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In 2021, 121 farmers in cities within Accomack County received a total of $4.5 million in 252 farm subsidies, a 29.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $6.4 million in 371 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 Accomack County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan L. Brady | $0 | $250,000 | -- |
| Goodman Poultry Farms, LLC | $0 | $220,274 | -- |
| Robert C Darby & Sons | $329,441 | $215,454 | -34.6% |
| Giuse Farm, LLC | $0 | $215,100 | -- |
| Atkinson Farms, Inc. | $297,528 | $185,159 | -37.8% |
| Miller Time, LLC | $0 | $181,792 | -- |
| Thomas A. Davis Jr. | $65,607 | $176,028 | 168.3% |
| David Rew Farms, Inc. | $258,906 | $165,250 | -36.2% |
| Vision Quest Enterprises, LLC | $0 | $160,203 | -- |
| Levis Farm, LLC | $0 | $139,289 | -- |
| Turlington Farms | $151,156 | $136,554 | -9.7% |
| Sturgis Farms, Inc. | $205,746 | $129,254 | -37.2% |
| James A. Evans | $186,095 | $128,389 | -31% |
| Nicholas J Thomas, LLC | $0 | $124,586 | -- |
| Tung V. Hoang | $0 | $120,894 | -- |
| Kelley Poultry, LLC | $0 | $114,254 | -- |
| ISH Farm, LLC | $0 | $104,707 | -- |
| Mount Nebo Farms, LLC | $173,854 | $104,689 | -39.8% |
| W T Holland & Sons, Inc. | $461,680 | $101,482 | -78% |
| F a Holland & Sons | $427,268 | $79,393 | -81.4% |
| David F. Mason | $139,404 | $73,025 | -47.6% |
| H & R Farming Operations, LLC | $52,254 | $67,724 | 29.6% |
| J & R Farming Operations, LLC | $54,534 | $65,954 | 20.9% |
| Shore Enterprise Management, Inc. | $78,547 | $63,511 | -19.1% |
| Elahi, LLC | $0 | $63,340 | -- |
| Young Farms, Inc. | $117,171 | $59,754 | -49% |
| Hart Farms, Inc. | $95,851 | $56,822 | -40.7% |
| R W Farms, LLC | $19,604 | $55,379 | 182.5% |
| Mills Brothers Farms, Inc. | $95,124 | $51,974 | -45.4% |
| David A. Evans | $73,715 | $51,856 | -29.7% |
| Hutchinson Farms, LLC | $92,668 | $45,970 | -50.4% |
| Minh Thanh Luu | $0 | $44,922 | -- |
| Lane Farms, Inc. | $102,982 | $41,870 | -59.3% |
| Burke Palmer Booth | $0 | $39,808 | -- |
| Holland Land Company | $217,508 | $39,410 | -81.9% |
| Dale Holland | $70,117 | $35,810 | -48.9% |
| Jessica L Thomas, LLC | $0 | $31,131 | -- |
| Danny Huynh | $0 | $30,284 | -- |
| B & R Farming Operations, LLC | $16,716 | $25,066 | 50% |
| Cindy K. Custis | $47,065 | $24,156 | -48.7% |
| Daniel L. Milburn | $1,155 | $23,869 | 1,966.6% |
| Brown Blessings, LLC | $152,093 | $23,814 | -84.3% |
| Hopeland Farms, Inc. | $34,110 | $22,592 | -33.8% |
| Neal Farms, LLC | $44,728 | $21,282 | -52.4% |
| Nathan Eulo | $45,612 | $21,028 | -53.9% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $19,995 | -- |
| Wayne Revell | $35,473 | $19,936 | -43.8% |
| Donald L. Fitchett | $49,926 | $18,844 | -62.3% |
| Thomas Family Farms, LLC | $6,865 | $18,473 | 169.1% |
| Mary K. Turlington | $0 | $17,563 | -- |
| Broadwater Farms, LLC | $29,442 | $17,347 | -41.1% |
