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In 2021, 78 farmers in cities within Orleans County received a total of $2.2 million in 141 farm subsidies, a 49.6% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $4.3 million in 275 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maxwells Neighborhood Farm, LLC | $595,276 | $191,586 | -67.8% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $184,291 | -- |
| Chaput Family Farms | $866,078 | $157,041 | -81.9% |
| Cornerstone Dairy, LLC | $994,231 | $141,129 | -85.8% |
| Ronald J. Patenaude | $83,345 | $74,452 | -10.7% |
| Therrien Farm, Inc. | $43,938 | $72,140 | 64.2% |
| Lori Royer | $79,445 | $71,768 | -9.7% |
| John G. Morin | $47,895 | $62,460 | 30.4% |
| Marcella Guillette | $36,664 | $56,264 | 53.5% |
| Dairy Air Farm, LLC | $147,971 | $56,006 | -62.2% |
| Jamie Rivers | $53,099 | $54,279 | 2.2% |
| Mead Farms, LLC | $52,356 | $54,181 | 3.5% |
| Warren Hill Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Lafoe Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Reginald Riendeau | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Adrian Fortin | $0 | $38,601 | -- |
| Judy G. Lacross | $25,398 | $38,499 | 51.6% |
| John S. Andrew Jr. | $83,037 | $37,647 | -54.7% |
| Randall Family Farm, LLC | $47,337 | $36,314 | -23.3% |
| Travis Judd | $15,037 | $35,877 | 138.6% |
| L & N Inkel Logging | $0 | $35,382 | -- |
| Daniel Webster | $58,382 | $34,264 | -41.3% |
| Michael A. Riendeau | $10,497 | $32,886 | 213.3% |
| J & R Family Farm, LLC | $27,067 | $30,274 | 11.8% |
| Maplehurst Farm | $26,605 | $28,949 | 8.8% |
| John Broe Jr. | $43,831 | $28,880 | -34.1% |
| Charles L. Hammond | $25,666 | $28,563 | 11.3% |
| Marcel & Gaetane Patenaude | $33,553 | $28,094 | -16.3% |
| Denise B. Pothier | $29,465 | $24,343 | -17.4% |
| Benjamin Moulton | $30,889 | $22,987 | -25.6% |
| Crazy 8 Farm, Inc. | $22,847 | $22,497 | -1.5% |
| Alain Leblanc | $25,378 | $21,771 | -14.2% |
| Daniel Michaud | $32,812 | $21,692 | -33.9% |
| Dakota Whittemore | $7,502 | $20,885 | 178.4% |
| Kendra Whittemore | $7,650 | $20,885 | 173% |
| Thomas Boutin | $19,865 | $20,754 | 4.5% |
| Shat-Acres Farm | $15,247 | $20,459 | 34.2% |
| Adam Lidback | $29,607 | $17,710 | -40.2% |
| Ofsuryk Farm, LLC | $5,114 | $17,279 | 237.9% |
| Thomas Hill | $25,056 | $15,916 | -36.5% |
| Misty-Anne Koloski | $0 | $15,805 | -- |
| Michael McCarthy | $15,253 | $14,670 | -3.8% |
| Marc R. Marquis | $11,908 | $12,850 | 7.9% |
| Tiffany J. Marquis | $12,047 | $12,850 | 6.7% |
| Karen R. Bathalon | $15,073 | $10,317 | -31.6% |
| Allan Bathalon | $15,197 | $10,302 | -32.2% |
| Robert L. Lepage Jr. | $14,621 | $8,976 | -38.6% |
| Shaye Collins | $25,536 | $8,277 | -67.6% |
| Hard Climb Farm, LLC | $11,610 | $7,645 | -34.2% |
| Sarah E. Boutin | $21,019 | $7,052 | -66.4% |
| Candice Leblanc | $0 | $6,739 | -- |
| David Leblanc | $0 | $6,739 | -- |
| Danika Johnson | $0 | $5,182 | -- |
| Craig A. Mayo | $0 | $5,175 | -- |
| Mark Colburn | $61,800 | $5,028 | -91.9% |
| Richard H. Labrecque | $0 | $3,281 | -- |
| Adam Parke | $135 | $2,134 | 1,480.7% |
| Thomas W. Wood | $13,785 | $2,106 | -84.7% |
| Jonathan Rowell | $7,098 | $1,770 | -75.1% |
| Richard Bouffard | $1,122 | $1,122 | 0% |
| James E. Brewer Jr. | $0 | $1,100 | -- |
| Howard Collins | $9,462 | $1,082 | -88.6% |
| Farm Service Agency | $2,218 | $1,072 | -51.7% |
| Robert Lawson | $962 | $998 | 3.7% |
| Brent Grenier | $3,741 | $977 | -73.9% |
| Lahar's Maple Ridge, LLC | $0 | $958 | -- |
| Deronda Bird Page | $2,271 | $819 | -63.9% |
| Carol A. Madison | $2,269 | $818 | -63.9% |
| Terrance F Glodgett | $0 | $674 | -- |
| Edward & Jane Jackson | $10,272 | $448 | -95.6% |
| Donna Urie | $427 | $427 | 0% |
| Sweet Valley Sugarhouse | $0 | $395 | -- |
| Douglas B. Maxwell | $0 | $361 | -- |
| Mar-Jo Acres | $9,533 | $187 | -98% |
| Steve Tarbox | $354 | $81 | -77.1% |
| Daniel P. Royer | $18,015 | $30 | -99.8% |
| Andersonville Farm, LLC | $121,574 | $20 | -100% |
| Theresa Fortin | $47,324 | $14 | -100% |
| Joseph Barton | $4,489 | $0 | -100% |
| Lyman E. Gilman | $6,270 | $0 | -100% |
| Normand Inkel | $2,741 | $0 | -100% |
| Renee J. Baker | $366 | $0 | -100% |
| Steven Monroe | $2,406 | $0 | -100% |
| Adam Sanville | $957 | $0 | -100% |
| Andre G. Morin | $4,351 | $0 | -100% |
| Daniel L. Ducharme | $8,789 | $0 | -100% |
| Edward Fortin | $899 | $0 | -100% |
| Matthew Patenaude | $362 | $0 | -100% |
| Steven Patenaude | $362 | $0 | -100% |
| Alfred Carrier | $2,117 | $0 | -100% |
| Dylan Bodette | $24,375 | $0 | -100% |
| Evan Perron | $12,378 | $0 | -100% |
| Harold Shelton | $3,237 | $0 | -100% |
| Marvin Perron | $591 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard Epinette | $2,061 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas E. Gilbert | $258 | $0 | -100% |
| Brock G. Columbia | $9,989 | $0 | -100% |
| Chad McCormick | $3,495 | $0 | -100% |
| Dale Perron | $8,977 | $0 | -100% |
| Denis Bathalon | $6,679 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $49,020 | $0 | -100% |
| Gray's Sugar Shack, Inc. | $24,861 | $0 | -100% |
| Joan Therrien | $9,153 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael Quirion | $1,475 | $0 | -100% |
| Sean Brown | $3,609 | $0 | -100% |
| Dustin Royer | $1,165 | $0 | -100% |
| Eric D. Leblanc | $12,063 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Judd Jr. | $1,476 | $0 | -100% |
| Gerald Fortin | $2,545 | $0 | -100% |
| Jesse Coe | $1,287 | $0 | -100% |
| Misty-Anne Koloski | $218 | $0 | -100% |
| Ronald Perkins | $662 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $4,316,449 | $2,174,111 | -49.6% |
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