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In 2021, 107 farmers in cities within Bucks County received a total of $990,919 in 183 farm subsidies, a 50.9% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2 million in 359 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molenaar Greenhouse, LLC | $0 | $79,516 | -- |
| David a & Joshua D Bishop | $94,320 | $69,994 | -25.8% |
| Jay Geissinger- Meadow Springs I. Farms | $0 | $67,197 | -- |
| Stoneback Farms | $163,222 | $61,464 | -62.3% |
| Shan-Gri-LA Farm, LLC | $0 | $61,397 | -- |
| Ray Detweiler | $42,135 | $57,443 | 36.3% |
| David W. Crooke | $54,497 | $46,484 | -14.7% |
| Jamie Todd Heacock | $38,997 | $40,649 | 4.2% |
| James R. Harris | $52,625 | $35,726 | -32.1% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $33,192 | -- |
| Charlann Farms, Inc. | $41,509 | $32,517 | -21.7% |
| Ken-Jan Farm, Inc. | $58,752 | $26,898 | -54.2% |
| Delaware Valley University | $19,564 | $26,633 | 36.1% |
| Windy Springs Farm | $57,926 | $25,275 | -56.4% |
| Mark W. Schmidt | $41,440 | $19,121 | -53.9% |
| Harry E. Hopkins | $62,051 | $18,445 | -70.3% |
| Benjamin J Zdaniewicz JR | $35,845 | $13,932 | -61.1% |
| Stephen Worthington | $0 | $13,545 | -- |
| Larry Shelmire | $22,826 | $13,528 | -40.7% |
| Penn View Farms | $22,080 | $13,429 | -39.2% |
| Dean C. Overholt | $18,713 | $10,519 | -43.8% |
| Miles Creek Farm, LLC | $9,364 | $9,364 | 0% |
| Donald & Bruce Crouse | $40,305 | $8,802 | -78.2% |
| Meadow Brook Farms, LLC | $17,683 | $7,105 | -59.8% |
| Farm Trustee 2 U/The James H Stockdale Trustee | $14,350 | $6,714 | -53.2% |
| Aaron L. Stepnoski | $10,538 | $6,655 | -36.8% |
| Paul R. Longacre | $16,016 | $6,366 | -60.3% |
| Rowlands Pennsylvania Produce | $0 | $6,253 | -- |
| John M. Frederick | $17,095 | $6,114 | -64.2% |
| Abbott Salsman Farms, LLC | $15,380 | $5,856 | -61.9% |
| Edward G. Gayman | $11,298 | $5,804 | -48.6% |
| Deborah D. Debardeleben | $9,658 | $4,829 | -50% |
| DS Wiggins Farm C Holdings, LLC | $3,877 | $4,788 | 23.5% |
| Kenneth C. Worthington | $28,346 | $4,734 | -83.3% |
| Lindsays Farm | $7,963 | $4,633 | -41.8% |
| John Caroff | $6,060 | $4,587 | -24.3% |
| Ernest Everitt | $4,525 | $4,525 | 0% |
| Westerman Farms Joint Venture | $8,819 | $4,484 | -49.2% |
| Claire Markwalder | $4,466 | $4,466 | 0% |
| Conrad Markwalder | $4,466 | $4,466 | 0% |
| Glenn Wismer | $10,849 | $4,326 | -60.1% |
| Thomas Weldon | $6,733 | $4,246 | -36.9% |
| David L Zapicchi | $848 | $4,085 | 381.7% |
| David A. Swartley | $7,559 | $3,827 | -49.4% |
| Thomas Stewart | $0 | $3,633 | -- |
| Stephen A. Worthington | $0 | $3,465 | -- |
| Richard O. Smith | $5,572 | $3,411 | -38.8% |
| Melvin Ray Moyer | $1,065 | $3,386 | 217.9% |
| Timothy Tieperman | $3,342 | $3,342 | 0% |
| Barn Stone Farm, LLC | $0 | $3,320 | -- |
| David Dise | $7,159 | $3,180 | -55.6% |
| Stephen Orzechowski | $0 | $3,032 | -- |
| Kathleen J. Mahan | $11,691 | $2,919 | -75% |
| Michael Richard Jamann | $4,521 | $2,829 | -37.4% |
| Ming Gu | $4,674 | $2,507 | -46.4% |
| Manfred & Manfred W Marschewski | $3,325 | $2,465 | -25.9% |
| Robert C. Gerstenberg | $8,286 | $2,456 | -70.4% |
| Nicholas Dautel | $2,434 | $2,434 | 0% |
| Verna-Verna Aileen Rogers Inter-Vivos Trustee Aileen Rogers | $4,815 | $2,422 | -49.7% |
| Paul C. Shelmire III | $0 | $2,360 | -- |
| Jeffrey Heacock | $3,676 | $2,267 | -38.3% |
| Lillian C. Gordley | $7,577 | $2,213 | -70.8% |
| Felix Buehner Jr. | $3,635 | $2,084 | -42.7% |
| Richard Kohl | $3,171 | $2,070 | -34.7% |
