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In 2021, 164 farmers in cities within Upshur County received a total of $1 million in 189 farm subsidies, a 78.7% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $4.7 million in 403 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.
Farmers and Their Subsidies in Cities Associated with Upshur County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theodoor J Hobma | $156,702 | $123,793 | -21% |
| Mccools Farm and Cattle | $254,981 | $123,302 | -51.6% |
| Michael Aldgilles Osinga | $94,758 | $120,887 | 27.6% |
| Conrad Coppedge | $114,614 | $74,632 | -34.9% |
| Pat Green | $92,717 | $73,722 | -20.5% |
| Clark Timber | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Luz Sanchez | $0 | $28,984 | -- |
| Danny Spencer | $178,764 | $25,398 | -85.8% |
| Randall Spencer | $107,720 | $19,395 | -82% |
| Karen Green | $0 | $17,855 | -- |
| Eddie Elms | $22,145 | $16,497 | -25.5% |
| Smith & Wilson Cattle | $157,025 | $16,142 | -89.7% |
| Lanette Nugent | $90,351 | $15,197 | -83.2% |
| Andy Glaze | $0 | $14,185 | -- |
| James V. Schuler | $55,924 | $10,904 | -80.5% |
| Stephen M. Way | $47,206 | $10,204 | -78.4% |
| Mike Spencer | $28,820 | $9,797 | -66% |
| Tom Cook | $33,319 | $9,180 | -72.4% |
| Galen Thomas Hutton | $9,215 | $7,512 | -18.5% |
| Sunshine Farms Lp | $34,237 | $7,190 | -79% |
| Nugent & Wilson Cattle Company | $160,532 | $6,132 | -96.2% |
| Cody Darby | $28,944 | $6,124 | -78.8% |
| Michael Seahorn | $29,040 | $5,544 | -80.9% |
| Wade Beckham | $34,881 | $5,538 | -84.1% |
| Smith & Seahorn | $45,206 | $5,537 | -87.8% |
| Brady E. Smith | $31,284 | $5,227 | -83.3% |
| Carla Evette Harrison | $5,949 | $5,168 | -13.1% |
| Colby Don Seahorn | $29,065 | $5,072 | -82.5% |
| Caleb Mitchell | $21,769 | $5,067 | -76.7% |
| William Travis Tuttle | $26,296 | $5,002 | -81% |
| Tom Tefteller | $21,483 | $4,553 | -78.8% |
| Brennen Lee Wilson | $11,627 | $3,761 | -67.7% |
| Caroline G. Spencer | $13,453 | $3,729 | -72.3% |
| Gary Nugent | $18,476 | $3,699 | -80% |
| Troy L. Murray | $9,075 | $3,678 | -59.5% |
| Cutter Tefteller | $16,929 | $3,572 | -78.9% |
| Merrill E. Kidder III | $48,513 | $3,544 | -92.7% |
| Marty N. McCurry | $19,981 | $3,529 | -82.3% |
| Henry Caldwell | $16,733 | $3,471 | -79.3% |
| Brian Drennan | $15,598 | $3,410 | -78.1% |
| Scott Hewitt | $18,139 | $3,377 | -81.4% |
| Nugent, Wilson, & Pogue Cattle Company | $123,170 | $3,333 | -97.3% |
| Dan Larsson | $14,195 | $3,194 | -77.5% |
| Clint McGinnis | $18,912 | $3,155 | -83.3% |
| Soules Chapel Dairy, Inc. | $11,286 | $3,082 | -72.7% |
| Byron Spencer | $7,966 | $3,057 | -61.6% |
| Chane Young | $7,392 | $2,890 | -60.9% |
| David Bunn | $5,940 | $2,880 | -51.5% |
| Jeter Family Living Trust | $5,568 | $2,784 | -50% |
| Wilson & Wilson Cattle | $19,294 | $2,588 | -86.6% |
| Sue A. Witt | $7,200 | $2,454 | -65.9% |
| Todd Fenton | $12,944 | $2,304 | -82.2% |
| Darrell Ray | $10,548 | $2,270 | -78.5% |
| Clint Owens | $16,887 | $2,268 | -86.6% |
| Thomas Green | $11,066 | $2,266 | -79.5% |
