Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 65 farmers in cities within Alpena County received a total of $1.7 million in 145 farm subsidies, a 34.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.6 million in 255 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getz-Milk Dairy, LLC | $414,390 | $180,007 | -56.6% |
| Marsicek Farms, LLC | $263,978 | $179,834 | -31.9% |
| Butterwerth Dairy Farm, LLC | $259,176 | $154,553 | -40.4% |
| Werth Dairy, LLC | $334,943 | $148,306 | -55.7% |
| Hanchek Farms, LLC | $178,504 | $112,381 | -37% |
| Jorasz Bros Dairy Farm | $301,197 | $102,355 | -66% |
| Jorasz Farm, LLC | $0 | $92,599 | -- |
| Russell Tolan | $220,928 | $91,146 | -58.7% |
| Joseph Zbytowski | $113,742 | $86,527 | -23.9% |
| Russell Berger Jr. | $116,084 | $76,870 | -33.8% |
| Tom Nowakowski | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Deno & Sons Trucking | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Kleiman Forest Products, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| John Jorasz | $54,675 | $39,488 | -27.8% |
| Jaime Kleikamp | $0 | $37,415 | -- |
| Klee Logging & Tree Service, Inc. | $0 | $29,926 | -- |
| Vandermissen Farm | $30,972 | $24,088 | -22.2% |
| Nathan R. Mitchell | $24,968 | $22,622 | -9.4% |
| Dennis Motto Trucking, Inc. | $0 | $22,523 | -- |
| Brent N Hiske | $500 | $15,872 | 3,074.4% |
| Leslie Messersmith | $44,208 | $11,118 | -74.9% |
| Folcik Dairy Farm | $13,480 | $9,947 | -26.2% |
| Willa Logging | $0 | $9,134 | -- |
| Collin P. Beyer | $19,200 | $7,766 | -59.6% |
| Tom Draze | $3,036 | $7,523 | 147.8% |
| Jason A. Domke | $13,523 | $4,572 | -66.2% |
| North East Michigan Drilling and Development | $4,471 | $4,471 | 0% |
| Benjamin Nowakowski | $11,357 | $3,883 | -65.8% |
| Tammy Niarhos | $8,935 | $3,489 | -61% |
| J & D Dairy, Inc. | $4,206 | $3,336 | -20.7% |
| Adolph Schiller | $10,163 | $3,229 | -68.2% |
| Todd Mosher | $0 | $3,013 | -- |
| Adam Dubie | $4,521 | $2,857 | -36.8% |
| Mark Aube | $8,502 | $2,794 | -67.1% |
| Ronald Frederick Worth | $6,916 | $2,647 | -61.7% |
| Motto Farms | $11,730 | $2,641 | -77.5% |
| Chase L. Werth | $6,209 | $2,568 | -58.6% |
| Alan & Glenn Dubie | $5,255 | $2,541 | -51.6% |
| Kevin C. Webber | $6,934 | $2,403 | -65.3% |
| Kaye Lewis | $3,638 | $2,100 | -42.3% |
| Chad Sydor | $7,610 | $2,040 | -73.2% |
| Nancy Kowalski | $3,560 | $1,922 | -46% |
| Bishop Springs Dairy, LLC | $6,730 | $1,920 | -71.5% |
| Daniel Minton | $1,761 | $1,761 | 0% |
| Jacob Johnson | $7,062 | $1,582 | -77.6% |
| Gabriel R. Kaiser | $2,332 | $1,454 | -37.7% |
| Joshua Aube | $947 | $1,262 | 33.3% |
| Peter Kleiman | $6,938 | $1,168 | -83.2% |
| Floyd Montie | $6,572 | $1,097 | -83.3% |
| Robin Zielaskowski | $1,761 | $838 | -52.4% |
| Brian Beatty | $2,420 | $649 | -73.2% |
| Barbara Rutherford | $1,349 | $509 | -62.3% |
| Thomas Hoppe | $929 | $494 | -46.8% |
| Lois M. Feuerstein | $1,453 | $441 | -69.6% |
| Rebekah Kleiman | $2,079 | $420 | -79.8% |
| Herman C. Schiller | $1,526 | $405 | -73.5% |
| Tamyra Lacross | $1,078 | $286 | -73.5% |
| Keith W. Turner Sr. | $1,576 | $225 | -85.7% |
| Jerry Niedbala | $403 | $194 | -51.9% |
| Terry Krentz | $449 | $176 | -60.8% |
| Shannon Andrzejewski | $422 | $120 | -71.6% |
| Kenneth Kowalski | $229 | $105 | -54.1% |
| Ronald Clute | $291 | $104 | -64.3% |
| Norbert Hoppe | $188 | $78 | -58.5% |
| Theodore P. Pokorski | $139 | $2 | -98.6% |
| Alan Roy | $715 | $0 | -100% |
| Alfred D. Somers | $162 | $0 | -100% |
| Barbara Moran | $62 | $0 | -100% |
| Bernard Andrzejewski | $443 | $0 | -100% |
| Daniel Kirschner | $151 | $0 | -100% |
| James Chapman | $5,946 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph M Zbytowski | $260 | $0 | -100% |
| Patricia Nowakowski | $16 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard E. Wilson | $160 | $0 | -100% |
| Rocky a Farms, LLC | $207 | $0 | -100% |
| Gary Dean | $9 | $0 | -100% |
| James Eller | $402 | $0 | -100% |
| Jeremy Fischer | $2,345 | $0 | -100% |
| Mary Comar | $99 | $0 | -100% |
| Kleiman Farms | $4,730 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,575,852 | $1,686,421 | -34.5% |
Alerts Sign-up