| Barefoot Botanicals, LLC | $10,347 | $2,000 | -80.7% |
| Eric Kreisher | $1,970 | $1,970 | 0% |
| Clifford Moyer & Sons | $205 | $1,955 | 853.7% |
| Ann H. Noftsger | $4,533 | $1,954 | -56.9% |
| Michael F. Stitzinger | $1,238 | $1,880 | 51.9% |
| Randy Labs | $7,766 | $1,836 | -76.4% |
| Luann Ingram | $4,152 | $1,734 | -58.2% |
| Jim Hale | $1,884 | $1,622 | -13.9% |
| John M. Hunsberger | $1,996 | $1,567 | -21.5% |
| Farm Trustee 1 U/The James H Stockdale Trustee | $6,063 | $1,525 | -74.8% |
| Bruce A. Weikel | $4,107 | $1,455 | -64.6% |
| Dale W. Hockman | $5,759 | $1,345 | -76.6% |
| Craig Courtney | $2,082 | $1,319 | -36.6% |
| Edward Zelinka | $1,415 | $1,220 | -13.8% |
| Patti Keeler | $2,514 | $1,091 | -56.6% |
| Scott McLeod | $1,088 | $1,088 | 0% |
| Windybush Hay Farms, LLC | $1,025 | $1,082 | 5.6% |
| Curtis M. Wireman IV | $2,212 | $1,070 | -51.6% |
| Jacob Crooke | $1,260 | $998 | -20.8% |
| Mark A. Scheetz | $2,072 | $959 | -53.7% |
| John W. Daniels | $2,106 | $928 | -55.9% |
| John Hamburger | $1,500 | $915 | -39% |
| Steven P. Daniels | $893 | $893 | 0% |
| Andrew J. Robison | $2,063 | $893 | -56.7% |
| Matthew Maximuck SR | $33,874 | $805 | -97.6% |
| Lyle Kresge | $1,317 | $804 | -39% |
| D W R Enterprises, Inc. | $1,568 | $773 | -50.7% |
| Philip D. Kratz | $721 | $721 | 0% |
| Nanjun He | $1,357 | $608 | -55.2% |
| Terrance Leidy | $508 | $508 | 0% |
| Robert Torba | $489 | $489 | 0% |
| Michelle Fluck | $448 | $448 | 0% |
| Randall Tanghe | $448 | $448 | 0% |
| Wayne N. Cordes | $442 | $442 | 0% |
| Eugene J. Sopel | $771 | $408 | -47.1% |
| Henry Weisel | $518 | $375 | -27.6% |
| Richard D. Bowman | $721 | $237 | -67.1% |
| Harry Oleksiak | $235 | $235 | 0% |
| Carolyn Joyce Wolters | $205 | $205 | 0% |
| Marion C. Stephenson | $205 | $205 | 0% |
| George Race | $0 | $92 | -- |
| Sandra E. Lyall | $133 | $79 | -40.6% |
| Blooming Glen Farm | $47,291 | $10 | -100% |
| Gro-N-Sell, Inc. | $354,304 | $0 | -100% |
| Daniel A. Allen | $163 | $0 | -100% |
| Amanda Lindsay Burgan la Laughing | $2,743 | $0 | -100% |
| Keenan Farms | $1,113 | $0 | -100% |
| Marjorie W. Kohl | $3,582 | $0 | -100% |
| Wayne W. Long | $238 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles Veety | $5,742 | $0 | -100% |
| Mark H. Hopkins Jr. | $6,307 | $0 | -100% |
| The Bloom Flower Farm, LLC | $2,752 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul Oleyar | $384 | $0 | -100% |
| Douglas Hudak | $131 | $0 | -100% |
| Roots to River Farm, LLC | $17,536 | $0 | -100% |
| Solebury Orchards, LLC | $91,002 | $0 | -100% |
| Jay R. Landis | $303 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul H. Vezzetti | $980 | $0 | -100% |
| Diddens-North Greenhouses, Inc. | $20,404 | $0 | -100% |
| Jay Geissinger- Meadow I. Springs | $82,839 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph J. Rossi | $1,540 | $0 | -100% |
| Rudy Koestel | $3,643 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas L Salpino II | $2,999 | $0 | -100% |
| Walter Orlowski | $252 | $0 | -100% |
| Ronald H. Slack | $2,399 | $0 | -100% |
| Samuel Bryan | $2,145 | $0 | -100% |
| BW Crouse, LLC | $10,256 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Macik | $8 | $0 | -100% |
| Bolton Turkey Farm, LLC | $79,586 | $0 | -100% |
| Marvin W Sprenkel Irrevocable Trust | $2,088 | $0 | -100% |
| Menina L Boyle | $134 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul Hansen | $3,892 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,018,609 | $990,919 | -50.9% |
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