| Toichi Stout | $7,930 | $2,190 | -72.4% |
| Martha Fennell | $9,372 | $2,175 | -76.8% |
| Parish & Wilson Cattle Company | $14,267 | $2,132 | -85.1% |
| Luke Winningham | $4,422 | $2,066 | -53.3% |
| Joan Victoria Rogers | $11,088 | $1,976 | -82.2% |
| Victor Hill Farms, Inc. | $5,049 | $1,963 | -61.1% |
| Richard A. Prindle | $9,471 | $1,919 | -79.7% |
| Leonard Bruce Ollive | $9,141 | $1,815 | -80.1% |
| Tommy L. Goodwin | $8,275 | $1,794 | -78.3% |
| Carol R. Moncada | $7,239 | $1,736 | -76% |
| Robert T Winn, DVM | $6,457 | $1,732 | -73.2% |
| Lewis Roy King II | $6,842 | $1,688 | -75.3% |
| Connor Hewitt | $10,967 | $1,678 | -84.7% |
| Brent Wade Beckham | $10,045 | $1,625 | -83.8% |
| LM Cattle Company | $8,106 | $1,581 | -80.5% |
| Russell E. Ferrell | $7,194 | $1,558 | -78.3% |
| Steve Freeman | $10,460 | $1,546 | -85.2% |
| Thomas Scott Green | $73,431 | $1,516 | -97.9% |
| Scott Ray | $7,574 | $1,496 | -80.2% |
| Pete Powers | $7,481 | $1,470 | -80.4% |
| Jared Scott Maddox | $5,949 | $1,404 | -76.4% |
| Laura L. Langford | $4,730 | $1,362 | -71.2% |
| Barry Hale Jr. | $4,020 | $1,355 | -66.3% |
| Thomas Scott Sisson | $5,104 | $1,338 | -73.8% |
| Wesley Seahorn | $4,656 | $1,335 | -71.3% |
| M. F. Fikes | $8,483 | $1,293 | -84.8% |
| Connie Hunter | $8,187 | $1,277 | -84.4% |
| Herbert C. Woodfin | $5,715 | $1,260 | -78% |
| Genelle Jones | $5,555 | $1,255 | -77.4% |
| Robert Caffey | $7,710 | $1,239 | -83.9% |
| Neil Snow | $3,135 | $1,198 | -61.8% |
| Wayne R. Barrick | $2,732 | $1,197 | -56.2% |
| Billy Wayne Byrd | $6,338 | $1,167 | -81.6% |
| Steven R. Calavan | $0 | $1,133 | -- |
| Jerry W. Sewell | $6,745 | $1,131 | -83.2% |
| Charlotte Spencer | $4,345 | $1,058 | -75.7% |
| Billy Joe Schuler | $2,475 | $1,027 | -58.5% |
| Paul M. Kern Jr. | $540 | $1,021 | 89.1% |
| Jimmy Lee Holt | $4,400 | $1,007 | -77.1% |
| Joey Boykins | $6,072 | $984 | -83.8% |
| Mary H. Lowe | $5,233 | $980 | -81.3% |
| Terrel J. Hendrich | $1,992 | $959 | -51.9% |
| Paul Jordan Camp | $2,178 | $954 | -56.2% |
| Michael Ashley | $2,211 | $910 | -58.8% |
| Steven Hathcock | $4,862 | $903 | -81.4% |
| Johnny James Thibodeaux | $4,301 | $879 | -79.6% |
| Cody Don Bloodworth | $4,202 | $872 | -79.2% |
| John R. Kinsey | $3,058 | $864 | -71.7% |
| Alan Reynolds | $4,241 | $863 | -79.7% |
| Chris Loyd | $0 | $825 | -- |
| Christi T. McDermott | $2,046 | $803 | -60.8% |
| Kim Peppers | $3,531 | $768 | -78.2% |
| Clay Robertson | $3,914 | $767 | -80.4% |
| Lacy Read Hogue | $2,255 | $729 | -67.7% |
| Danny J. Rodgers | $3,146 | $727 | -76.9% |
| Wanda Fennell | $3,311 | $712 | -78.5% |
| Patsy McCurry | $5,139 | $699 | -86.4% |
| Jimmie Lee Spencer | $1,782 | $665 | -62.7% |
| Jesse Jaymes Walburn | $2,585 | $659 | -74.5% |
| Sheryl J. Lindsey | $1,210 | $624 | -48.4% |
| Tommy Stracener | $4,277 | $616 | -85.6% |
| Billy R. Maddox | $2,884 | $606 | -79% |
| Bill Clampitt | $6,009 | $588 | -90.2% |
| John Mark Sanford | $4,649 | $582 | -87.5% |
| Vickie Lynn Dean | $1,969 | $532 | -73% |
| Victor D. Kennel | $2,185 | $519 | -76.2% |
