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In 2021, 124 farmers in cities within Edgecombe County received a total of $4.9 million in 331 farm subsidies, a 54.1% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $10.6 million in 450 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rest-a-Bit Farms | $819,640 | $596,892 | -27.2% |
| Anderson Farms | $1,753,806 | $256,097 | -85.4% |
| DMA Farms Partnership | $252,771 | $244,376 | -3.3% |
| Edward Dail E. Farms | $458,581 | $224,051 | -51.1% |
| Evans Brothers Partnership - WJF Evans Farms | $0 | $192,494 | -- |
| Ben Shelton Farms | $283,436 | $177,227 | -37.5% |
| Sandyland Operations Partnership | $468,452 | $175,956 | -62.4% |
| Harrell and Owens Farm | $758,220 | $136,401 | -82% |
| A & W Farming, LLC | $236,689 | $133,102 | -43.8% |
| Charles E. Tucker | $368,808 | $124,670 | -66.2% |
| Drake Farms, LLC | $186,848 | $112,310 | -39.9% |
| GVS Poultry Farm, LLC | $0 | $108,168 | -- |
| Kevin Webb | $147,150 | $94,575 | -35.7% |
| Dew Farms, LLC | $181,015 | $91,145 | -49.6% |
| Farfields, LLC | $9,627 | $90,446 | 839.5% |
| Hyman Farms, Inc. | $230,652 | $89,428 | -61.2% |
| Triple Q Farms | $155,686 | $82,812 | -46.8% |
| Piney Grove Farm, Inc. | $187,454 | $79,958 | -57.3% |
| Joseph Lee Gardner | $160,021 | $77,766 | -51.4% |
| John M. Gardner | $150,200 | $77,726 | -48.3% |
| G & L Farms, L L C | $148,465 | $75,026 | -49.5% |
| D & T Eason Farms, Inc. | $162,370 | $72,853 | -55.1% |
| JL Whitehurst Farms, Inc. | $23,082 | $72,267 | 213.1% |
| Quincy Farms, Inc. | $291,305 | $70,012 | -76% |
| TS Whitehurst Farms, Inc. | $30,992 | $66,836 | 115.7% |
| Mayo Farms of Tarboro, Inc. | $149,160 | $66,054 | -55.7% |
| Johnny Dunn Webb | $120,574 | $60,423 | -49.9% |
| Whitehurst Farms PTNS | $715,112 | $58,936 | -91.8% |
| Agent Con, Inc. | $144,352 | $55,746 | -61.4% |
| DCR Farms, LLC | $27,898 | $53,798 | 92.8% |
| Conetoe Land & Timber, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Kevin Keel Farms | $286,556 | $52,826 | -81.6% |
| Elbert Ray Pitt Jr. | $0 | $50,731 | -- |
| Kenneth R. Medford | $70,939 | $47,305 | -33.3% |
| Shallington's Mill Nursery, LLC | $0 | $47,143 | -- |
| Michael Medford | $0 | $47,028 | -- |
| Louis E. Everette Jr. | $49,290 | $46,989 | -4.7% |
| Dunbar Farms, LLC | $54,203 | $46,901 | -13.5% |
| Howard Jerome Webb | $63,665 | $42,645 | -33% |
| Joe Kenneth Webb | $63,669 | $42,645 | -33% |
| Ledger Norris Harrell | $148,710 | $40,852 | -72.5% |
| Carl Sidney Scott | $185,241 | $36,197 | -80.5% |
| Steve Scott | $138,251 | $36,039 | -73.9% |
| Danny Joe Wooten | $850 | $33,654 | 3,859.3% |
| RCA Farms, LLC | $5,436 | $30,074 | 453.2% |
| Clark Industries, Inc. | $38,881 | $24,133 | -37.9% |
| James P. Satterthwaite Jr. | $36,701 | $22,982 | -37.4% |
| Brad Medford | $0 | $21,971 | -- |
| Whitehurst, Inc. | $5,092 | $21,694 | 326% |
| Raeford Walston A. Farms | $42,098 | $20,981 | -50.2% |
| Ernestine Gardner | $78,184 | $20,370 | -73.9% |
| Robert E. Pridgen Jr. | $21,899 | $20,354 | -7.1% |
| Austin Norris Harrell | $74,427 | $20,123 | -73% |
| John Clayton Harrell | $74,427 | $20,123 | -73% |
| Conetoe Creek Farms, LLC | $68,565 | $19,896 | -71% |
| Landon Scott Dail | $27,068 | $18,637 | -31.1% |
| Deep Creek Agriculture, LLC | $5,758 | $17,453 | 203.1% |
| Bee Blessed Pure Honey, Inc. | $0 | $15,826 | -- |
| Bee Blessed Pure Honey, Inc. | $0 | $15,826 | -- |
| Joey Lee Godley | $6,391 | $7,387 | 15.6% |
| Millie B. Killebrew | $12,732 | $7,167 | -43.7% |
| Marshall Dunn Jr. | $6,230 | $6,230 | 0% |
| Gardner Family Farms, LLC | $76,790 | $5,701 | -92.6% |
| George H. Johnson Jr. | $7,225 | $5,595 | -22.6% |
| Betty Pitt Dew | $7,557 | $5,329 | -29.5% |
| Skinner Farms, Inc. | $5,685 | $4,851 | -14.7% |
