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In 2021, 58 farmers in cities within Claiborne Parish received a total of $809,335 in 65 farm subsidies, a 129.2% increase from 2020, when the total was $353,038 in 84 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Creek Farms, Inc. | $0 | $128,720 | -- |
| Wilfred Scott Lowery | $0 | $55,878 | -- |
| Mr Leroy E Banaka | $0 | $55,445 | -- |
| Mr Leroy E Banaka | $0 | $55,445 | -- |
| Ford Transport, L.L.C. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Magnolia Pulpwood Company, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Speer Timber Company, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Taylor Timber Contractors, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Paul Cook | $28,807 | $52,339 | 81.7% |
| Kenneth L. Volentine Jr. | $4,851 | $47,796 | 885.3% |
| James S. Eubanks | $89,402 | $26,550 | -70.3% |
| R. M. Cook | $0 | $25,436 | -- |
| Roy Wayne Odom | $0 | $23,343 | -- |
| Carl Boyd | $0 | $20,484 | -- |
| Roland A. Liles | $0 | $19,550 | -- |
| Gary Kim Grigg | $21,199 | $11,530 | -45.6% |
| James L. Gantt | $25,938 | $7,435 | -71.3% |
| Perry K. Gantt | $26,885 | $6,216 | -76.9% |
| Wildcat Slough Timber, LLC | $5,380 | $5,380 | 0% |
| Mitchell Marsalis | $19,855 | $5,348 | -73.1% |
| Larry G. Scriber | $5,493 | $5,139 | -6.4% |
| Wilson Family Operations, LLC | $0 | $3,578 | -- |
| Bruce Killgore | $19,137 | $3,500 | -81.7% |
| Albert L. Faulk Jr. | $8,208 | $3,086 | -62.4% |
| David J. Lamay Jr. | $0 | $3,025 | -- |
| Iler R. Monk | $0 | $2,919 | -- |
| Steve C. Gantt | $7,425 | $2,329 | -68.6% |
| Robert G. Thomas | $10,922 | $2,329 | -78.7% |
| Robert G. Bond | $0 | $2,214 | -- |
| James W. Buckner | $6,470 | $2,036 | -68.5% |
| Jason T. Gantt | $6,875 | $1,984 | -71.1% |
| Danny L. Dillon | $3,399 | $1,777 | -47.7% |
| Clint Gantt | $3,504 | $1,725 | -50.8% |
| Kenneth L. Volentine | $5,613 | $1,466 | -73.9% |
| Paul N. Hylan | $4,840 | $1,380 | -71.5% |
| Fredrick Spigener | $4,670 | $1,190 | -74.5% |
| Ryan Spigener | $3,982 | $1,104 | -72.3% |
| Thomas Whitman | $3,751 | $992 | -73.6% |
| Dorothy S. Reece | $979 | $979 | 0% |
| Laney Hightower | $0 | $867 | -- |
| Carlyle Yvette Sapp Roberson | $4,081 | $791 | -80.6% |
| George W. Ogden | $3,410 | $785 | -77% |
| Edward Ralph Spigener | $2,277 | $673 | -70.4% |
| Mary D. Monroe | $0 | $660 | -- |
| Clifton E. Sims | $1,356 | $656 | -51.6% |
| Sherard L. Stewart | $2,596 | $560 | -78.4% |
| Gaston Lane Rudd | $2,817 | $518 | -81.6% |
| Ronnie Fields | $1,056 | $484 | -54.2% |
| Terry Lee | $1,199 | $397 | -66.9% |
| Glenn Hollis | $0 | $385 | -- |
| Cyndy Gantt | $913 | $362 | -60.4% |
| Brandon White | $1,858 | $325 | -82.5% |
| Daniel Suggs | $913 | $276 | -69.8% |
| James E. Moreland Jr. | $231 | $121 | -47.6% |
| Bill Sanders | $167 | $118 | -29.3% |
| John Sanders | $167 | $118 | -29.3% |
| Joseph Hunter Heckel | $12,319 | $50 | -99.6% |
| Gerald B. Allen Sr. | $93 | $42 | -54.8% |
| Total subsidies | $353,038 | $809,335 | 129.2% |
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