Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 215 farmers in cities within Southampton County received a total of $5.8 million in 472 farm subsidies, a 51.8% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $12.1 million in 870 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 Southampton County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowe Brothers | $786,837 | $349,403 | -55.6% |
| Rosemont Farms, LLC | $348,128 | $158,056 | -54.6% |
| Davis Farming, LLC | $50,419 | $155,382 | 208.2% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $150,556 | -- |
| Ricky Gurganus | $202,217 | $133,048 | -34.2% |
| Thorpe & Thorpe, LLC | $210,443 | $130,930 | -37.8% |
| Plank Road Farm, LLC | $269,611 | $117,472 | -56.4% |
| D & M Whitley Farms, LLC | $204,269 | $112,475 | -44.9% |
| Pittman Farms, LLC | $69,316 | $111,723 | 61.2% |
| Everett Farms, Inc. | $248,174 | $110,833 | -55.3% |
| Alvis Earl Johnson | $240,251 | $110,475 | -54% |
| Sandy Ridge Farms, Inc. | $203,220 | $109,982 | -45.9% |
| Frederick Brent Felts | $231,923 | $102,517 | -55.8% |
| Rountree Farms, LLC | $203,742 | $99,014 | -51.4% |
| Nurney Farms, LLC | $231,141 | $95,883 | -58.5% |
| Bain Bros | $232,221 | $91,121 | -60.8% |
| Michael E Grizzard, Inc. | $187,038 | $90,920 | -51.4% |
| Foxhill Farms, Inc. | $196,099 | $90,860 | -53.7% |
| Flaggy Run Farms, LLC | $222,179 | $90,273 | -59.4% |
| John Michael Mann | $177,900 | $88,592 | -50.2% |
| Matthew B. Covington | $145,704 | $87,791 | -39.7% |
| Pine Circle Farms, LLC | $199,545 | $85,181 | -57.3% |
| Howard C. Worrell | $166,374 | $83,237 | -50% |
| Betty G. Mann | $81,684 | $79,103 | -3.2% |
| B & R Farms, Inc. | $142,727 | $77,725 | -45.5% |
| Joseph Dewey Johnson | $169,569 | $76,099 | -55.1% |
| Simmons Bros | $106,274 | $72,171 | -32.1% |
| Hancock Farms, LLC | $145,548 | $70,217 | -51.8% |
| Cedar Lawn Farms, LLC | $203,568 | $70,174 | -65.5% |
| Nurney Brothers | $136,760 | $69,904 | -48.9% |
| Angelico Farms, LLC | $127,330 | $69,035 | -45.8% |
| Davis R. Bryant Jr. | $0 | $68,783 | -- |
| Gregory Scott Edwards | $105,172 | $67,872 | -35.5% |
| Terry Holloman | $188,116 | $66,965 | -64.4% |
| Clifford Fox | $167,103 | $66,612 | -60.1% |
| Parker Farms, LLC | $127,731 | $65,951 | -48.4% |
| Hugh Ryan Holloman | $129,089 | $65,176 | -49.5% |
| Edward Stuart Drake | $116,066 | $64,240 | -44.7% |
| George T Drake JR Farms, LLC | $95,426 | $62,242 | -34.8% |
| Lowe Farms, LLC | $155,497 | $60,575 | -61% |
| James Robert Williams | $111,854 | $60,125 | -46.2% |
| Kenny Edwards | $119,193 | $58,363 | -51% |
| Gwen Johnson | $108,908 | $57,635 | -47.1% |
| D & T Farms | $109,699 | $56,154 | -48.8% |
| Michael Brian Darden | $124,285 | $56,062 | -54.9% |
| Wesley Adam Darden | $124,211 | $56,034 | -54.9% |
| Michael J. Marks Jr. | $125,367 | $55,803 | -55.5% |
| Michael J Marks | $146,492 | $55,733 | -62% |
| Clarke E. Fox | $119,705 | $55,247 | -53.8% |
| Parkway Farms, LLC | $103,311 | $55,208 | -46.6% |
| Southeast Fiber Supply, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Adam W. Moore Trucking, LLC | $0 | $49,675 | -- |
| R E and Rodger R Drake, Inc. | $113,459 | $48,721 | -57.1% |
