.9% |
Ronnie Hughey | $5,280 | $1,120 | -78.8% |
Earl Crumpler | $4,125 | $1,108 | -73.1% |
Linda Sue Arnn | $2,267 | $1,038 | -54.2% |
Garry L. Smith | $2,312 | $1,029 | -55.5% |
Carolyn Cassell | $4,488 | $1,022 | -77.2% |
Brandon Everett | $1,814 | $1,005 | -44.6% |
James H. Russell | $3,311 | $979 | -70.4% |
Buster Justice | $4,418 | $855 | -80.6% |
Ray Dearman | $3,828 | $852 | -77.7% |
Roderick McElroy | $2,556 | $821 | -67.9% |
Mcdonald Family Trust | $3,212 | $782 | -75.7% |
Phillip E. Roark | $9,481 | $775 | -91.8% |
Linda Lamkin | $3,200 | $750 | -76.6% |
Stacey Ann Stanberry | $2,937 | $650 | -77.9% |
Henry E. Kelly | $1,793 | $615 | -65.7% |
Mildred J. Morehead | $0 | $602 | -- |
Benny H. Byars | $1,694 | $540 | -68.1% |
Otabel Bradshaw Living Trust | $1,270 | $534 | -58% |
Lamar Nowlen Jr. | $0 | $495 | -- |
Charles White | $0 | $495 | -- |
Tommy Beaver | $3,213 | $484 | -84.9% |
Paula K. Terry | $405 | $476 | 17.5% |
Connie S. Ehlmann | $0 | $473 | -- |
Stephen McCormick | $1,650 | $458 | -72.2% |
Randall E. Scrape | $1,683 | $455 | -73% |
Ruby Eppinette | $981 | $440 | -55.1% |
Gerald Atchison | $1,804 | $434 | -75.9% |
William Shaw Andrews | $1,634 | $431 | -73.6% |
Robert Bryan Tolley | $3,354 | $402 | -88% |
Michael Tyler | $2,791 | $396 | -85.8% |
Scotty Joe Starr | $2,902 | $391 | -86.5% |
Joey Allen Dodson | $0 | $385 | -- |
Ted S. Owens | $1,573 | $336 | -78.6% |
Roy Salley | $1,078 | $309 | -71.3% |
Adam D. Laduke | $1,672 | $299 | -82.1% |
Sharon Rucker | $0 | $275 | -- |
Sequoyah Browning | $495 | $210 | -57.6% |
Terrie R. Smith | $869 | $163 | -81.2% |
Jerry K. Wilson | $1,078 | $147 | -86.4% |
Judy McManus | $159 | $143 | -10.1% |
Lynn Russell | $5,157 | $66 | -98.7% |
Irene Brewer | $136 | $7 | -94.9% |
Butler Trust | $551 | $0 | -100% |
Evert Nealy Eppinette Estate | $2,337 | $0 | -100% |
Harry F. Barnes | $5,419 | $0 | -100% |
Total subsidies | $267,068 | $874,029 | 227.3% |