Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 58 farmers in cities within Oxford County received a total of $1.4 million in 62 farm subsidies, a 33.1% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.1 million in 87 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard F. Rice II | $2,217 | $53,385 | 2,308% |
| Daniel Watson | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| John Khiel III Logging & Chipping, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| White's Land Management, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Western Maine Timberlands, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Mccafferty Logging | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Kenneth E. Harmon | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Nicols Bros Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Nicols Brothers Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Coffin Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Morse Logging, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| MW Trucking and Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Dale E Metcalf SR & Sons Logging & Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Mark Cressey Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Robert W Libby & Sons, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| A & B Forestry, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| DGD Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| James Everett | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Maine Turf Company, LLC | $0 | $48,940 | -- |
| Timber Meadow Forestry, Inc. | $0 | $48,882 | -- |
| Kenrick Thibodeau | $0 | $38,580 | -- |
| A. Chartier Trucking & Logging, LLC | $0 | $37,619 | -- |
| Kyle Mann Logging & Tree Work | $0 | $34,484 | -- |
| MCW, Inc. | $0 | $27,722 | -- |
| Jeremy S. Paul | $0 | $26,983 | -- |
| Elbridge Russell | $0 | $26,445 | -- |
| Michael D. Stevens | $0 | $19,216 | -- |
| Michael Brann | $7,796 | $18,830 | 141.5% |
| Michael M. Miller | $0 | $15,812 | -- |
| Dennis E. Stevens | $0 | $15,789 | -- |
| Cameron T. Richards Sr. | $506 | $12,957 | 2,460.7% |
| Robert E Palmer Logging & Trucking | $0 | $10,842 | -- |
| Doug Stevens | $0 | $9,528 | -- |
| Hill Family Farms, LLC | $107,046 | $9,340 | -91.3% |
| Raymond E. Richards | $0 | $8,512 | -- |
| Walter Curtis | $0 | $6,356 | -- |
| Dewayne S Pelkie | $0 | $4,307 | -- |
| Walter Pugsley Jr. | $0 | $3,086 | -- |
| James M. Hilliard | $0 | $1,867 | -- |
| Milan Gammon | $8,983 | $1,785 | -80.1% |
| David E. Gammon | $11,523 | $1,586 | -86.2% |
| Hannah Court | $0 | $978 | -- |
| Matthew T. Thurston | $8,603 | $928 | -89.2% |
| Burnt Meadow Farm | $0 | $918 | -- |
| Glendon R. Thurston | $5,629 | $890 | -84.2% |
| Bumpus Farm, LLC | $3,639 | $819 | -77.5% |
| Gemma Young | $2,046 | $505 | -75.3% |
| Stanley D. Haynes | $2,288 | $468 | -79.5% |
| Nicole A. Fitzgerald | $2,128 | $334 | -84.3% |
| Jennie L. Richards | $572 | $230 | -59.8% |
| Heather Brown | $822 | $206 | -74.9% |
| Gena Dillon | $0 | $167 | -- |
| Christina D. Littlefield | $10,129 | $146 | -98.6% |
| Barbara L. Dunham | $624 | $146 | -76.6% |
| Abarbara Gushee | $2,868 | $123 | -95.7% |
| Ronald A. Olson | $99 | $52 | -47.5% |
| Ryan Fowler | $115 | $51 | -55.7% |
| Green Thumb Farms | $759,879 | $26 | -100% |
| Brandon J. McKenney | $4,321 | $0 | -100% |
| Brenna Mae Thomas-Googins | $4,264 | $0 | -100% |
| Diane R. Gushee | $578 | $0 | -100% |
| Kathleen A. Hathaway | $207 | $0 | -100% |
| Westons Farm, LLC | $65,452 | $0 | -100% |
| Chad M. Jordan Sr. | $12,085 | $0 | -100% |
| Franklin D. Gammon | $325 | $0 | -100% |
| Vicki Schmidt | $140 | $0 | -100% |
| Apple Acres Farm, Inc. | $10,100 | $0 | -100% |
| Edward J. Dunlea | $188 | $0 | -100% |
| Suzanne D. Barker | $24 | $0 | -100% |
| David H. Shaw | $219 | $0 | -100% |
| John H. Simmons | $3,375 | $0 | -100% |
| Lydia O Eusden | $25 | $0 | -100% |
| Perley Emery | $752 | $0 | -100% |
| Dorotha E. Bell | $1,584 | $0 | -100% |
| Kenneth Johnson | $29,232 | $0 | -100% |
| Cooper Farms, Inc. | $1,001,872 | $0 | -100% |
| Shari Whitman | $56 | $0 | -100% |
| Toby S. Whitman | $2,995 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,075,306 | $1,388,715 | -33.1% |
Alerts Sign-up