| Barry Bowen | $2,943 | $512 | -82.6% |
| Janet Knight | $2,485 | $512 | -79.4% |
| Pamela Gruchacz, M.D. | $2,208 | $498 | -77.4% |
| Lana Jo Davis | $0 | $453 | -- |
| Ronnie Gene Mitchell | $1,122 | $443 | -60.5% |
| Joel David Beadles | $1,419 | $432 | -69.6% |
| Michael Pool | $2,123 | $422 | -80.1% |
| Johannes de Jong | $990 | $421 | -57.5% |
| Catherine Coppedge | $561 | $414 | -26.2% |
| Dodgion Coppedge | $561 | $414 | -26.2% |
| Charles W. Marsh | $1,892 | $398 | -79% |
| Judy V. Markham | $858 | $398 | -53.6% |
| Matthew Robertson | $3,961 | $394 | -90.1% |
| Jason Mark Price | $891 | $394 | -55.8% |
| Sharon Luttman | $1,914 | $350 | -81.7% |
| Joe Crossland | $1,463 | $346 | -76.3% |
| Claudette Y. Bennett | $3,536 | $332 | -90.6% |
| Debra Johnson Brinkley | $1,001 | $328 | -67.2% |
| Ben Morris | $1,419 | $315 | -77.8% |
| Caleb Franklin Davidson | $1,452 | $301 | -79.3% |
| Jeff Cook | $933 | $297 | -68.2% |
| Sydney Vineyard | $759 | $284 | -62.6% |
| Brandon Keith Wellborn | $594 | $280 | -52.9% |
| John A. Holland | $1,353 | $280 | -79.3% |
| Norman T. Hastings | $441 | $265 | -39.9% |
| Dustin C. Varnado | $693 | $260 | -62.5% |
| Larry Hendry | $0 | $253 | -- |
| Glenn Riggs | $1,213 | $252 | -79.2% |
| James Gillen Jr. | $0 | $238 | -- |
| Nancy W. Edwards | $825 | $218 | -73.6% |
| William C. Smith Jr. | $1,209 | $218 | -82% |
| Mandi Mischnick | $837 | $214 | -74.4% |
| David Sutton | $935 | $208 | -77.8% |
| Teresa Davidson | $825 | $208 | -74.8% |
| Bobby Jack Brady | $935 | $197 | -78.9% |
| Lightning H. Ranch | $893 | $197 | -77.9% |
| Michael Howard Barnes | $1,819 | $190 | -89.6% |
| Jeffrey Joe Pool | $429 | $183 | -57.3% |
| Cody Christopher Lee Thomas | $330 | $172 | -47.9% |
| Neil Drake | $363 | $169 | -53.4% |
| Aaron Alcorn | $1,343 | $121 | -91% |
| Linda R. Parker | $157 | $104 | -33.8% |
| Michael Ballard | $275 | $86 | -68.7% |
| Ronald McFall | $1,116 | $0 | -100% |
| Victor Hill | $4,235 | $0 | -100% |
| Brandon Lee Wilson | $274,539 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles Vinson Hammett | $1,210 | $0 | -100% |
| Cody B. Berry | $715 | $0 | -100% |
| Cody Michael Lee | $3,135 | $0 | -100% |
| David Tevebaugh | $957 | $0 | -100% |
| Dwight Clark | $5,005 | $0 | -100% |
| Edna R. Hoelscher | $507 | $0 | -100% |
| Henry L. Wilson | $500,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Henry Wilburn | $715 | $0 | -100% |
| Jennifer Lorraine Wilson | $500,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Joel Dale Ballard | $5,047 | $0 | -100% |
| Jon Michael Spencer | $45,139 | $0 | -100% |
| Judy Wilson | $500,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Karen Brunson | $424 | $0 | -100% |
| Kenneth Allen | $440 | $0 | -100% |
| Kyle Hogue | $1,815 | $0 | -100% |
| Ollie Frances Jamison | $3,727 | $0 | -100% |
| Curtis R. Downer | $133 | $0 | -100% |
| Ray Nugent | $4,675 | $0 | -100% |
| Cathy Robinson | $7,260 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $4,699,465 | $1,003,183 | -78.7% |
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