| John R. Crocker | $85,378 | $48,550 | -43.1% |
| Glenn K. Francis Jr. | $136,390 | $46,936 | -65.6% |
| Robert Louis Smith | $124,060 | $46,158 | -62.8% |
| Wesley Barnes | $74,313 | $45,215 | -39.2% |
| Colonial Farm Credit Aca | $87,366 | $44,197 | -49.4% |
| Drake Ta Drake Bros W. T. Farms Jr. | $116,111 | $40,844 | -64.8% |
| David W. Edwards | $78,400 | $39,037 | -50.2% |
| Chance Wayne Crowder Ta Crowder Farms | $0 | $38,351 | -- |
| Roger Gray Jr. | $50,401 | $37,569 | -25.5% |
| Joseph Leslie Everett Jr. | $66,590 | $36,567 | -45.1% |
| Diggs Brothers | $113,340 | $35,228 | -68.9% |
| Applewhite's Acre, LLC | $54,725 | $28,810 | -47.4% |
| Samuel B. Drewry Jr. | $47,843 | $28,382 | -40.7% |
| Paige H. Pulley Jr. | $44,230 | $24,808 | -43.9% |
| Bernard Wilmer Pittman | $42,206 | $22,747 | -46.1% |
| R. T. Lassiter Jr. | $33,116 | $22,110 | -33.2% |
| Honey Hole Farms, LLC | $0 | $20,729 | -- |
| Christopher Drake | $33,550 | $19,707 | -41.3% |
| David Thomas Worsham | $46,851 | $18,910 | -59.6% |
| 3rd Generation, LLC | $37,363 | $18,416 | -50.7% |
| W. L. Young Jr. | $30,895 | $17,696 | -42.7% |
| VWF Farms, LLC | $36,428 | $16,984 | -53.4% |
| Thomas I. Barham | $28,720 | $16,246 | -43.4% |
| Draper Farm | $49,094 | $15,088 | -69.3% |
| J. C. Bunn III | $23,515 | $14,645 | -37.7% |
| Peggy H. Johnson | $53,028 | $13,981 | -73.6% |
| Lynda T. Updike | $26,572 | $13,752 | -48.2% |
| Bruce S. Phillips | $32,308 | $13,410 | -58.5% |
| Anthony Cuthbertson | $28,524 | $13,023 | -54.3% |
| John 'jack' W. Lowe | $31,949 | $12,888 | -59.7% |
| Smithview Farms, LLC | $11,546 | $12,450 | 7.8% |
| Matthew Travis Thorpe | $21,946 | $12,296 | -44% |
| Roger Gray | $2,188 | $11,661 | 433% |
| Davis & Sons, Inc. | $348,395 | $11,488 | -96.7% |
| Betty J. Barham | $20,173 | $11,339 | -43.8% |
| Kenneth Tilton Warren Jr. | $33,161 | $11,019 | -66.8% |
| Russell Drake Jr. | $21,753 | $10,778 | -50.5% |
| Donald Wade Little | $15,547 | $10,296 | -33.8% |
| Blair J. Bunn | $15,063 | $10,203 | -32.3% |
| The Gene Andrew Edwards Family Trust | $0 | $10,099 | -- |
| Catherine B Cobb Interim Trust | $13,164 | $8,728 | -33.7% |
| Daniel T. Riddick | $18,539 | $8,721 | -53% |
| Crowder Farms, LLC | $17,722 | $8,057 | -54.5% |
| Jason Colby Francis | $15,300 | $8,056 | -47.3% |
| Sylvia Edwards | $11,312 | $8,014 | -29.2% |
| Eric T. Drake | $14,184 | $7,863 | -44.6% |
| Anne P. Kitchen | $11,674 | $7,427 | -36.4% |
| Dennis M. Gray | $10,992 | $6,973 | -36.6% |
| Merritt L. Raiford | $13,649 | $6,930 | -49.2% |
| Jimmy Fuller | $7,553 | $6,609 | -12.5% |
| Adrian Brooks | $18,182 | $6,373 | -64.9% |
| Colton S. Pulley | $10,535 | $6,345 | -39.8% |
| Jerry R. Delk | $16,881 | $5,681 | -66.3% |
| Nurney Farm | $13,136 | $5,510 | -58.1% |
| Cheryl Parker | $10,460 | $5,496 | -47.5% |
| T. L. L. P. Bain | $6,019 | $5,375 | -10.7% |
| Walter S. Tucker | $8,038 | $5,097 | -36.6% |
| Richard Gray | $50,439 | $5,042 | -90% |
| Teresa Savedge | $6,867 | $4,881 | -28.9% |
| Shelton Keith Muhammad | $0 | $4,855 | -- |
| Irene Bulls | $0 | $4,418 | -- |
| Brian Mack Francis | $0 | $4,354 | -- |
| Benjamin Greg Pope | $23,317 | $4,328 | -81.4% |
| John H. Drewry III | $4,314 | $4,265 | -1.1% |