| Carey F. Carr | $8,957 | $4,774 | -46.7% |
| Jamie Heath Evans | $10,703 | $4,044 | -62.2% |
| Randolph Cobb Jr. | $13,337 | $3,882 | -70.9% |
| Benjamin F. Anderson Jr. | $9,165 | $3,683 | -59.8% |
| Joseph Allen Cobb | $10,197 | $3,660 | -64.1% |
| David Dwight Batts | $3,645 | $3,645 | 0% |
| Brake Family Farms, LLC | $17,508 | $3,248 | -81.4% |
| Kevin L. Craft | $5,546 | $2,674 | -51.8% |
| Anne M. Bradley | $2,472 | $2,437 | -1.4% |
| Joan C. Fillmore | $2,761 | $2,395 | -13.3% |
| Ashley E. Taylor | $1,679 | $2,312 | 37.7% |
| Amos Louis Moore Jr. | $2,734 | $2,203 | -19.4% |
| Eddie E. James | $1,959 | $2,167 | 10.6% |
| Vinson H. Bridgers Jr. | $2,219 | $2,122 | -4.4% |
| Gene E. Wallace | $2,604 | $1,820 | -30.1% |
| Robert L Roberson Farm, LLC | $1,358 | $1,814 | 33.6% |
| William Reed Lancaster | $3,982 | $1,795 | -54.9% |
| George A. Eason | $2,544 | $1,752 | -31.1% |
| Michael Robertson | $1,639 | $1,715 | 4.6% |
| Hugh E Council | $3,702 | $1,679 | -54.6% |
| James L. Corbett | $2,471 | $1,447 | -41.4% |
| Samuel Eugene Anderson | $1,417 | $1,417 | 0% |
| Peggy Roberson Anderson Trust | $1,416 | $1,416 | 0% |
| Donald Justus Brake | $0 | $1,376 | -- |
| Teri G. Williamson | $1,293 | $1,293 | 0% |
| D. van Johnson | $1,690 | $1,051 | -37.8% |
| Bracebridge, LLC | $1,016 | $1,016 | 0% |
| Allens Livestock & Farms, Inc. | $1,901 | $1,009 | -46.9% |
| Ricky J. Smith | $169 | $994 | 488.2% |
| Steve D Wishall | $1,612 | $976 | -39.5% |
| Renee G. Bennett | $962 | $962 | 0% |
| Charles Dew | $1,305 | $902 | -30.9% |
| George H. McFadyen | $864 | $864 | 0% |
| A D Anderson Etal, Inc. | $0 | $768 | -- |
| Jerry Skinner | $740 | $740 | 0% |
| Mitchell Webb | $937 | $581 | -38% |
| Frankie Brinkley | $580 | $561 | -3.3% |
| J V and I R Cobb Farms, LLC | $526 | $526 | 0% |
| Richard W. Fulford | $0 | $512 | -- |
| Doris G. Lewis | $917 | $499 | -45.6% |
| James O. Harrell Jr. | $453 | $453 | 0% |
| Eric B. Harrell | $440 | $440 | 0% |
| Brooks B. Webb | $672 | $382 | -43.2% |
| Eugene James | $231 | $361 | 56.3% |
| Charlotte P. Deans | $625 | $327 | -47.7% |
| W T Newton Farms, Inc. | $2,247 | $321 | -85.7% |
| Milton Dale Hill | $0 | $314 | -- |
| Paul A. Drake | $275 | $275 | 0% |
| Jimmy Ray Wooten | $0 | $215 | -- |
| Lisa P. Morris | $287 | $157 | -45.3% |
| Don Anderson | $155 | $155 | 0% |
| Steven Ashley Wishall | $1,410 | $129 | -90.9% |
| Willis Tillery | $123 | $78 | -36.6% |
| Terry L. Kirkland | $96 | $75 | -21.9% |
| Wayne S. Boyette | $65 | $65 | 0% |
| Robert E. Foreman | $0 | $60 | -- |
| Fred T. Johnson Jr. | $71 | $54 | -23.9% |
| Mapleton Farm, Inc. | $50 | $50 | 0% |
| Edward E. Dail | $16,215 | $0 | -100% |
| Brake Homestead Farms, LLC | $637 | $0 | -100% |
| Cindy H. Brake | $228 | $0 | -100% |
| Ernestine M. Gardner | $8,806 | $0 | -100% |
| Hughes Organic Farms, LLC | $1,804 | $0 | -100% |
| William Taylor Newton | $1,411 | $0 | -100% |
| Bryan Everette | $376 | $0 | -100% |
| Dylan Lee Evans | $24,339 | $0 | -100% |
| Edgecombe Company Farm Service Agency | $35,739 | $0 | -100% |
| Edgecombe County FSA | $34,330 | $0 | -100% |
| Edgecombe County FSA Office | $19,333 | $0 | -100% |
| Edgecombe Farm Service Agency | $11,651 | $0 | -100% |
| Ernest K. Stroud | $433 | $0 | -100% |
| Ervin Guill | $874 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency | $29,177 | $0 | -100% |
| James T. Manning | $748 | $0 | -100% |
| Jimmy Ray Wooten | $1,575 | $0 | -100% |
| John I. Bradley Jr. | $2,087 | $0 | -100% |
| Quincy Farms Family Limited Partn | $1,956 | $0 | -100% |
| Travis S. Whitehurst | $518 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $10,612,850 | $4,870,726 | -54.1% |
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