Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 142 farmers in cities within Cocke County received a total of $290,532 in 165 farm subsidies, a 67.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $894,304 in 368 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack W. Gregg | $20,459 | $37,961 | 85.5% |
| William David Winters | $35,184 | $30,200 | -14.2% |
| Dwayne Mason | $4,661 | $21,864 | 369.1% |
| Deborah Lee Boyd | $23,324 | $19,540 | -16.2% |
| Graham Farm Trust | $52,389 | $14,588 | -72.2% |
| Robert T. Ottinger Jr. | $35,417 | $13,235 | -62.6% |
| Jimmy C. Pack | $0 | $11,870 | -- |
| Corbin Glen Neas | $6,483 | $6,847 | 5.6% |
| Gary Gentry | $38,391 | $6,143 | -84% |
| Larry M. Ottinger | $87,939 | $5,719 | -93.5% |
| Barbara Miller Parks | $0 | $5,373 | -- |
| Ralph Sauceman | $0 | $5,373 | -- |
| Robert M. Winter | $3,552 | $4,736 | 33.3% |
| Charles Lewis Moore | $12,318 | $4,067 | -67% |
| Perry Morrow | $12,441 | $3,721 | -70.1% |
| Lonnie Ottinger | $16,625 | $3,688 | -77.8% |
| Jeff Ottinger | $92,500 | $2,860 | -96.9% |
| James Freshour | $8,827 | $2,760 | -68.7% |
| Ernest Arrowood Jr. | $0 | $2,145 | -- |
| Dolly H. Blazer | $11,957 | $2,037 | -83% |
| Dallas N. Sane | $6,710 | $1,928 | -71.3% |
| David C. Brooks | $12,306 | $1,905 | -84.5% |
| Jeffery Neas | $9,211 | $1,894 | -79.4% |
| Nancy R. Sams | $1,122 | $1,808 | 61.1% |
| James S. Ramsey | $7,009 | $1,758 | -74.9% |
| Roger L. Holt | $8,580 | $1,660 | -80.7% |
| Chuck Styles | $6,475 | $1,615 | -75.1% |
| Johnny S. Dixon | $6,655 | $1,615 | -75.7% |
| Burch Wood | $7,050 | $1,605 | -77.2% |
| Michael Kolar | $6,347 | $1,600 | -74.8% |
| Terry Baxter | $7,717 | $1,591 | -79.4% |
| Carol Wilds Green | $6,705 | $1,573 | -76.5% |
| Kent Nease | $8,288 | $1,569 | -81.1% |
| Stewart Holder | $7,970 | $1,536 | -80.7% |
| Randy Winter | $8,453 | $1,496 | -82.3% |
| Margaret E. Styles | $5,544 | $1,346 | -75.7% |
| Teddy Kilgore | $7,150 | $1,291 | -81.9% |
| Michael E. Vick | $5,577 | $1,282 | -77% |
| Jason Miller | $6,446 | $1,280 | -80.1% |
| Roy Burnett | $5,038 | $1,254 | -75.1% |
| David L. Bible | $7,298 | $1,250 | -82.9% |
| Clyde Herman Gentry | $5,160 | $1,162 | -77.5% |
| David N. Leatherwood | $3,432 | $1,152 | -66.4% |
| Charles D. Hughes | $4,323 | $1,102 | -74.5% |
| Celeste D. Collins | $11,624 | $1,069 | -90.8% |
| Freddy Baxter | $5,090 | $1,034 | -79.7% |
| Jason Gilliam | $4,339 | $1,028 | -76.3% |
| Johnnie Sue Phillips | $5,012 | $996 | -80.1% |
| Rhonda Anders | $5,112 | $973 | -81% |
| Joanna Romine | $0 | $969 | -- |
| Troy J. Fox | $3,094 | $930 | -69.9% |
| Karen C. Hale | $7,079 | $911 | -87.1% |
| Billy L. Reece | $6,733 | $899 | -86.6% |
| Ronnie Moore | $3,102 | $883 | -71.5% |
| Mindy C. Langford | $4,879 | $882 | -81.9% |
| Tommy Seehorn | $3,976 | $874 | -78% |
| Johnny L. Ellison | $2,392 | $798 | -66.6% |
| Michael D. Ellison | $5,638 | $798 | -85.8% |
| Danny Dockery | $3,696 | $793 | -78.5% |
| Carl Thomas | $3,256 | $777 | -76.1% |
| Ronald Blazer | $3,808 | $758 | -80.1% |
| Larry Sane | $3,523 | $744 | -78.9% |
| Kevin Neas | $4,202 | $743 | -82.3% |
| Jerry A. Holt | $4,130 | $737 | -82.2% |
| Norman Blazer | $4,888 | $736 | -84.9% |
| Hollis Lee Allen | $1,650 | $709 | -57% |
| Karen Osborne | $3,811 | $703 | -81.6% |
| Floyd G. Combs | $2,596 | $694 | -73.3% |
| Maudella B Sisk | $0 | $692 | -- |
| Eddie Tate | $2,739 | $678 | -75.2% |
| Roger Fish | $0 | $660 | -- |
| Hugh Nelson Williams | $2,256 | $658 | -70.8% |