| Little Texas Farms, LLC | $1,700 | $4,096 | 140.9% |
| David J Fowler & Son's, Inc. | $13,478 | $4,075 | -69.8% |
| Donnie P. Whitfield | $4,969 | $3,962 | -20.3% |
| Charles M. Jean | $4,040 | $3,948 | -2.3% |
| Jemar, LLC | $11,274 | $3,662 | -67.5% |
| Michael Williams | $7,283 | $3,471 | -52.3% |
| John William Hawthorne Jr. | $5,366 | $3,461 | -35.5% |
| Westley Barnes Drake | $6,410 | $3,344 | -47.8% |
| C. D. Felts | $6,142 | $3,226 | -47.5% |
| Boykins Hogs, Inc. | $5,510 | $2,760 | -49.9% |
| Mildred C. Bradshaw | $2,651 | $2,655 | 0.2% |
| Thomas M. Westheimer | $2,828 | $2,600 | -8.1% |
| Peter M. Vick | $4,694 | $2,488 | -47% |
| Hugh W. Malcolm | $0 | $2,404 | -- |
| Leonard T. Newbern | $3,147 | $2,373 | -24.6% |
| James S. Fekete | $3,620 | $2,329 | -35.7% |
| Steve W. Little | $5,784 | $2,263 | -60.9% |
| John W. Fowler | $10,812 | $2,072 | -80.8% |
| John Blount Thorpe III | $11,836 | $1,989 | -83.2% |
| Julia G. Williams | $14,155 | $1,908 | -86.5% |
| James A. Bulls | $14,291 | $1,834 | -87.2% |
| James Thomas Cooke Jr. | $3,987 | $1,796 | -55% |
| Jordan Brooks Francis | $653 | $1,725 | 164.2% |
| Elisha Barnes | $2,008 | $1,667 | -17% |
| Betty Pond Beale | $1,661 | $1,661 | 0% |
| Alton R. Jewell | $1,975 | $1,619 | -18% |
| Randy Wade | $6,803 | $1,554 | -77.2% |
| Joseph S. Vick | $1,496 | $1,496 | 0% |
| Capron 10 | $1,449 | $1,449 | 0% |
| Robert Earl Jones | $2,687 | $1,434 | -46.6% |
| Lisa Edwards Danielson | $490 | $1,414 | 188.6% |
| Sallie A. Vick | $2,697 | $1,371 | -49.2% |
| Fuller Farms of VA, Inc. | $1,312 | $1,312 | 0% |
| Midway Farms Holdings, LLC | $1,214 | $1,214 | 0% |
| Samantha M. Hubbs | $1,684 | $1,194 | -29.1% |
| Emerson B. Kitchen Sr. | $1,166 | $1,166 | 0% |
| Nathaniel Francis Farms, LLC | $1,056 | $1,056 | 0% |
| Carolyn E. Eanes | $1,604 | $1,045 | -34.9% |
| R. E. Warren Jr. | $3,762 | $1,004 | -73.3% |
| Frederick W. Felts | $4,301 | $934 | -78.3% |
| Farm Service Agency - FLP | $30,359 | $920 | -97% |
| Ridley Farm, LLC | $912 | $912 | 0% |
| Krystal A. Bryant | $1,459 | $880 | -39.7% |
| Cooper P. Gillette Jr. | $1,557 | $848 | -45.5% |
| William Francis Gillette | $1,557 | $848 | -45.5% |
| Hosea L. Smith | $1,762 | $827 | -53.1% |
| Crossways Farms, LLC | $786 | $786 | 0% |
| Olin L. Rollins | $780 | $780 | 0% |
| Leroy R. Raiford | $755 | $755 | 0% |
| Hubert G Eason Revocable Trust | $719 | $719 | 0% |
| Edwin E. Seymore | $710 | $710 | 0% |
| Jonathan Carr | $21,107 | $675 | -96.8% |
| Peggy B. Simmons | $2,387 | $672 | -71.8% |
| Panda Homestead, LLC | $0 | $664 | -- |
| Linda N. Vick | $612 | $612 | 0% |
| Matthew A. Brantley | $0 | $606 | -- |
| Peggy G. Cooke | $949 | $597 | -37.1% |
| Jordan L. Pulley | $957 | $591 | -38.2% |
| Gail B. Camp | $578 | $578 | 0% |
| Farm Service Agency | $6,472 | $555 | -91.4% |
| Robert E. Davis | $517 | $517 | 0% |
| Alfred Darden Gillette | $0 | $502 | -- |
| Richard R. Dickerson | $475 | $475 | 0% |
| Steve Levay Jr. | $472 | $472 | 0% |
| Popes Station, LLC | $0 | $464 | -- |
| Philip J. Bain Jr. | $711 | $459 | -35.4% |
| Charles H. Hood Jr. | $373 | $445 | 19.3% |
| Thomas B. Simmons | $398 | $398 | 0% |
| Mary M. Davis | $396 | $396 | 0% |
