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In 2021, 106 farmers in cities within Colleton County received a total of $1.1 million in 197 farm subsidies, a 59.9% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.8 million in 309 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Johnny Boyd McMillan | $281,566 | $182,872 | -35.1% |
| Rusty Kinard | $187,600 | $87,702 | -53.3% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $62,241 | -- |
| Federate Farms, LLC | $120,259 | $60,959 | -49.3% |
| Carter Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Higgins Forest Products, LLC. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| John Smith JR Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Three Rivers Timber Company, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Tree Trucking, LLC. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| White Wood 3, LLC. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| William C. Stanley III | $155,205 | $48,920 | -68.5% |
| Bentco Services, LLC. | $0 | $44,332 | -- |
| William B. Herndon Jr. | $112,818 | $42,479 | -62.3% |
| Marion Rizer | $62,047 | $23,326 | -62.4% |
| John E. Graham | $37,228 | $19,203 | -48.4% |
| Williams Farms Partnership | $1,156,135 | $17,660 | -98.5% |
| Clint D. Goethe | $0 | $17,456 | -- |
| Michael Lanier Crosby | $27,097 | $15,750 | -41.9% |
| Ralph Allen Sease Jr. | $21,263 | $14,678 | -31% |
| Herbert Lee Fennell Trucking, LLC. | $0 | $14,303 | -- |
| Keegan-Filion Farm, Inc. | $602 | $13,613 | 2,161.3% |
| Jeffrey L. Godley | $22,292 | $11,568 | -48.1% |
| Irving Timothy Benton Sr. | $19,268 | $8,905 | -53.8% |
| Aukland Nursery, LLC | $32,259 | $6,138 | -81% |
| High Rocks Farm, LLC | $6,036 | $6,036 | 0% |
| C. H. Spell | $0 | $5,853 | -- |
| Robert W. Myers | $25,317 | $5,385 | -78.7% |
| Mary Alice Crosby | $17,548 | $5,039 | -71.3% |
| Michael F. Carter | $12,015 | $4,213 | -64.9% |
| Tommy Carroll | $6,712 | $3,784 | -43.6% |
| Michael Lee Polk | $5,336 | $3,630 | -32% |
| Irving M. Benton Jr. | $20,509 | $3,505 | -82.9% |
| O. D. Murdaugh | $3,516 | $3,471 | -1.3% |
| David W. Barnes | $21,308 | $3,075 | -85.6% |
| Wesley C. Ulmer Jr. | $16,288 | $3,007 | -81.5% |
| Benjamin L. Crosby | $4,249 | $2,498 | -41.2% |
| B L Wiggins Enterprises, LLC | $37,619 | $2,491 | -93.4% |
| Sandra C. Kinard | $0 | $2,321 | -- |
| John Larry Bell Jr. | $9,467 | $2,133 | -77.5% |
| Bob Franklin Marsh | $0 | $2,054 | -- |
| Nancy Peeler | $0 | $2,047 | -- |
| James D. Spearman | $0 | $2,025 | -- |
| Charles L. Crosby | $9,622 | $2,011 | -79.1% |
| John B. Litchfield | $7,117 | $1,984 | -72.1% |
| Richard A. Moore | $0 | $1,908 | -- |
| Royce P. Herndon | $6,246 | $1,831 | -70.7% |
| Vernon Mcteer Carter | $16,102 | $1,820 | -88.7% |
| Russ Kinard | $5,939 | $1,771 | -70.2% |
| Sweetgrassroots, LLC | $0 | $1,576 | -- |
| Wes Willoughby | $2,509 | $1,323 | -47.3% |
| Ronald M. Jones | $2,885 | $1,308 | -54.7% |
| Brandon Linder | $368 | $1,295 | 251.9% |
| Renee Artigues | $8,449 | $1,264 | -85% |
| H. E. Crosby Jr. | $2,834 | $1,187 | -58.1% |
| Hunter Benton | $3,784 | $1,165 | -69.2% |
| James R. Beach | $10,736 | $1,130 | -89.5% |
| Padgett Farms, LLC | $0 | $1,112 | -- |
| Rodney P. Murdaugh | $4,675 | $1,107 | -76.3% |
| Johnny E. Nettles | $8,207 | $1,087 | -86.8% |
