Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 122 farmers in cities within Pulaski County received a total of $2.8 million in 203 farm subsidies, a 48.4% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $5.5 million in 333 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dawson Brothers | $645,181 | $571,128 | -11.5% |
| Lora Jeannie Lancaster | $415,297 | $197,809 | -52.4% |
| Copperhead Road Farms, Inc. | $299,112 | $180,258 | -39.7% |
| Rodney P. Dawson | $359,776 | $149,437 | -58.5% |
| RJL, JR Farms, LLC | $259,419 | $146,448 | -43.5% |
| Hardy Farms | $192,905 | $92,020 | -52.3% |
| King Springs Pecans, LLC | $0 | $79,974 | -- |
| Limestone Plantation, LLC | $271,572 | $79,688 | -70.7% |
| Michael G. Bennett Jr. | $100,430 | $75,703 | -24.6% |
| Gary A. Dawson | $376,763 | $75,144 | -80.1% |
| Bishop Farms | $135,348 | $69,963 | -48.3% |
| Gibson Turf Farms, LLC | $97,853 | $67,606 | -30.9% |
| Christopher Cape | $121,704 | $61,527 | -49.4% |
| Bledsoe Farms, LLC | $197,977 | $55,816 | -71.8% |
| Tab Farms, LLC | $110,303 | $53,922 | -51.1% |
| Whigam Farms | $98,007 | $53,888 | -45% |
| Owen and Williams Fish Farm, Inc. | $0 | $53,722 | -- |
| Doyle Simmons | $4,399 | $52,237 | 1,087.5% |
| Christopher M. Martin | $96,171 | $51,950 | -46% |
| Robert J. Lancaster Jr. | $73,482 | $50,379 | -31.4% |
| Bryan Bledsoe | $77,083 | $43,201 | -44% |
| Barry H. Martin | $90,920 | $42,669 | -53.1% |
| Charles Al Anderson Jr. | $93,296 | $40,059 | -57.1% |
| Patricia T. Ellis | $0 | $39,621 | -- |
| TNG Farms, LLC | $96,913 | $37,372 | -61.4% |
| Trey Hamilton Dunaway | $48,046 | $36,383 | -24.3% |
| Bold Spring Nursery, LLC | $296,613 | $34,962 | -88.2% |
| LJL Farms, LLC | $32,246 | $24,050 | -25.4% |
| Harold E. Dunaway Jr. | $49,905 | $23,104 | -53.7% |
| Daniel Blake Bledsoe | $42,351 | $21,597 | -49% |
| James D. Bledsoe | $43,056 | $20,846 | -51.6% |
| Calvin D. Franklin | $5,500 | $19,709 | 258.3% |
| David J. Bishop | $35,611 | $19,166 | -46.2% |
| Gmar Farms, LLC | $26,398 | $17,172 | -34.9% |
| Donald C. Hays | $20,747 | $15,021 | -27.6% |
| James Lamkin Smith Jr. | $15,705 | $11,993 | -23.6% |
| Glenda B Bozeman Estate Cynthia B Aguilar Ex | $11,060 | $11,060 | 0% |
| Staci Vickers | $0 | $10,803 | -- |
| DBB Farms | $14,648 | $8,371 | -42.9% |
| Kay S. Dawson | $5,905 | $7,897 | 33.7% |
| Roscoe Tilden Bembry Family, LLC | $11,379 | $7,794 | -31.5% |
| George Peake III | $18,680 | $7,482 | -59.9% |
| Brenda F. Dunaway | $6,992 | $6,648 | -4.9% |
| William Baker | $6,188 | $6,133 | -0.9% |
| Jared Gray | $0 | $5,403 | -- |
| William Danny Hamsley | $5,270 | $5,270 | 0% |
| Thomas S. Dawson III | $5,111 | $5,111 | 0% |
| Kyle Ellis | $36,488 | $4,764 | -86.9% |
| Robert E. Moore Jr. | $4,540 | $4,540 | 0% |
| Opal R. Wilcox | $3,424 | $4,265 | 24.6% |
| Greggory Dean Vickers | $3,899 | $3,899 | 0% |
| Bembry & Bembry Farms, LLC | $5,351 | $3,577 | -33.2% |
| Dixon M. Morrison | $3,449 | $3,360 | -2.6% |
| Joe Goss | $3,419 | $3,067 | -10.3% |
| Bobby L. Bobo | $6,290 | $2,947 | -53.1% |
| Mary G. Sinyard | $2,947 | $2,617 | -11.2% |
| Charles C. Conway | $2,383 | $2,383 | 0% |
| Neal W. Clark | $6,806 | $2,272 | -66.6% |
| James R. Dixon Jr. | $2,009 | $2,009 | 0% |
| Kathy Dawson | $0 | $1,992 | -- |
| Roger English | $4,101 | $1,931 | -52.9% |
| Paul E. Dunagan | $1,892 | $1,892 | 0% |
| Warren Hughes McCorvey | $7,349 | $1,861 | -74.7% |
| Earl R. Rawls Jr. | $7,422 | $1,740 | -76.6% |
| Sean W. Knowles | $0 | $1,689 | -- |
| Catherine Steele Joiner | $2,771 | $1,642 | -40.7% |
