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In 2021, 80 farmers in cities within Onondaga County received a total of $2.8 million in 169 farm subsidies, a 44.9% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $5.1 million in 268 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half Full Dairy, LLC | $487,646 | $618,494 | 26.8% |
| Gemini Farms | $254,103 | $234,306 | -7.8% |
| Palladino & Carley Farms, LLC | $38,301 | $187,296 | 389% |
| Scholten Dairy Farm | $396,238 | $174,442 | -56% |
| Ka Vern Farms, LLC | $0 | $141,616 | -- |
| Blume Again Dairy, LLC | $243,847 | $137,467 | -43.6% |
| Michael Hourigan Family Dairy, LLC | $0 | $127,173 | -- |
| Cox Valley Farm | $71,418 | $115,930 | 62.3% |
| Carley Farms, LLC | $112,623 | $102,155 | -9.3% |
| Emmi & Sons, Inc. | $0 | $100,473 | -- |
| MNA Hourigan Farm Partnership | $237,763 | $98,752 | -58.5% |
| Anthony Demarco & Sons, Inc. | $0 | $91,798 | -- |
| Charles Griskauskas | $49,580 | $75,721 | 52.7% |
| River Ridge Dairy, LLC | $0 | $68,807 | -- |
| Zerrillo Greenhouses, Inc. | $0 | $53,371 | -- |
| Reeves Farms, LLC | $258,760 | $52,683 | -79.6% |
| Charles F Luchsinger and Susan B Luchsinger | $0 | $45,707 | -- |
| Navarino Orchard, LLC | $0 | $40,673 | -- |
| Abbott Farms, Inc. | $356 | $35,671 | 9,919.9% |
| Bradley J. Stacy | $17,877 | $31,341 | 75.3% |
| Zelias Farms, LLC | $6,554 | $28,814 | 339.6% |
| Kevin C. Daly | $40,390 | $27,362 | -32.3% |
| Shamrock Dairy, LLC | $8,793 | $20,676 | 135.1% |
| Daniel J. Martini | $0 | $16,986 | -- |
| Daniels Dairy Farm, LLC | $97,118 | $15,681 | -83.9% |
| Raymond C. Heer | $40,962 | $14,590 | -64.4% |
| Rohe Farms | $32,638 | $11,764 | -64% |
| Jeremy S. Burton | $23,635 | $10,100 | -57.3% |
| Karen M. Uplinger | $10,177 | $8,947 | -12.1% |
| William H. Tack | $20,542 | $7,734 | -62.4% |
| Brian Luton | $0 | $7,604 | -- |
| James H. Manley | $13,758 | $5,480 | -60.2% |
| Chengerian's Tree Land, Inc. | $13,262 | $4,841 | -63.5% |
| Odessa Sageland, LLC | $7,086 | $4,742 | -33.1% |
| Michael G. Reagan | $0 | $4,556 | -- |
| Charles Ray | $9,387 | $4,349 | -53.7% |
| Thomas Woznica | $3,595 | $4,126 | 14.8% |
| Timothy Harris | $3,540 | $3,647 | 3% |
| Adam J. Spencer | $5,252 | $3,584 | -31.8% |
| Andrew Ramsden | $2,146 | $3,583 | 67% |
| Thomas Briggs | $2,879 | $3,438 | 19.4% |
| Robert E. Fletcher Jr. | $9,109 | $3,329 | -63.5% |
| Bear-N-Oak Cattle Company, LLC | $6,655 | $3,168 | -52.4% |
| Thomas Rourke | $15,139 | $2,818 | -81.4% |
| Robert S. Faulkner | $0 | $2,756 | -- |
| David J. Johnson | $4,589 | $2,655 | -42.1% |
| Joseph M. Sheridan | $5,311 | $2,245 | -57.7% |
| Wayne a & Shirley M Brownson IRR Trustee | $0 | $2,020 | -- |
| Cleveland Hughes Jr. | $1,818 | $1,818 | 0% |
| John M. Graham | $1,605 | $1,605 | 0% |
| David F Fisher | $4,383 | $1,332 | -69.6% |
| Henry Luchsinger Jr. | $3,412 | $1,327 | -61.1% |
| Adam G. Searle | $2,242 | $1,210 | -46% |
| James C. White | $3,484 | $1,207 | -65.4% |
| Lee Southwick | $1,204 | $1,204 | 0% |
| Cold Spring Agricultural, LLC | $0 | $1,067 | -- |
| Stefan J. House | $3,088 | $1,053 | -65.9% |
| James S. Laub | $2,279 | $1,050 | -53.9% |
| James Spoelstra | $826 | $826 | 0% |
| Porterholm Farms | $14,026 | $802 | -94.3% |
| Chelsey ELM Farm, LLC | $3,715 | $756 | -79.7% |
| Brian Kline | $510 | $510 | 0% |
| Joshua T. Krakau | $2,278 | $445 | -80.5% |
| Raymond J Cassady Estate | $1,830 | $377 | -79.4% |
| Hoffmann Farm | $132 | $322 | 143.9% |
| Judy Licker | $406 | $315 | -22.4% |
| Diane Van Patten & Donald Van Patten | $0 | $284 | -- |
| Bruce E. Schader | $599 | $250 | -58.3% |
| Meghan C. Schader | $599 | $250 | -58.3% |
| Kovarik Family Irrevocable Trust | $397 | $206 | -48.1% |
| Ernest A. Olson | $0 | $158 | -- |
| Frederick Woznica Jr. | $432 | $135 | -68.8% |
| Susan Mosher | $0 | $132 | -- |
| Steven J. Grimaldi | $0 | $127 | -- |
| Stillwater Farms | $2,771 | $116 | -95.8% |
| Susan M. Isgar | $129 | $82 | -36.4% |
| Tassone Farms, Inc. | $125,486 | $59 | -100% |
| Mary Alley | $905 | $52 | -94.3% |
| Thomas J. Ruggieri | $445 | $51 | -88.5% |
| Matthew J. Richard | $20 | $34 | 70% |
| Clifford Melvin | $300 | $0 | -100% |
| Diane Van Patten & Donald Van Pat | $228 | $0 | -100% |
| Galvin Farms Gourmet Mushroom Company | $59,234 | $0 | -100% |
| KW Clydes, LLC | $229 | $0 | -100% |
| Ponto's Greenhouses, LLC | $47,192 | $0 | -100% |
| Wayne a & Shirley M Brownson IRR | $1,376 | $0 | -100% |
| Hill Villa Farms, LLC | $8,028 | $0 | -100% |
| Hudson EGG Farms, LLC | $224,834 | $0 | -100% |
| Pine Hill Lamb, LLC | $54,490 | $0 | -100% |
| Carol J. Barreiro | $390 | $0 | -100% |
| Jerry L. Gordon | $69 | $0 | -100% |
| James Hotaling | $2,078 | $0 | -100% |
| Ka Vern Farms | $510,754 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard E. Schader | $240 | $0 | -100% |
| Roger Darling | $3,299 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles F Luchsinger and Susan B | $42,862 | $0 | -100% |
| Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. | $23,079 | $0 | -100% |
| David A. Delaney | $21 | $0 | -100% |
| Kathleen L. Gere | $63 | $0 | -100% |
| Keith A. Searle | $671 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael Hourigan Family Dairy, LL | $1,339,118 | $0 | -100% |
| Nancy T. Lambright | $190 | $0 | -100% |
| William Osuchowski | $3,795 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $5,052,590 | $2,784,633 | -44.9% |
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