| Horace E. Kelley IV | $23,344 | $15,361 | -34.2% |
| Frederick T. Matthews | $18,676 | $13,772 | -26.3% |
| Kimberly Lang | $0 | $13,462 | -- |
| Bogues Bay Farm, LLC | $0 | $12,665 | -- |
| Larry Levy | $12,707 | $12,507 | -1.6% |
| Robert T. Thornton | $15,672 | $10,078 | -35.7% |
| Randal B. Merritt | $16,296 | $9,906 | -39.2% |
| F D Matthews Farms, Inc. | $15,472 | $9,662 | -37.6% |
| Jason C. Hart | $15,575 | $9,319 | -40.2% |
| Glenn Custis | $16,563 | $9,122 | -44.9% |
| Dunton Joynes | $13,532 | $8,895 | -34.3% |
| Grayson Chesser Jr. | $7,994 | $7,994 | 0% |
| Richard Haynie Jr. | $16,564 | $7,979 | -51.8% |
| William H. Beckett | $11,911 | $7,919 | -33.5% |
| Harlan Thornton | $13,340 | $7,473 | -44% |
| Seaside Enterprises, Inc. | $13,086 | $7,414 | -43.3% |
| William K. Johnson | $12,811 | $7,230 | -43.6% |
| Bernadette Rausch | $4,980 | $6,409 | 28.7% |
| Robert D. Taylor III | $9,996 | $6,292 | -37.1% |
| Tommy Hines Ta A. T. Farms | $10,689 | $6,068 | -43.2% |
| James N. Belote III | $5,072 | $4,841 | -4.6% |
| Dublin Farms | $626,831 | $4,830 | -99.2% |
| Thornhill Farms, LLC | $37,602 | $3,978 | -89.4% |
| Calvin L. Sturgis III | $35,231 | $3,934 | -88.8% |
| James E. Truitt | $3,989 | $3,860 | -3.2% |
| Susan U. Brown | $4,445 | $3,851 | -13.4% |
| Robin B. Patteson | $10,149 | $3,822 | -62.3% |
| Peggy Doremus Tilghman | $7,286 | $3,554 | -51.2% |
| Gerrit M. de Wit | $3,274 | $3,274 | 0% |
| Joann Vankesteren | $2,998 | $2,998 | 0% |
| Gary Young | $4,721 | $2,819 | -40.3% |
| William I. Fitchett | $4,729 | $2,655 | -43.9% |
| Beverly W. Fletcher | $24,310 | $2,498 | -89.7% |
| David Greene | $5,086 | $2,468 | -51.5% |
| Milton Palmer Bunting | $4,938 | $2,139 | -56.7% |
| Ryton Enterprises, LLC | $4,155 | $2,051 | -50.6% |
| James Edward Kilby | $5,136 | $2,042 | -60.2% |
| Joanne C. Kirkpatrick | $1,900 | $1,900 | 0% |
| Holly Spring Simmental | $7,798 | $1,761 | -77.4% |
| Claire Evans | $552 | $1,722 | 212% |
| Leander S. Roberts | $3,347 | $1,676 | -49.9% |
| Wayne A. Hart | $3,258 | $1,616 | -50.4% |
| Carroll Savage Jr. | $1,535 | $1,535 | 0% |
| Parks Farms | $2,792 | $1,436 | -48.6% |
| Richard F. Hall III | $214,661 | $1,352 | -99.4% |
| Steve Alton Cody | $1,272 | $1,272 | 0% |
| Bagley M. Walker Jr. | $1,133 | $1,133 | 0% |
| Martin P. Bull Jr. | $1,029 | $1,029 | 0% |
| Paul Berge | $0 | $931 | -- |
| Vankesteren Farms, Inc. | $912 | $912 | 0% |
| David A. Page | $1,304 | $889 | -31.8% |
| Marvin W Reed Rev Trust | $2,043 | $873 | -57.3% |
| Barry E. Lane Sr. | $859 | $859 | 0% |
| John Edward Lavelle | $0 | $835 | -- |
| Gil Pruitt | $684 | $684 | 0% |
| Marlene Donnell | $0 | $683 | -- |
| Christine A. Herrick | $675 | $675 | 0% |
| Christopher Powers | $2,827 | $671 | -76.3% |
| Donald Christopher Shay | $0 | $671 | -- |
| C D Fleming Trust | $611 | $611 | 0% |
| Wayne E. Johnson | $560 | $560 | 0% |
| Joseph E. Lewis | $506 | $506 | 0% |
| Peggy L. Holloway | $506 | $506 | 0% |