| Oliver L. Barnes Jr. | $3,523 | $1,060 | -69.9% |
| Benjamin J. Crosby | $6,580 | $1,017 | -84.5% |
| Ralph A. Sease | $5,765 | $975 | -83.1% |
| John A. Ilderton | $0 | $895 | -- |
| Steve Randall Walker | $3,510 | $882 | -74.9% |
| Ian Padgett | $4,158 | $856 | -79.4% |
| Marvin F. Stanley | $4,070 | $816 | -80% |
| Herbert O. Craven | $3,003 | $786 | -73.8% |
| William C. Bailey | $9,928 | $715 | -92.8% |
| James G. Blocker | $19,553 | $664 | -96.6% |
| Charles K. Wiggins | $644 | $644 | 0% |
| Oswald River Farm LP | $1,406 | $600 | -57.3% |
| Kenneth M. Capers | $1,857 | $587 | -68.4% |
| James H. Gibson | $2,684 | $564 | -79% |
| Louis Mike Lemacks | $680 | $562 | -17.4% |
| Gregory J. Anderson | $517 | $517 | 0% |
| Steam Works Farm, LLC. | $1,314 | $441 | -66.4% |
| Frances M. Beach | $1,749 | $440 | -74.8% |
| Harold Rhodes Jr. | $2,793 | $436 | -84.4% |
| Alfred Calloway | $2,187 | $418 | -80.9% |
| Denny Polk | $316 | $379 | 19.9% |
| Niniverh L Williams | $1,815 | $344 | -81% |
| Jamie Lehe Polk | $1,683 | $297 | -82.4% |
| Paul L. Beach | $1,573 | $289 | -81.6% |
| James M. Davis Jr. | $2,016 | $260 | -87.1% |
| Paul P. Crosby | $1,056 | $242 | -77.1% |
| Robert J. Lutz | $964 | $236 | -75.5% |
| Earl A. Bell | $1,752 | $230 | -86.9% |
| Camelita J Hewitt | $0 | $228 | -- |
| Ray Roberson | $339 | $227 | -33% |
| Leroy Hamilton | $2,696 | $220 | -91.8% |
| Homer S. Murdaugh | $2,247 | $219 | -90.3% |
| Ben Teasdel JR | $1,706 | $211 | -87.6% |
| Joseph David Drawdy | $330 | $200 | -39.4% |
| Lucas M. Carter | $0 | $174 | -- |
| William Bryan Crosby | $1,084 | $122 | -88.7% |
| Blue SKY Sunny Day Farm, LLC | $1,659 | $100 | -94% |
| James A. Linder | $4,407 | $90 | -98% |
| Wayne W. Ackerman | $944 | $66 | -93% |
| James H. McLendon | $1,597 | $59 | -96.3% |
| Gertrude O'Quinn | $129 | $42 | -67.4% |
| Thurman E. Virden | $281 | $29 | -89.7% |
| Eleanor H. Adams | $354 | $28 | -92.1% |
| Ellen S. Smith | $0 | $15 | -- |
| C. M. Rizer Jr. | $0 | $10 | -- |
| J. D. Fisk | $0 | $8 | -- |
| Cindy G. Thomas | $161 | $1 | -99.4% |
| Malachi E. Martin | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Shane Griffith | $6,141 | $0 | -100% |
| William T. Nesbitt | $828 | $0 | -100% |
| Lynn Benton Bagnal | $1,164 | $0 | -100% |
| Phyllis P. Gibson | $211 | $0 | -100% |
| James M. Cummings | $2,861 | $0 | -100% |
| Johnny B. McMillan | $73,986 | $0 | -100% |
| Philip N. Rizer | $12,340 | $0 | -100% |
| Phillip N. Rizer | $688 | $0 | -100% |
| Edna B. Carroll | $124 | $0 | -100% |
| James G. Padgett | $1,187 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael L. Crosby | $2,732 | $0 | -100% |
| Roger Dale Waltz | $764 | $0 | -100% |
| William C. Sweatman | $584 | $0 | -100% |
| Allen Butler | $1,100 | $0 | -100% |
| Belle Lorraine Behling | $825 | $0 | -100% |
| Emily Williams | $715 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency | $1,261 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $37,186 | $0 | -100% |
| FSA | $5,330 | $0 | -100% |
| Loretta R. Lyons | $6,775 | $0 | -100% |
| Norman Jamison | $495 | $0 | -100% |
| Rufus Roberts Jr. | $715 | $0 | -100% |
| Usda - FSA | $1,679 | $0 | -100% |
| Alan W. Rouse | $935 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,777,238 | $1,115,002 | -59.9% |
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