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In 2021, 83 farmers in cities within Oceana County received a total of $776,761 in 137 farm subsidies, an 86.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $5.8 million in 300 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country Dairy, Inc. | $956,098 | $190,854 | -80% |
| Longcore Farms, LLC | $2,929 | $76,104 | 2,498.3% |
| Roger Studer | $40,513 | $48,291 | 19.2% |
| Gerald and Rusty Shafer, LLC | $75,877 | $25,877 | -65.9% |
| Ramthun Farms, LLC | $49,913 | $23,772 | -52.4% |
| Malburg Acres, LLC | $119,291 | $21,430 | -82% |
| Vanagtmael & Sons, Inc. | $35,897 | $20,129 | -43.9% |
| Lundberg Brothers, Inc. | $51,110 | $19,734 | -61.4% |
| Deruiter Farms, Inc. | $61,686 | $18,991 | -69.2% |
| Klotz Farms, Inc. | $0 | $14,437 | -- |
| Oomen Brothers, Inc. | $432,431 | $14,003 | -96.8% |
| Snider Farms, LLC | $905,158 | $13,939 | -98.5% |
| Greiner Farms, Inc. | $208,986 | $13,529 | -93.5% |
| Holladay Farms, LLC | $40,186 | $12,114 | -69.9% |
| Monton Farms, LLC | $16,192 | $10,841 | -33% |
| Eric Cummins | $25,126 | $10,740 | -57.3% |
| Daly Orchard Company, LLC | $37,301 | $10,585 | -71.6% |
| Tri-R Farms, LLC | $19,493 | $10,453 | -46.4% |
| David Cummins | $30,465 | $9,825 | -67.7% |
| Thomas W. Hanson | $13,025 | $9,002 | -30.9% |
| Aerts Farms, Inc. | $27,039 | $8,707 | -67.8% |
| Todd Greiner Farms Packing, LLC | $352,173 | $8,457 | -97.6% |
| Mitch Gamble | $35,564 | $7,904 | -77.8% |
| Ronald W. Lundberg | $17,670 | $7,883 | -55.4% |
| Daniel J. Lombard | $18,423 | $7,521 | -59.2% |
| Oomen Farms, Ltd. | $378,268 | $7,240 | -98.1% |
| LK Vansickle Farms, LLC | $50,780 | $7,209 | -85.8% |
| Vanagtmael Orchards, Inc. | $59,279 | $7,032 | -88.1% |
| Greiner ORCH & Farm, Ltd. | $13,106 | $6,561 | -49.9% |
| Eugene Kokx Farms, LLC | $80,279 | $6,013 | -92.5% |
| Forner Farms, LLC | $0 | $5,722 | -- |
| Herrygers Farms, LLC | $74,411 | $5,660 | -92.4% |
| Beard Brothers | $12,463 | $5,630 | -54.8% |
| Hammerle Farms, LLC | $8,311 | $5,398 | -35% |
| Theodore Hammerle | $7,809 | $5,337 | -31.7% |
| William C. Buck II | $9,531 | $5,246 | -45% |
| Philip J. Carter | $23,468 | $4,948 | -78.9% |
| Four Star Farms | $15,670 | $4,900 | -68.7% |
| Paul M Oomen | $48,984 | $4,752 | -90.3% |
| Rex Cargill | $23,927 | $4,445 | -81.4% |
| Golden Hart Fruit Farms, LLC | $52,182 | $4,401 | -91.6% |
| Steven P. Freed | $6,453 | $4,154 | -35.6% |
| Robert Bush Farms | $41,667 | $4,086 | -90.2% |
| Jesse Petersen | $19,607 | $3,784 | -80.7% |
| Robert Vanderzanden | $34,327 | $3,780 | -89% |
| Powers Dairy Farm, LLC | $8,631 | $3,735 | -56.7% |
| Lyle M Villadsen | $3,566 | $3,578 | 0.3% |
| George Sadler Jr. | $7,101 | $3,544 | -50.1% |
| Robert Eekhoff | $6,521 | $3,142 | -51.8% |
| George E Van Scoyoc-Revocable Living Trust | $0 | $2,968 | -- |
| James Shull | $9,713 | $2,900 | -70.1% |
| Thomas Van Nortwick | $7,785 | $2,786 | -64.2% |
| Hans Schober | $4,205 | $2,634 | -37.4% |
| David Dodds | $2,490 | $2,605 | 4.6% |
| Steven Davis | $2,802 | $2,015 | -28.1% |
| Alan Burmeister | $5,795 | $1,988 | -65.7% |
| Malburg Malac, LLC | $0 | $1,908 | -- |