| Scott R. Presnell | $1,948 | $654 | -66.4% |
| Festus Talley | $2,563 | $644 | -74.9% |
| W. L. Neas | $1,782 | $640 | -64.1% |
| Pete Styles | $3,278 | $634 | -80.7% |
| John L. Vick | $2,732 | $634 | -76.8% |
| John Lovell | $4,448 | $633 | -85.8% |
| Dwayne Sane | $3,266 | $632 | -80.6% |
| Nathan Hannah | $2,706 | $626 | -76.9% |
| Allen Ottinger | $3,625 | $612 | -83.1% |
| Mary W. Holt | $2,662 | $593 | -77.7% |
| Lloyd Bryant | $3,608 | $584 | -83.8% |
| Charles Eddie Arms II | $2,704 | $573 | -78.8% |
| Jonathan C. Templin | $1,738 | $532 | -69.4% |
| Bob Gray | $2,280 | $522 | -77.1% |
| Ronnie Luther Rader | $1,221 | $515 | -57.8% |
| Rusty Gregg | $1,628 | $515 | -68.4% |
| David Lane | $1,837 | $474 | -74.2% |
| Taft Walker | $2,354 | $471 | -80% |
| Edward McNabb | $2,068 | $468 | -77.4% |
| Dennis Caldwell | $2,567 | $464 | -81.9% |
| Bryan Jason Knight | $2,362 | $453 | -80.8% |
| Bobby Barger | $1,834 | $452 | -75.4% |
| Michael G. Runyan | $1,892 | $439 | -76.8% |
| Buford Calfee Jr. | $1,573 | $426 | -72.9% |
| James Herbert Smith | $1,583 | $423 | -73.3% |
| Charles Thad Balch | $1,895 | $412 | -78.3% |
| Mitchell D. Webb | $1,463 | $406 | -72.2% |
| Dean Gilliam | $1,243 | $400 | -67.8% |
| Zane Almany | $297 | $389 | 31% |
| Jim Bryant | $1,672 | $388 | -76.8% |
| Thomas W. Denton | $13,610 | $380 | -97.2% |
| Vaughn L. Moore | $1,584 | $376 | -76.3% |
| Benjamin Watts | $2,179 | $376 | -82.7% |
| Ronald H. Hawkins | $5,851 | $367 | -93.7% |
| Michael R. Nease | $1,772 | $363 | -79.5% |
| Charlotte A. Davis | $1,247 | $348 | -72.1% |
| Charles Scott Styles | $1,862 | $340 | -81.7% |
| Guy Hommel | $2,289 | $335 | -85.4% |
| Jonathan Greg Byrd | $2,971 | $332 | -88.8% |
| Michael Reichert | $2,570 | $329 | -87.2% |
| Juanita O. Lee | $1,279 | $326 | -74.5% |
| Stephen E. Balch | $891 | $322 | -63.9% |
| Ben Hicks | $1,430 | $318 | -77.8% |
| Kenny Ray Strange | $3,224 | $314 | -90.3% |
| Terry Fox | $2,934 | $313 | -89.3% |
| Lala Ann Sudbrink | $1,056 | $306 | -71% |
| Oscar H. Hall | $1,780 | $304 | -82.9% |
| Keary Aubrey Nease | $2,123 | $304 | -85.7% |
| Larry E. Robeson | $1,585 | $301 | -81% |
| Ruth M Strickland Revocable Trust | $838 | $287 | -65.8% |
| David M. Boyd | $10,260 | $274 | -97.3% |
| Kevin Wills | $2,616 | $273 | -89.6% |
| Frank M. Smith | $1,400 | $270 | -80.7% |
| Anthony Hale | $900 | $270 | -70% |
| Willie Ann Holt | $1,760 | $263 | -85.1% |
| Jimmy Daniels | $1,100 | $253 | -77% |
| Jeff Jennings | $1,381 | $246 | -82.2% |
| Karen Ricker | $891 | $232 | -74% |
| Harold Blazer | $363 | $228 | -37.2% |
| Dale Hartsell | $942 | $225 | -76.1% |
| David Holt | $748 | $225 | -69.9% |
| E. J. Seay | $759 | $220 | -71% |
| Bob Hurst | $1,052 | $214 | -79.7% |
| Herbert H. Sane | $968 | $194 | -80% |
| Laura Rader | $778 | $190 | -75.6% |
| Ronnie Landers | $748 | $188 | -74.9% |
| Danny Ray Odell | $462 | $135 | -70.8% |
| Benton Hurst | $660 | $121 | -81.7% |
| Joyce E. Kinser | $567 | $83 | -85.4% |
| Kelly S. Vaupel | $68 | $54 | -20.6% |
| Brian Turner | $825 | $0 | -100% |
| Carl G. Sisk | $3,962 | $0 | -100% |
| Eric Ellison | $491 | $0 | -100% |
| Adam Sizemore | $714 | $0 | -100% |
| Crystal Dawn Sane | $135 | $0 | -100% |
| Garry Renner | $6,212 | $0 | -100% |
| Johnny Rader | $275 | $0 | -100% |
| Tommy D. Manis | $1,100 | $0 | -100% |
| Wayne Rader | $605 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $894,304 | $290,532 | -67.5% |
Alerts Sign-up