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In 2021, 121 farmers in cities within Presque Isle County received a total of $1.3 million in 246 farm subsidies, a 39.6% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.1 million in 441 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skudlarek Dairy Farm, LLC | $194,509 | $154,418 | -20.6% |
| Lucas Dairy Farms, LLC | $200,930 | $127,251 | -36.7% |
| Albert L Styma | $143,624 | $119,624 | -16.7% |
| Anthony Strzelecki | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Eh Tulgestka & Sons, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Knopf & Sons Forest Products, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| KZ Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Irving Christensen | $63,100 | $47,850 | -24.2% |
| North Branch Farm | $83,819 | $46,401 | -44.6% |
| Jeremy Tulgestka | $64,642 | $43,030 | -33.4% |
| Ronald Lucas | $58,128 | $42,585 | -26.7% |
| CJT & Sons Grain Farms, LLC | $60,533 | $37,157 | -38.6% |
| Bucks & Beans Farm | $39,725 | $34,722 | -12.6% |
| Jason Pilarski | $38,705 | $32,106 | -17% |
| William Avent | $37,845 | $31,023 | -18% |
| Watson Forest Properties, LLC | $0 | $29,974 | -- |
| Shane R. Chojnacki | $47,017 | $21,765 | -53.7% |
| Clifford Tollini | $43,629 | $20,821 | -52.3% |
| Luther & Sons Logging, LLC | $0 | $19,426 | -- |
| Karen Wisniewski | $23,698 | $16,615 | -29.9% |
| R & E Farms | $426,975 | $15,950 | -96.3% |
| Julian G. Pilarski | $32,224 | $14,718 | -54.3% |
| Purol Farms, Inc. | $29,398 | $14,283 | -51.4% |
| Tollini Farms, Inc. | $14,640 | $13,383 | -8.6% |
| Bradley Arkwood | $22,271 | $12,465 | -44% |
| Clifford Wilk | $111,287 | $11,469 | -89.7% |
| Charles E. Bruder | $18,280 | $11,286 | -38.3% |
| Tyler David Idalski | $14,860 | $10,934 | -26.4% |
| Shady Meadow Dairy Farms, LLC | $21,830 | $10,269 | -53% |
| JJJ Farms | $7,227 | $9,635 | 33.3% |
| Erke Farms | $12,617 | $7,664 | -39.3% |
| Nicholas Bruder | $8,115 | $7,026 | -13.4% |
| Gregory W. Karsten | $8,669 | $6,471 | -25.4% |
| Law Suit Acres, LLC | $12,654 | $5,707 | -54.9% |
| Stephen J. Swan | $7,857 | $5,119 | -34.8% |
| Melissa A. Schalk | $10,965 | $4,806 | -56.2% |
| Schaedig Farm, LLC | $10,703 | $4,697 | -56.1% |
| Michael J Styma | $5,429 | $4,591 | -15.4% |
| Rudolph O. Schleben | $10,844 | $4,463 | -58.8% |
| J & D Ellenberger Farms | $7,685 | $4,154 | -45.9% |
| Vincent Sobek | $15,863 | $3,913 | -75.3% |
| Jeannine Oliver | $10,158 | $3,675 | -63.8% |
| Fred Karsten | $4,676 | $3,419 | -26.9% |
| Duane Altman | $6,988 | $2,742 | -60.8% |
| Tulgestka Grain Farms, LLC | $0 | $2,658 | -- |
| Jerome W. Kieliszewski | $2,479 | $2,630 | 6.1% |
| Terry Atwell | $7,456 | $2,498 | -66.5% |
| Joseph Kline | $2,077 | $2,482 | 19.5% |
| Schleben's Dairy Farm and Forest Products, LLC | $0 | $2,407 | -- |
| Heidi Tulgestke | $5,123 | $2,028 | -60.4% |
| Sonja Kuffel | $5,346 | $1,880 | -64.8% |
| John Lijewski | $4,727 | $1,855 | -60.8% |
| James Delekta | $6,830 | $1,768 | -74.1% |
| Galen Tulgestke | $4,738 | $1,690 | -64.3% |
| Lawrence A. Budnik | $5,720 | $1,658 | -71% |
| Todd B Arkwood | $2,726 | $1,622 | -40.5% |
| Frank M. Schwiesow | $4,840 | $1,402 | -71% |
| Violet Tucker | $6,210 | $1,343 | -78.4% |
| Derek Styes | $5,248 | $1,327 | -74.7% |
| Allan Benaway | $1,736 | $1,308 | -24.7% |
| Jerry D Hentkowski | $1,148 | $1,148 | 0% |
| Robert F. Durham | $2,715 | $1,138 | -58.1% |
| Chaskey Septic Service, Inc. | $3,678 | $1,080 | -70.6% |
| Jacob Strzelecki | $3,989 | $1,058 | -73.5% |
