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In 2021, 89 farmers in cities within Edgefield County received a total of $654,063 in 127 farm subsidies, a 72.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.4 million in 225 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hickory Hill Dairy, LLC | $120,419 | $105,083 | -12.7% |
| James Ray Smith Jr. | $0 | $71,865 | -- |
| Christopher Joseph Derrick | $0 | $60,157 | -- |
| William T. Wall Jr. | $3,498 | $58,185 | 1,563.4% |
| Mountain View Farms, Inc. | $22,742 | $54,857 | 141.2% |
| Deerwood Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Harry W. Miller Jr. | $35,728 | $36,146 | 1.2% |
| Forrest Fruit Company, LLC | $325,351 | $27,892 | -91.4% |
| Richard A. Miller Jr. | $12,507 | $21,613 | 72.8% |
| Derrick Farms | $42,364 | $21,248 | -49.8% |
| James David Miller | $67,546 | $13,143 | -80.5% |
| W. G. Smith III | $23,231 | $12,884 | -44.5% |
| Gregg B. Thomas | $14,220 | $10,646 | -25.1% |
| Jeff Yonce | $19,332 | $9,254 | -52.1% |
| Williams Brothers Farm | $57,243 | $8,905 | -84.4% |
| Adkinson Farms, Inc. | $0 | $6,782 | -- |
| Saluda Ridge Farms, Inc. | $4,851 | $6,342 | 30.7% |
| L&M Farms | $25,232 | $5,768 | -77.1% |
| Michael Hammond | $30,917 | $4,396 | -85.8% |
| Carolina Farms & Harvesting, Inc. | $243,908 | $4,174 | -98.3% |
| Vann Family Partnership | $3,824 | $3,824 | 0% |
| Stephanie Miller | $5,885 | $3,182 | -45.9% |
| Mark T. Faust | $20,241 | $2,916 | -85.6% |
| Kevin Berry | $19,424 | $2,556 | -86.8% |
| Frances Usry | $11,841 | $2,359 | -80.1% |
| G. W. Rauton III | $2,574 | $2,220 | -13.8% |
| Chris S. Yonce | $6,728 | $2,010 | -70.1% |
| Miller III, P L | $6,348 | $1,860 | -70.7% |
| Richard A. Miller | $1,841 | $1,841 | 0% |
| J. H. Satcher III | $20,194 | $1,814 | -91% |
| Brooks Morgan | $1,386 | $1,550 | 11.8% |
| Randy F. Bryan | $6,132 | $1,426 | -76.7% |
| Walter S. Yonce | $67,074 | $1,390 | -97.9% |
| Hoover Martin Jr. | $10,230 | $1,348 | -86.8% |
| Douglas H. Herlong | $7,027 | $1,329 | -81.1% |
| J W Yonce & Sons, Inc. | $557,218 | $1,308 | -99.8% |
| Edward Miller | $4,579 | $1,270 | -72.3% |
| Malcolm J. O'Neal | $1,259 | $1,259 | 0% |
| Cecil Yonce Jr. | $0 | $1,124 | -- |
| Three Star Vineyard and Orchard of Johnston, LLC | $0 | $1,091 | -- |
| Wayne Berry | $6,298 | $1,086 | -82.8% |
| Clyde M. Smith | $1,095 | $1,068 | -2.5% |
| Daniel Price Jr. | $2,312 | $1,046 | -54.8% |
| Keith T. MacDonald | $7,238 | $1,038 | -85.7% |
| Robert C. Timmerman | $1,206 | $1,024 | -15.1% |
| Forrest Dairy | $14,372 | $994 | -93.1% |
| Cooks Farm | $56,060 | $932 | -98.3% |
| J Michael Miller Dairy Farm | $5,746 | $911 | -84.1% |
| Paul J. Rushton Jr. | $4,085 | $861 | -78.9% |
| Jenell Ryans | $2,033 | $854 | -58% |
| William H. Rushton Jr. | $7,422 | $844 | -88.6% |
| Melvin Broadwater | $4,556 | $781 | -82.9% |
| John Paxton | $714 | $714 | 0% |
| Thomas Stanley | $2,180 | $706 | -67.6% |
| Jewel S. Seawright | $2,809 | $619 | -78% |
| Melanie Smith | $3,374 | $616 | -81.7% |
| J. W. Yonce III | $11,045 | $592 | -94.6% |
| Wayne Collins | $2,750 | $584 | -78.8% |
| Claude Humphries | $1,606 | $573 | -64.3% |
| James E. Yonce | $4,445 | $546 | -87.7% |
| Jerry Allen | $0 | $529 | -- |
| Willie C. Bright | $0 | $517 | -- |
| Alan Williams | $2,440 | $492 | -79.8% |
| Daniel Ready | $964 | $471 | -51.1% |
| Janice W. Riley | $544 | $455 | -16.4% |
| Nell Carole Wise | $876 | $429 | -51% |
| Sam Wesley Quarles | $0 | $419 | -- |
| Jesse Harris | $1,580 | $349 | -77.9% |
| Thomas W. Long | $680 | $319 | -53.1% |
| Louis Jackson | $1,298 | $311 | -76% |
| Ernest Vincent Hammond | $1,595 | $286 | -82.1% |
| Roger A. Bryan Sr. | $1,406 | $263 | -81.3% |
| Jeff Thomas | $1,243 | $260 | -79.1% |
| Anne E. Dukes | $513 | $251 | -51.1% |
| Alvin Butler | $1,146 | $225 | -80.4% |
| Tommy Bryan | $1,543 | $225 | -85.4% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $223 | -- |
| Daniel L. Wallace | $0 | $217 | -- |
| Brandon Jermaine Burton | $1,125 | $211 | -81.2% |
| Margaret A. Thompson | $913 | $204 | -77.7% |
| Curtis R. Tuten | $442 | $185 | -58.1% |
| Ann Delaughter | $339 | $166 | -51% |
| Philip Dorn | $339 | $166 | -51% |
| Wyman Rodgers | $231 | $165 | -28.6% |
| Velda J. Livingston | $62 | $145 | 133.9% |
| Cassandra McManus | $0 | $141 | -- |
| Smith H. Holmes Jr. | $834 | $113 | -86.5% |
| Warren Whitlock | $98 | $41 | -58.2% |
| John C. Timmerman Jr. | $13 | $4 | -69.2% |
| Joyce Timmerman | $1,663 | $0 | -100% |
| Wesley Quarles | $3,506 | $0 | -100% |
| William George Sarvis III | $8,234 | $0 | -100% |
| Carol Clark Rushton | $809 | $0 | -100% |
| Debra Mauldin | $1,234 | $0 | -100% |
| Kenneth W. Hutchins | $3,010 | $0 | -100% |
| Lynda Faye Hall | $26 | $0 | -100% |
| Matt Forrest Farms, LLC | $334,957 | $0 | -100% |
| Shawn C. Yonce | $250 | $0 | -100% |
| Three Star Vineyard and Orchard O | $58,733 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,376,886 | $654,063 | -72.5% |
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