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In 2021, 78 farmers in cities within Mason County received a total of $1.3 million in 161 farm subsidies, a 69.3% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $4.3 million in 293 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stakenas Farms, Inc. | $467,489 | $169,938 | -63.6% |
| Larsen Farms | $543,448 | $159,760 | -70.6% |
| Briggs Farms, Inc. | $400,729 | $144,705 | -63.9% |
| Hackert Family Farms | $750,140 | $135,342 | -82% |
| Springdale Farms, LLC | $395,463 | $86,554 | -78.1% |
| Corliss T Gulembo III | $124,006 | $81,650 | -34.2% |
| Thurow Farms, LLC | $135,563 | $67,562 | -50.2% |
| Charles A. Schade | $101,100 | $58,633 | -42% |
| John Shafer & Son, LLC | $91,431 | $33,739 | -63.1% |
| Lister Orchards, Inc. | $82,996 | $26,349 | -68.3% |
| Paul Monton, LLC | $38,783 | $26,344 | -32.1% |
| Daniel Anderson | $67,283 | $23,335 | -65.3% |
| Albert L Tiles | $21,699 | $23,074 | 6.3% |
| Dan Mauer Dairy, LLC | $43,797 | $21,607 | -50.7% |
| Tiles Brothers | $43,620 | $20,883 | -52.1% |
| Karen Daly | $17,488 | $18,114 | 3.6% |
| Lapointe Farms | $42,418 | $17,812 | -58% |
| Tad Larson | $37,722 | $15,588 | -58.7% |
| Fresh Air Farms, LLC | $26,347 | $15,298 | -41.9% |
| Alexis Bradow | $2,263 | $13,178 | 482.3% |
| Gerard A. Petersen | $19,893 | $11,065 | -44.4% |
| Thomas Grabowski | $19,609 | $11,044 | -43.7% |
| Joyce E Major Trust | $8,938 | $9,734 | 8.9% |
| Leo M. Whitaker | $11,515 | $7,939 | -31.1% |
| Maple Wood Farm | $17,582 | $7,859 | -55.3% |
| Conrad Farms, Inc. | $45,878 | $7,743 | -83.1% |
| Zwagerman Farms Cropping, LLC | $9,107 | $6,821 | -25.1% |
| Robert Kran Jr. | $9,796 | $6,737 | -31.2% |
| Donald Joe Martz | $14,320 | $5,751 | -59.8% |
| Eric Egeler | $16,103 | $5,450 | -66.2% |
| Freeman Creek Farms, LLC | $6,807 | $5,274 | -22.5% |
| Jeffrey Conklin | $7,311 | $5,113 | -30.1% |
| Gary Dittmer | $11,316 | $4,502 | -60.2% |
| Harriet E. Feria | $6,802 | $4,301 | -36.8% |
| Joseph D. Martz | $3,746 | $3,828 | 2.2% |
| Michael Dilworth | $6,124 | $3,748 | -38.8% |
| Richard Papes | $5,040 | $3,581 | -28.9% |
| Roger Bedker | $3,154 | $3,206 | 1.6% |
| Otto Peterson Farms, LLC | $20,507 | $2,983 | -85.5% |
| Malkowski Orchard Market, Inc. | $51,963 | $2,942 | -94.3% |
| Raymond C. Keith | $16,912 | $2,890 | -82.9% |
| Charles Jansen | $2,784 | $2,745 | -1.4% |
| Aaron Schade | $6,923 | $2,714 | -60.8% |
| Dwayne Gerbers | $5,642 | $2,565 | -54.5% |
| Jerome Rybicki | $3,278 | $2,228 | -32% |
| Dennis Steffens | $10,921 | $2,220 | -79.7% |
| Patrick Petersen | $1,544 | $2,063 | 33.6% |
| Bushel Basket Orchards, Inc. | $171,933 | $1,768 | -99% |
| Robert S. Northrup | $2,016 | $1,705 | -15.4% |
| Allen Andersen | $2,117 | $1,541 | -27.2% |
| Michael a Stakenas | $2,934 | $1,505 | -48.7% |
| Caleb Schade | $2,665 | $1,453 | -45.5% |
| Jacob D. Anderson | $3,897 | $1,379 | -64.6% |
| Robert Jacobson | $0 | $1,192 | -- |
| Frederick Gleason | $4,501 | $1,019 | -77.4% |
| Thomas Trenner | $2,892 | $975 | -66.3% |
| Mary Mortensen | $1,333 | $973 | -27% |
| Buster Rader | $912 | $912 | 0% |
| Curtiss W. Berndt | $1,380 | $831 | -39.8% |
| John N. Quiring | $2,390 | $754 | -68.5% |
| John J. Ehler | $824 | $600 | -27.2% |
| Alan Hackert | $1,668 | $588 | -64.7% |
| Michael Irwin | $676 | $553 | -18.2% |
| William H. Cox | $1,842 | $400 | -78.3% |
| James Jabrocki | $1,261 | $397 | -68.5% |
| Stephen Lipps | $1,582 | $388 | -75.5% |
| Wright Summerton Farms, Inc. | $41,064 | $285 | -99.3% |
| James Parker | $2,983 | $261 | -91.3% |
| Glenn Palma | $258 | $258 | 0% |
| Bruce E. Burke | $1,107 | $240 | -78.3% |
| Robert McCann | $438 | $172 | -60.7% |
| Marjorie L. Kolb | $1,281 | $113 | -91.2% |
| Jeremy Overmyer | $1,686 | $92 | -94.5% |
| Louis J. Anderson | $1,540 | $77 | -95% |
| Arlie Carrier | $0 | $73 | -- |
| John Ward | $0 | $47 | -- |
| Lucy Knizacky | $725 | $46 | -93.7% |
| Barry Pleiness | $376 | $16 | -95.7% |
| Kenneth Parker | $105,164 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Burke | $106 | $0 | -100% |
| David A. Briggs | $1,980 | $0 | -100% |
| Couturier Blueberry Farm, Inc. | $91,485 | $0 | -100% |
| Edwin Bretschneider | $880 | $0 | -100% |
| Kistlercrest Farms | $29,248 | $0 | -100% |
| Michele A. Welch | $281 | $0 | -100% |
| Pauline Egeler | $4,565 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard Alway | $379 | $0 | -100% |
| Adam Schade | $64 | $0 | -100% |
| Carl Jansen | $2,474 | $0 | -100% |
| Ernest P. Johnson II | $566 | $0 | -100% |
| James C. Wood | $187 | $0 | -100% |
| James Ruba | $795 | $0 | -100% |
| James W Lehrbass | $1,760 | $0 | -100% |
| Joel Lipps | $1,286 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul B. Monton | $8,211 | $0 | -100% |
| William Lehrbass JR | $23 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $4,285,035 | $1,317,124 | -69.3% |
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