| Joan Shelton Bull | $0 | $489 | -- |
| Peggy Anderson | $353 | $353 | 0% |
| Andrew E. Teeling | $342 | $342 | 0% |
| Carter W. Crabbe | $1,477 | $296 | -80% |
| Trudy H. Myles | $266 | $266 | 0% |
| Steven Vankesteren | $238 | $238 | 0% |
| Charles Donnell | $865 | $182 | -79% |
| Clarence W. Lewis Jr. | $506 | $0 | -100% |
| Full Measure Oyster Farm, LLC | $48,040 | $0 | -100% |
| Hector Galvan | $5,031 | $0 | -100% |
| Douglas M. Evans | $40,181 | $0 | -100% |
| Ted L. Lewis | $506 | $0 | -100% |
| Usda Farm Service Agenc | $82 | $0 | -100% |
| Usda Farm Service Agency | $78,022 | $0 | -100% |
| Usda-Flp | $11,318 | $0 | -100% |
| Virginia Eastern Shore Apiaries L | $194,612 | $0 | -100% |
| Benjamin B Thomas Farms, Inc. | $17,367 | $0 | -100% |
| Billy Wharton | $1,536 | $0 | -100% |
| Jennifer Young | $5,894 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas James Pruitt T/A T & L Oys | $16,759 | $0 | -100% |
| Hanna Elizabeth Kopjanski | $2,750 | $0 | -100% |
| Raymond Philip Mills Jr. | $880 | $0 | -100% |
| TK Exports, Inc. | $250,000 | $0 | -100% |
| James Ellis Dawson | $785 | $0 | -100% |
| Seaborne, LLC | $1,120 | $0 | -100% |
| Toby Island Bay Oyster Farm, LLC | $1,623 | $0 | -100% |
| Randall Morgan | $3,252 | $0 | -100% |
| Mark C Stromdahl | $204 | $0 | -100% |
| Rob Bloxom | $15,715 | $0 | -100% |
| Booker Construction, Inc. | $28,580 | $0 | -100% |
| Jonathan R. Turner | $16,846 | $0 | -100% |
| Ronald Joseph Brittingham | $1,166 | $0 | -100% |
| Marika W. Ailsworth | $562 | $0 | -100% |
| Vincel Williams | $253 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas A. Young | $205 | $0 | -100% |
| Dale Marsh | $828 | $0 | -100% |
| John Kirkpatrick | $950 | $0 | -100% |
| Tarkill Aquaculture Ventures, LLC | $27,054 | $0 | -100% |
| Clarence W. Savage | $297 | $0 | -100% |
| EBB Tides Farm, LLC | $980 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert L. Lawson III | $35,821 | $0 | -100% |
| William Edward Savage | $630 | $0 | -100% |
| Battlepoint Aquaculture, LLC | $25,010 | $0 | -100% |
| Carroll Young | $599 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph E. Ferebee Sr. | $1,386 | $0 | -100% |
| Port & Starboard Aquaculture, LLC | $4,366 | $0 | -100% |
| Haywood L. Kellam Jr. | $361 | $0 | -100% |
| Beach Aquaculture, LLC | $9,012 | $0 | -100% |
| Sweet Lulu Seafood, LLC | $20,510 | $0 | -100% |
| Shore Seafood, Inc. | $19,723 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $6,414,732 | $4,519,865 | -29.5% |
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY
Sanford• Mappsville• Town of Hallwood• Town of Melfa• Atlantic• Town of Chincoteague• Town of Accomac• Town of Onancock• Town of Onley• New Church• Harborton• Quinby• Tasley• Boston• Horntown• Town of Saxis• Temperanceville• Modest Town• Greenbackville• Town of Painter• Town Of Keller• Town Of Bloxom• Town Of Parksley• Pungoteague• Oak Hall• Greenbush
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