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In 2021, 127 farmers in cities within Cottonwood County received a total of $3 million in 290 farm subsidies, a 59.2% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $7.2 million in 620 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis G. Hansen | $77,214 | $140,305 | 81.7% |
| Neil L. Stevens | $339,037 | $119,568 | -64.7% |
| Rodney a Fruehling Rev Living Trust | $116,375 | $111,064 | -4.6% |
| Marty R Espenson | $101,490 | $104,261 | 2.7% |
| Patricia C Espenson | $101,490 | $104,261 | 2.7% |
| Brian L. Jensen | $125,084 | $100,943 | -19.3% |
| Bruce Nagorske | $82,786 | $99,403 | 20.1% |
| Marie Nagorske | $75,818 | $98,075 | 29.4% |
| Jacob Dick Tippin | $211,352 | $94,538 | -55.3% |
| Circle S Farms, Inc. | $227,682 | $87,172 | -61.7% |
| Trent Harder | $253,707 | $84,420 | -66.7% |
| Cody Jay Fast | $302,196 | $70,788 | -76.6% |
| Keith R. Wolf | $144,834 | $69,308 | -52.1% |
| Marlin Piotter | $122,853 | $52,860 | -57% |
| Kendall E. Piotter | $182,929 | $52,794 | -71.1% |
| Craig S. Bennett | $89,930 | $52,016 | -42.2% |
| Scott H. Rahn | $150,885 | $49,346 | -67.3% |
| Colin L. Bennett | $58,652 | $47,939 | -18.3% |
| Dale D. Eidem | $143,998 | $47,716 | -66.9% |
| Robin M. Rahn | $149,143 | $47,559 | -68.1% |
| Marjorie A. Lohrenz | $142,614 | $47,299 | -66.8% |
| Stanley D. Lohrenz | $142,614 | $47,299 | -66.8% |
| Mark Wiebe Rev Living Trust | $164,551 | $46,378 | -71.8% |
| Kip L. Rasmussen | $79,319 | $45,265 | -42.9% |
| Douglas Quade | $141,335 | $44,932 | -68.2% |
| D & D Ranch Partnership | $108,680 | $41,790 | -61.5% |
| Clay A. Roll | $122,622 | $41,423 | -66.2% |
| Duane L. Harder | $158,095 | $38,777 | -75.5% |
| Ethan D. Quade | $127,547 | $36,327 | -71.5% |
| Timothy Carlblom Rev Living Trust | $129,093 | $35,801 | -72.3% |
| Ronald E. Jorgenson | $42,535 | $35,726 | -16% |
| Weis Enterprise, LLC | $47,837 | $34,897 | -27.1% |
| Dorothy J. Jorgenson | $33,513 | $34,053 | 1.6% |
| Elton Goeman | $73,339 | $33,872 | -53.8% |
| David V Jorgenson Rev Living Trust | $95,864 | $33,255 | -65.3% |
| Susan Goeman | $68,148 | $29,386 | -56.9% |
| Andrew Dennis Hansen | $93,062 | $29,116 | -68.7% |
| David R Schoper | $25,885 | $28,968 | 11.9% |
| Norman L. Klassen | $52,713 | $28,057 | -46.8% |
| Lynsey Anne Fast | $37,571 | $25,576 | -31.9% |
| Brian D. Berger | $157,467 | $25,448 | -83.8% |
| Robert W. Barker | $56,078 | $24,476 | -56.4% |
| Kevin R. Hochstein | $37,543 | $24,380 | -35.1% |
| Harlan L. Rasmussen | $80,347 | $23,812 | -70.4% |
| Charles B Grant Rev Living Trust | $52,173 | $22,138 | -57.6% |
| David W Bierman Rev Trust | $76,313 | $20,333 | -73.4% |
| Paul E. Turner | $106,384 | $19,944 | -81.3% |
| Victoria J. Rasmussen | $105,731 | $18,845 | -82.2% |
| Kelly Dunkelberger | $50,447 | $16,025 | -68.2% |
| Kim G. Holck | $54,856 | $15,436 | -71.9% |
| Klassen Farm & Poultry, LLC | $60,870 | $15,083 | -75.2% |
| Thomas D. Fast | $110,724 | $14,864 | -86.6% |
| Patricia A. Rasmussen | $70,341 | $13,897 | -80.2% |
| County Line Acres, Inc. | $103,654 | $13,817 | -86.7% |
| Timothy B Nagorske | $7,404 | $13,787 | 86.2% |
| Ryan R. Visker | $41,112 | $12,754 | -69% |
| Marlin W. Zinke | $24,476 | $12,566 | -48.7% |
| K. D. W., LLC | $45,885 | $12,431 | -72.9% |
| Stanley Barklow | $52,214 | $12,222 | -76.6% |
| Bryan Kipfer | $50,810 | $12,121 | -76.1% |
| Nickel Farms, LLC | $71,220 | $11,836 | -83.4% |