| H. D. Cattle, LLC | $1,858 | $394 | -78.8% |
| Windy Acres Farm, LLC | $832 | $330 | -60.3% |
| Bruce Whitley | $314 | $314 | 0% |
| Amy N. Howell | $1,590 | $296 | -81.4% |
| Harold Pfingst | $289 | $289 | 0% |
| Gary R. Bradshaw | $272 | $272 | 0% |
| Brenda F. Clark | $251 | $251 | 0% |
| Edith H. Barnes | $247 | $247 | 0% |
| Donna B. Rountree | $1,155 | $240 | -79.2% |
| Beale Farms, LLC | $73,625 | $230 | -99.7% |
| James Randolph Nurney | $207 | $207 | 0% |
| J. C. Williams Jr. | $202 | $202 | 0% |
| Berkley M Francis Estate | $12,943 | $195 | -98.5% |
| William M. Boyette | $482 | $194 | -59.8% |
| R. M. Felts Jr. | $174 | $174 | 0% |
| Grady H. Williams | $7 | $172 | 2,357.1% |
| Francis Brothers Farms, LLC | $114 | $114 | 0% |
| James R. Stedman | $81 | $81 | 0% |
| Janice L. Stedman | $103 | $81 | -21.4% |
| Deborah Edwards Johnson | $490 | $74 | -84.9% |
| Charles H. Hood Jr. | $0 | $73 | -- |
| Jean E. Barcroft | $293 | $72 | -75.4% |
| Roger Lee | $66 | $66 | 0% |
| Trust U/W of Robert Bain FBO Jack Bain | $0 | $66 | -- |
| Samuel C. Hillegass | $228 | $65 | -71.5% |
| Michael J. Vaughan | $286 | $63 | -78% |
| Charlene C. Smith | $59 | $59 | 0% |
| Daniel Jefferson Sterling | $58 | $58 | 0% |
| Marital Trust Two U/W Jack P. Bain | $0 | $54 | -- |
| Alexander Goats, LLC | $4,991 | $0 | -100% |
| Boykins Hogs, Inc. | $7,989 | $0 | -100% |
| Margaret Smith Murray | $11,616 | $0 | -100% |
| Dennis M. Woodard | $676 | $0 | -100% |
| Flat Swamp Farms, LLC | $11,581 | $0 | -100% |
| Seth Edwards | $3,523 | $0 | -100% |
| The Gene Andrew Edwards Family Trustee | $15,306 | $0 | -100% |
| Todd Eastwood Newsome | $1,885 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert F Marks III | $21,700 | $0 | -100% |
| Thurman Roberts | $221 | $0 | -100% |
| Vernie Willard Francis III | $7,002 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles B. Rowe | $10,246 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Acengy - FLP | $98 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency - Farm Loan | $14,490 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency - Farm Loan P | $947 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency - Farm Progra | $135 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency-FLP | $55 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $451,070 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm ServiceAgency - FLP | $311 | $0 | -100% |
| FSA - Agent Credit | $10,542 | $0 | -100% |
| Fsa-Flp | $2,495 | $0 | -100% |
| Perry Burgess | $159 | $0 | -100% |
| Connie U. Wright | $1,747 | $0 | -100% |
| Marital Trust Two U/W Jack P. Bai | $127 | $0 | -100% |
| Trust U/W of Robert Bain FBO Jack | $156 | $0 | -100% |
| William W. Worsham | $43 | $0 | -100% |
| Chance Wayne Crowder Ta Crowder | $79,209 | $0 | -100% |
| Davis Bryant | $122,914 | $0 | -100% |
| Louise Story | $4,061 | $0 | -100% |
| Deborah Johnson | $254 | $0 | -100% |
| Kay M. Fowler | $660 | $0 | -100% |
| Lisa Danielson | $254 | $0 | -100% |
| Sedric F. Lowe | $1,925 | $0 | -100% |
| Willard Johnson Jr. | $1,458 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $12,082,037 | $5,828,841 | -51.8% |
Alerts Sign-up