| Kenneth H. Greiner | $2,136 | $1,860 | -12.9% |
| James O. Carlson | $2,223 | $1,789 | -19.5% |
| Michael S. Anderson | $4,224 | $1,748 | -58.6% |
| Gerald L Kacynski | $2,168 | $1,660 | -23.4% |
| Robert D. Eekhoff | $6,231 | $1,523 | -75.6% |
| William H. Wagner | $1,595 | $1,239 | -22.3% |
| Clair Sloan | $2,402 | $1,084 | -54.9% |
| Green Ventures, LLC | $3,150 | $1,073 | -65.9% |
| Patricia M Ledderboge Dec of Trustee | $2,923 | $1,067 | -63.5% |
| Larry Jancek | $920 | $920 | 0% |
| R & J Bush Farms | $14,717 | $807 | -94.5% |
| Gene Dennert | $838 | $774 | -7.6% |
| Mitchell Jonassen | $673 | $673 | 0% |
| William Rudat | $3,201 | $656 | -79.5% |
| Stony Lake Naturals | $500 | $625 | 25% |
| Ruth Watkins | $1,755 | $560 | -68.1% |
| Michael Carlson | $4,570 | $500 | -89.1% |
| Clarence Chase | $500 | $500 | 0% |
| Edward Lathrop | $1,278 | $402 | -68.5% |
| Evans Farms | $41,877 | $368 | -99.1% |
| Jerald Walker | $1,991 | $360 | -81.9% |
| Anthony Davis | $835 | $342 | -59% |
| Larry Walker | $1,692 | $304 | -82% |
| Pagura Farms, LLC | $16,966 | $290 | -98.3% |
| John W. Lammi | $1,265 | $290 | -77.1% |
| John F Areklet | $531 | $124 | -76.6% |
| Amstutz & Sons Farms | $5,012 | $0 | -100% |
| Bradley K. Clark | $113 | $0 | -100% |
| Brandel Farms, LLC | $53,389 | $0 | -100% |
| Crystal Valley Organics, Inc. | $90,776 | $0 | -100% |
| Doyle McGrew | $7 | $0 | -100% |
| Gerald Sibley | $83 | $0 | -100% |
| Gerrit Herrygers | $41,780 | $0 | -100% |
| James Beggs | $1,210 | $0 | -100% |
| James D. Jensen | $58,789 | $0 | -100% |
| Janice Trommater | $388 | $0 | -100% |
| Jose A. Prado | $21,105 | $0 | -100% |
| Karen Longcore | $6,340 | $0 | -100% |
| Lake Effect Apiaries, LLC | $7,276 | $0 | -100% |
| Lars Mattson | $1,540 | $0 | -100% |
| Major Farms | $13,598 | $0 | -100% |
| Marshall Jorissen | $4,899 | $0 | -100% |
| Matthew Williams | $1,748 | $0 | -100% |
| Michelle Kay Slocum | $4,208 | $0 | -100% |
| Randy Fedo | $34,615 | $0 | -100% |
| Rennhack Orchards, LLC | $99,547 | $0 | -100% |
| Slocum Farms, LLC | $41,538 | $0 | -100% |
| Tate Bros Farms, Inc. | $273 | $0 | -100% |
| Tim McClelland | $2,691 | $0 | -100% |
| Timothy Tubbs Farms, LLC | $112,280 | $0 | -100% |
| Casting Crowns Farm, LLC | $2,158 | $0 | -100% |
| Craig Beishuizen | $3,809 | $0 | -100% |
| Dale Danes | $8,284 | $0 | -100% |
| First Fruits Farm, LLC | $27,775 | $0 | -100% |
| Gordon Vanderslice | $6,374 | $0 | -100% |
| Harvest Blue Acres, LLC | $7,622 | $0 | -100% |
| Hiddema Farm | $3,367 | $0 | -100% |
| Lewis Orchards, Inc. | $133,050 | $0 | -100% |
| New Era's American Apple, LLC | $223,952 | $0 | -100% |
| George E Van Scoyoc-Revocable Liv | $4,256 | $0 | -100% |
| FWG Enterprises, LLC | $1,000 | $0 | -100% |
| Gene Carignan | $3,646 | $0 | -100% |
| Scott Beishuizen | $4,598 | $0 | -100% |
| Bernard Aiken | $211 | $0 | -100% |
| Noah Fox | $23,556 | $0 | -100% |
| Northern Lights Tree Farms, LLC | $3,825 | $0 | -100% |
| Ralph J. Achterhof | $1,181 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $5,774,707 | $776,761 | -86.5% |
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