| Roger Quade | $58,704 | $11,421 | -80.5% |
| Todd Franz | $24,989 | $10,956 | -56.2% |
| Wyatt David Dunkelberger | $53,148 | $9,817 | -81.5% |
| Ryley Espenson | $24,536 | $9,395 | -61.7% |
| Joseph Harrold | $27,268 | $9,236 | -66.1% |
| Lloyd Wolf & Wyona Wolf Irrev Trust | $9,104 | $9,104 | 0% |
| Ryan Determan | $22,762 | $7,749 | -66% |
| Dylan James Piotter | $46,222 | $6,904 | -85.1% |
| Verlyn K. Fast | $15,455 | $6,672 | -56.8% |
| Polzin Brothers | $34,418 | $6,530 | -81% |
| Kim C. Miller | $9,726 | $6,355 | -34.7% |
| Ashton Joseph Quade | $11,355 | $6,000 | -47.2% |
| Joel M. Wellner | $21,924 | $5,834 | -73.4% |
| Robert Schoper | $25,360 | $5,768 | -77.3% |
| Floyd Westerman | $34,436 | $5,661 | -83.6% |
| Wesley J Kroeker Rev Trust | $20,238 | $5,536 | -72.6% |
| Dale R. Polzin | $10,715 | $5,373 | -49.9% |
| John M Roll and Peggy a Roll Rev Trust | $12,007 | $5,203 | -56.7% |
| Lucas L Satter and Charlene K Satter Family Rev Living Trust | $5,021 | $5,021 | 0% |
| Darby Lee Harder | $35,834 | $5,019 | -86% |
| Larry W. Eichstadt | $20,365 | $4,904 | -75.9% |
| Verna Farms, LLC | $4,864 | $4,864 | 0% |
| Jacob Mark Wiebe | $11,599 | $4,360 | -62.4% |
| Doris Bierman | $3,117 | $3,993 | 28.1% |
| Rodney R. Einck | $13,394 | $3,546 | -73.5% |
| Chad M. Brown | $19,581 | $3,474 | -82.3% |
| Beverly Hines | $9,997 | $3,347 | -66.5% |
| Nautica R Weis | $11,142 | $3,262 | -70.7% |
| Marlow Nickel - Marlow D Nickel Rev LVG Trust | $18,885 | $3,208 | -83% |
| E & a Family Farms, LLP | $3,138 | $3,138 | 0% |
| Leslie Schaffer | $10,579 | $3,026 | -71.4% |
| Summer Lynn Eisenmenger | $11,769 | $3,023 | -74.3% |
| Hallie Ann Will-Smith | $10,740 | $2,951 | -72.5% |
| Kenneth M. Arnsdorf | $18,256 | $2,924 | -84% |
| Ronald Nickel | $17,244 | $2,728 | -84.2% |
| John Ernest Turner | $2,310 | $2,368 | 2.5% |
| Chase Bierman | $12,527 | $2,354 | -81.2% |
| Lawrence J. Ryker | $8,603 | $2,080 | -75.8% |
| Lee J. Ryker | $8,604 | $2,080 | -75.8% |
| Gerald N. Just | $9,905 | $1,931 | -80.5% |
| Shawna Dorr-Jones | $1,700 | $1,700 | 0% |
| Devin Nickel | $9,422 | $1,542 | -83.6% |
| Chris A. Marsh | $3,265 | $1,530 | -53.1% |
| Troy A. Determan | $22,923 | $1,527 | -93.3% |
| Wade Allan Ysker | $0 | $1,384 | -- |
| Bradley Winter | $8,035 | $1,229 | -84.7% |
| Larry Goeman | $1,183 | $1,183 | 0% |
| Susan K. Quade | $3,703 | $1,176 | -68.2% |
| Cory L. Schroeder | $4,301 | $1,068 | -75.2% |
| Mark Meier | $10,126 | $1,018 | -89.9% |
| Edward Yonker II | $3,069 | $970 | -68.4% |
| Lincoln Simonson | $747 | $747 | 0% |
| Barbara Potter | $726 | $726 | 0% |
| Darcy Dahna | $4,231 | $621 | -85.3% |
| Nanno W Schoneman | $2,761 | $618 | -77.6% |
| James Harder | $597 | $597 | 0% |
| Michael R. Determan | $587 | $587 | 0% |
| Dennis D and Judith a Senst Irrevocable Trust | $458 | $458 | 0% |
| Sophie Stoterau Rev Trustee-Sophie Stoterau | $0 | $341 | -- |
| Delbert Klassen Revocable Trust | $280 | $280 | 0% |
| Darlene Krause | $152 | $152 | 0% |
| Dawn M. Chapman | $0 | $138 | -- |
| Patrick Bernardy | $366 | $115 | -68.6% |
| Robin Weis | $84 | $84 | 0% |
| Chad R. Osland | $59 | $59 | 0% |
| Dale Balster | $0 | $39 | -- |
| Edna May Hansen Rev Trust | $2,334 | $0 | -100% |
| Lee Hanish | $6,459 | $0 | -100% |
| Leroy T Hansen Trust | $2,334 | $0 | -100% |
| Virgil M. Nickel | $59,059 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $7,239,243 | $2,955,752 | -59.2% |
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