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In 2021, 83 farmers in cities within Custer County received a total of $2.2 million in 194 farm subsidies, a 0.8% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.3 million in 207 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chance R. Pehrson | $180,163 | $204,975 | 13.8% |
| Challis Creek Cattle Company, LLC | $163,283 | $136,868 | -16.2% |
| East Fork Ranches, LLC | $59,212 | $134,335 | 126.9% |
| Christopher W. James Trust Ua | $71,662 | $111,582 | 55.7% |
| Bret L. Zollinger | $61,193 | $102,906 | 68.2% |
| Preston H. Cutler | $56,859 | $89,286 | 57% |
| Mitch D. Wilson | $32,114 | $83,258 | 159.3% |
| Mountain Springs Ranch, LLC | $195,953 | $82,394 | -58% |
| Chamberlain Ranch | $69,909 | $68,124 | -2.6% |
| Garden Creek Farms | $5,408 | $61,069 | 1,029.2% |
| Dickey Livestock C/O Gordan Fulton | $80,977 | $61,054 | -24.6% |
| Herbert H. Whitworth Jr. | $107,795 | $59,318 | -45% |
| Scott L. McAffee | $30,217 | $58,844 | 94.7% |
| Eddie Baker Jr. | $22,049 | $52,905 | 139.9% |
| Mitchell Corrigan | $16,265 | $48,349 | 197.3% |
| Bartosz W. Wojciechowski | $29,975 | $47,500 | 58.5% |
| Logan E. Williams Jr. | $33,125 | $47,067 | 42.1% |
| MT. Borah Ranch, LLC | $77,170 | $46,333 | -40% |
| Gary W. Ingram | $27,170 | $45,841 | 68.7% |
| Carol Donahue | $44,388 | $45,171 | 1.8% |
| Philps Ranch, LLC | $24,805 | $41,491 | 67.3% |
| Kenneth L. Buckwalter | $34,156 | $40,113 | 17.4% |
| Ryan Hughes | $43,533 | $35,664 | -18.1% |
| Clay Allen Jones | $11,825 | $35,021 | 196.2% |
| Joshua Pehrson | $41,315 | $31,125 | -24.7% |
| Shane Rosenkrance | $47,080 | $30,301 | -35.6% |
| Randy Woodbury | $22,217 | $29,591 | 33.2% |
| Seefried Ranch, LLC | $42,128 | $29,219 | -30.6% |
| Robert A. Piva | $55,689 | $28,941 | -48% |
| 7 C Ranch, LLC | $33,682 | $25,953 | -22.9% |
| Robert Douglas Simmons | $24,018 | $23,436 | -2.4% |
| Michael J. Bankson | $3,894 | $22,822 | 486.1% |
| Julian Piva | $0 | $21,131 | -- |
| Jake Johnson | $88,423 | $19,030 | -78.5% |
| Ken Nelson | $20,590 | $17,730 | -13.9% |
| Joseph A. Piva | $9,570 | $16,856 | 76.1% |
| Joshua Bryan Felton | $22,737 | $15,665 | -31.1% |
| Vitality Feeds, LLC | $31,307 | $14,373 | -54.1% |
| Marshall Ogden | $12,081 | $12,081 | 0% |
| John C. Lambert | $7,773 | $11,767 | 51.4% |
| Kevin B. Donahue | $0 | $10,826 | -- |
| Jay D. Parkinson | $2,818 | $9,585 | 240.1% |
| Jayson K. Giesbrecht | $11,323 | $8,322 | -26.5% |
| Troy R. Ziegler | $18,862 | $7,698 | -59.2% |
| Jordan Marlyn Rosenkrance Yockey | $11,337 | $6,838 | -39.7% |
| Randy D. Pehrson | $22,056 | $6,601 | -70.1% |
| Daniel P. Mulick | $16,752 | $6,446 | -61.5% |
| Elkhorn Creek Ventures, LLC | $15,025 | $6,330 | -57.9% |
| Shiloh Warm Springs Ranch, LLC | $0 | $5,709 | -- |
| Darling Creek Livestock, LLC | $1,595 | $5,535 | 247% |
| Ronald T. Jones | $4,785 | $5,404 | 12.9% |
| Nelson Mackay Ranch, LLC | $4,097 | $5,266 | 28.5% |
| Ryan N. Hunt | $14,282 | $5,149 | -63.9% |
| Randolph Corgatelli | $3,795 | $4,954 | 30.5% |
| Melissa D. Dubois | $1,404 | $4,852 | 245.6% |
| B & D Colts & Cattle, LLC | $6,273 | $4,280 | -31.8% |
| P Bar Ranch, LLC | $0 | $4,125 | -- |
| Bruno Cattle | $0 | $3,770 | -- |
| Kelvin D. Krosch | $25,056 | $3,720 | -85.2% |
| Tim Corrigan | $462 | $3,466 | 650.2% |
| Ben Beason | $540 | $3,257 | 503.1% |
| Keith Hill | $15,076 | $3,114 | -79.3% |
| Pat Powers | $10,343 | $2,938 | -71.6% |
| Bruce K. Warner | $3,658 | $2,669 | -27% |
| Michael Cutler | $9,307 | $2,362 | -74.6% |
| Travis Lee Skaar | $5,608 | $2,318 | -58.7% |
| Carrie Heaps | $8,484 | $2,104 | -75.2% |
| Jake Zollinger | $6,114 | $2,039 | -66.7% |
| Debbie Johnson | $9,127 | $1,959 | -78.5% |
| Mark Bruno | $7,557 | $1,713 | -77.3% |
| Tyler D. Hughes | $5,383 | $1,547 | -71.3% |
| Stephen Teichert | $31,936 | $1,540 | -95.2% |
| Guy Swearingen | $0 | $1,210 | -- |
| Clinton D. Dubois | $528 | $1,093 | 107% |
| Kurtis Koeppen | $5,576 | $981 | -82.4% |
| John B. Spencer | $4,151 | $810 | -80.5% |
| Tina Holt | $690 | $554 | -19.7% |
| Delores I Rosenkrance | $2,119 | $401 | -81.1% |
| Scott Crabb | $357 | $357 | 0% |
| Willie Toby Shields | $1,593 | $224 | -85.9% |
| Jace M. Jernberg | $1,089 | $218 | -80% |
| Bill Lindsey | $777 | $147 | -81.1% |
| Dixon Miles McAffee | $465 | $73 | -84.3% |
| Blue Rock Farms, LLC | $10,342 | $0 | -100% |
| Bruce Bruno | $4,510 | $0 | -100% |
| Rolf Guerrero | $2,469 | $0 | -100% |
| Dean Rowsell | $8,458 | $0 | -100% |
| Peggy Pehrson | $178 | $0 | -100% |
| Randy Dains | $1,314 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,259,381 | $2,241,993 | -0.8% |
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