| Patricia H. Cheek | $2,117 | $1,497 | -29.3% |
| James E. Miller | $5,893 | $1,480 | -74.9% |
| Lamar Pecan Company | $214,252 | $1,436 | -99.3% |
| Rodney Scott Dunaway | $5,631 | $1,429 | -74.6% |
| Michael Brown | $4,444 | $1,376 | -69% |
| Ocmulgee Biomass, LLC | $0 | $1,362 | -- |
| Betty West | $2,216 | $1,355 | -38.9% |
| George Richard Woods Jr. | $1,642 | $1,344 | -18.1% |
| Billy Joe Scott Jr. | $0 | $1,316 | -- |
| Billy Joe Scott Sr. | $0 | $1,211 | -- |
| Randy L. Bowen | $2,137 | $1,144 | -46.5% |
| Charles Thomas Statham | $3,452 | $1,106 | -68% |
| Thomas Roy Statham | $3,554 | $1,106 | -68.9% |
| Jason D. Harpe | $1,091 | $1,091 | 0% |
| John Dawson W. Est | $0 | $933 | -- |
| John W Dawson JR Estate | $0 | $928 | -- |
| Mcdannald Family, LLLP | $0 | $916 | -- |
| Frances P. Shepard | $326 | $898 | 175.5% |
| Sharon Holmes Williams | $890 | $890 | 0% |
| Judy T. Mathis | $891 | $874 | -1.9% |
| Inner G Farms, LLC | $3,069 | $785 | -74.4% |
| A. W. White Jr. | $0 | $698 | -- |
| Willie Frank Scott | $4,269 | $674 | -84.2% |
| Robert Lee Coody | $0 | $650 | -- |
| RTML Way, Inc. | $35,434 | $628 | -98.2% |
| Christina Hollingsworth Wilson | $3,623 | $619 | -82.9% |
| Reuben Roberts | $0 | $590 | -- |
| Tami Pulsifer | $2,673 | $578 | -78.4% |
| Evelyn B Finleyson | $650 | $565 | -13.1% |
| Justin K. Harden | $2,112 | $525 | -75.1% |
| Mary M. Jessup | $394 | $504 | 27.9% |
| Joseph E. Goss | $2,208 | $467 | -78.8% |
| Laverne R. Kilgore | $32 | $399 | 1,146.9% |
| William M. Bentley | $2,448 | $335 | -86.3% |
| Theophalis Simmons | $2,149 | $328 | -84.7% |
| Alfred B. Smith Jr. | $0 | $303 | -- |
| Delma Harrell | $30 | $279 | 830% |
| Franklin Cheek | $0 | $225 | -- |
| William J. Grun | $1,172 | $214 | -81.7% |
| Snow Farms, Inc. | $0 | $191 | -- |
| Diane D. Lancaster | $213 | $186 | -12.7% |
| Steven Kevin Mullis | $2 | $183 | 9,050% |
| Joel Brent Womble | $470 | $175 | -62.8% |
| Jeffrey Lollis | $304 | $149 | -51% |
| David Benjamin Ricks | $344 | $132 | -61.6% |
| Dean Holtzhouser | $274 | $131 | -52.2% |
| Donnis S. Fowler | $0 | $126 | -- |
| Terry Dale McLeod | $540 | $118 | -78.1% |
| Wayne D. Warren | $299 | $118 | -60.5% |
| Jack F. Lloyd | $0 | $90 | -- |
| Tracee A. Sealy | $917 | $88 | -90.4% |
| Vickie Jones Austin | $180 | $82 | -54.4% |
| Jaye Roger Brown | $144 | $72 | -50% |
| John C. McCune Jr. | $82 | $62 | -24.4% |
| Cathy Sue G. Coody | $0 | $26 | -- |
| Helen G. Laster | $0 | $26 | -- |
| Alvin Mathis Jr. | $1,262 | $0 | -100% |
| Betty F. Jones | $1,595 | $0 | -100% |
| Bobby James Carter | $34 | $0 | -100% |
| Brian Smart | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Dennis M. Howard | $3,400 | $0 | -100% |
| Elaine M. Bryant | $187 | $0 | -100% |
| Forest Randall Register | $49 | $0 | -100% |
| Ginger G. Martin | $10,577 | $0 | -100% |
| J & J Pecan Farm, LLC | $91,770 | $0 | -100% |
| James Dan Purvis | $1,815 | $0 | -100% |
| James M. Whitehead | $5,034 | $0 | -100% |
| Jimmy Steele | $257 | $0 | -100% |
| John B. Tucker Jr. | $2,142 | $0 | -100% |
| Judy A. Taylor | $3 | $0 | -100% |
| Julie Lucas | $275 | $0 | -100% |
| Leona Morgan Cape | $16,960 | $0 | -100% |
| Mcleod Home Properties, LLC | $7,106 | $0 | -100% |
| Paula J. Horton | $25 | $0 | -100% |
| Shelia Steele | $257 | $0 | -100% |
| Terry M. Dykes | $1,429 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas N. Gibson | $10,235 | $0 | -100% |
| W L D Farms, Inc. | $2,983 | $0 | -100% |
| Wendy Dowdy Howard | $3,400 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $5,493,775 | $2,834,976 | -48.4% |
Alerts Sign-up