| Fred Grant Ellenberger | $1,014 | $1,011 | -0.3% |
| John K. Palmer | $1,185 | $907 | -23.5% |
| Curtis Farms | $3,651 | $863 | -76.4% |
| Roger N. Nash | $9,201 | $856 | -90.7% |
| Gary Rauls | $3,135 | $846 | -73% |
| Virgil Freel | $7,955 | $830 | -89.6% |
| Sharon Wyman | $825 | $783 | -5.1% |
| Brandon A. Karsten | $560 | $783 | 39.8% |
| Nathan Seelye | $1,782 | $756 | -57.6% |
| Justin Joseph Hoerner | $2,313 | $746 | -67.7% |
| Patrick Kennedy | $1,594 | $736 | -53.8% |
| Fred McEwen | $2,603 | $714 | -72.6% |
| Richard Smolinski | $4,571 | $714 | -84.4% |
| Myles Elowsky | $992 | $711 | -28.3% |
| Bryan Goll | $0 | $709 | -- |
| Shirley Ittu | $1,221 | $617 | -49.5% |
| Ann Karsten | $1,686 | $610 | -63.8% |
| Robert Decker | $826 | $586 | -29.1% |
| Ray Mellen | $2,986 | $517 | -82.7% |
| Jeffrey Patrick Kala | $1,284 | $509 | -60.4% |
| Dion T. Stepanski | $8,801 | $500 | -94.3% |
| Robert Idalski | $231 | $492 | 113% |
| Allan D. Hoffmeyer | $1,584 | $476 | -69.9% |
| Jeannine Scully | $1,408 | $473 | -66.4% |
| Dale Willey | $2,177 | $464 | -78.7% |
| Julian Mulka | $1,895 | $434 | -77.1% |
| Charlene Watson | $1,441 | $421 | -70.8% |
| Linda Nagy | $808 | $377 | -53.3% |
| Constance L. Shaw | $0 | $357 | -- |
| Carl W. Beck | $1,136 | $346 | -69.5% |
| Clarkson Most | $0 | $330 | -- |
| Larissa Neumann | $0 | $323 | -- |
| Jeffery Karsten | $469 | $304 | -35.2% |
| Louis Lewandowski | $1,142 | $302 | -73.6% |
| Donald Willey | $559 | $288 | -48.5% |
| Mike Eagling | $1,133 | $270 | -76.2% |
| William D Rauff JR | $554 | $265 | -52.2% |
| Dennis Willey | $485 | $237 | -51.1% |
| Scot Szymoniak | $922 | $230 | -75.1% |
| Ariane M. Romel | $6,145 | $197 | -96.8% |
| Craig Styes | $2,037 | $159 | -92.2% |
| Nicholas Johnson | $0 | $116 | -- |
| Donald Nash | $256 | $103 | -59.8% |
| David Cowper | $208 | $100 | -51.9% |
| Scott D. Splan | $396 | $100 | -74.7% |
| Dennis Taratuta | $560 | $91 | -83.8% |
| Isabelle Russell | $133 | $81 | -39.1% |
| Richard Nash | $223 | $71 | -68.2% |
| Terry Wregglesworth | $294 | $70 | -76.2% |
| Kenneth Hopp | $375 | $51 | -86.4% |
| Carla Skuse | $161 | $35 | -78.3% |
| Brentt W Lucas | $2,116 | $34 | -98.4% |
| Donald Grainger | $436 | $29 | -93.3% |
| Leigh Russell | $147 | $25 | -83% |
| Mary Larson | $59 | $23 | -61% |
| Larry Cox | $534 | $21 | -96.1% |
| Dave Gee | $0 | $5 | -- |
| Dolores Merchant | $327 | $0 | -100% |
| Kimberly Riley | $70 | $0 | -100% |
| Melvin Wilkinson | $499 | $0 | -100% |
| Rolland James Rieger | $138 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles Dane Chapman | $671 | $0 | -100% |
| Christina Ann Chaskey | $138 | $0 | -100% |
| Douglas Paulus | $4,627 | $0 | -100% |
| Gary Shepherd | $2,449 | $0 | -100% |
| Janice Marsh | $1,151 | $0 | -100% |
| Morris Domke III | $1,155 | $0 | -100% |
| Peter McDonald | $195 | $0 | -100% |
| Steve Scully | $110 | $0 | -100% |
| Virginia Malone | $649 | $0 | -100% |
| Wayne Tibbits | $103 | $0 | -100% |
| Alfred H. Dove | $377 | $0 | -100% |
| Am-Pm Maple Products | $310 | $0 | -100% |
| Cynthia Kieliszewski | $226 | $0 | -100% |
| Kathy Himes | $852 | $0 | -100% |
| Lorilea Marie Romel | $468 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul J. Misiak | $1,155 | $0 | -100% |
| Knaebe's Mmmunchy Krunchy Apple Farm and Cider Mill, LLC | $15,643 | $0 | -100% |
| Ralph B Viegelahn | $2,052 | $0 | -100% |
| Roy C. Lapointe | $233 | $0 | -100% |
| Terry Peltz | $1,670 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,132,382 | $1,287,091 | -39.6% |
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