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In 2021, 143 farmers in cities within Ashtabula County received a total of $1.5 million in 297 farm subsidies, a 55.3% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $3.3 million in 550 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.
Farmers and Their Subsidies in Cities Associated with Ashtabula County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuhasz Brothers, LLC | $183,890 | $138,550 | -24.7% |
| Bossy's Way, Inc. | $189,914 | $122,838 | -35.3% |
| Robin L. Boggs | $292,144 | $104,486 | -64.2% |
| Springer Dairy Farm | $99,995 | $63,600 | -36.4% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $62,562 | -- |
| Gale Farms | $176,508 | $46,634 | -73.6% |
| H Hamilton Farms, LLC | $118,494 | $45,616 | -61.5% |
| Timothy D. Gildersleeve | $75,173 | $43,061 | -42.7% |
| Brian March -D&M Farms & Trucking | $0 | $40,783 | -- |
| Lots-a-Leche Dairy, LLC | $42,157 | $37,124 | -11.9% |
| Marc E. Stringfellow | $77,368 | $35,178 | -54.5% |
| Ronald R. Bailey | $11,497 | $34,416 | 199.3% |
| Steven Gruskiewicz | $161,432 | $32,713 | -79.7% |
| Pine Grove Jersey Farm, LLC | $36,019 | $29,900 | -17% |
| Suchdale Farms | $64,338 | $29,194 | -54.6% |
| John C. Shymanski | $71,590 | $28,176 | -60.6% |
| Henry Farms, Inc. | $72,697 | $27,982 | -61.5% |
| Lee-Flo Farms | $63,360 | $26,349 | -58.4% |
| Boleratz Farms, Ltd. | $148,867 | $25,254 | -83% |
| James J. Smolinski | $76,596 | $24,567 | -67.9% |
| Scibona Farms, LLC | $44,333 | $23,215 | -47.6% |
| Vineland Enterprises, LLC | $0 | $23,068 | -- |
| Christopher P. Bullard | $29,841 | $19,737 | -33.9% |
| Andrew J. Smolen | $32,271 | $19,690 | -39% |
| Kevin Miklos | $35,969 | $17,342 | -51.8% |
| George A. Kalas | $52,718 | $13,699 | -74% |
| William L. Hurst | $36,741 | $12,816 | -65.1% |
| George A. Colucci | $25,714 | $12,465 | -51.5% |
| Knowles Farm Partnership 2 | $32,776 | $12,159 | -62.9% |
| Beverly L. Mead | $32,222 | $11,806 | -63.4% |
| Cross Roads Farm, LLC | $15,977 | $11,405 | -28.6% |
| Robert N. Marrison | $24,539 | $9,551 | -61.1% |
| Obhof Farms, LLC | $18,503 | $8,955 | -51.6% |
| Kenneth L. Nims | $23,099 | $8,896 | -61.5% |
| Olszak Pinebrook Farms, Inc. | $15,263 | $8,788 | -42.4% |
| Krieg Farms | $18,272 | $8,711 | -52.3% |
| Howard Seavey | $23,012 | $8,441 | -63.3% |
| William Gurich | $19,283 | $8,287 | -57% |
| Weeping Willow Farms, LLC | $15,903 | $8,273 | -48% |
| Richard D. Butler | $25,741 | $8,206 | -68.1% |
| John Larson Jr. | $15,180 | $7,963 | -47.5% |
| Benjamin L. Newbold | $15,495 | $7,619 | -50.8% |
| Thomas J. Spencer Jr. | $17,867 | $7,305 | -59.1% |
| Tim M Scribben | $17,589 | $7,239 | -58.8% |
| Clyde A. Hamilton | $11,032 | $6,761 | -38.7% |
| Todd T Neczeporenko | $13,798 | $6,683 | -51.6% |
| Russell S. Hass | $24,717 | $6,628 | -73.2% |
| Christopher M Bradek | $25,014 | $6,552 | -73.8% |
| Martin R. Holden | $7,999 | $6,144 | -23.2% |
| Jacob Konczal | $18,269 | $6,134 | -66.4% |
| Stanley D. Ruck | $12,293 | $5,921 | -51.8% |
| Ronald Drenski | $6,439 | $5,861 | -9% |
| Hopes Farms | $13,940 | $5,696 | -59.1% |
| David L. Priester | $11,229 | $5,684 | -49.4% |
| Thomas A. Emerine | $16,701 | $5,479 | -67.2% |
| Robert A. Mate | $11,685 | $5,007 | -57.2% |
| Terry S. Atkinson | $8,720 | $4,998 | -42.7% |
| Roger D. Sherman Jr. | $15,629 | $4,976 | -68.2% |
| Joycelyn A. Heath | $11,636 | $4,650 | -60% |
| Jakeco Farms, LLC | $17,421 | $4,350 | -75% |
| Timmy R. Wolf | $6,523 | $4,232 | -35.1% |
| Brinker Dairy and Farm Services, Inc. | $0 | $4,128 | -- |
| Brian C. Forman | $6,827 | $3,813 | -44.1% |
| Ge & DN Hogle | $8,146 | $3,730 | -54.2% |
| Matthew M. Mate | $10,514 | $3,443 | -67.3% |
| John M. Berry | $5,676 | $3,424 | -39.7% |
| Joseph Colucci | $4,594 | $3,028 | -34.1% |
| David Francis Millard | $5,373 | $2,948 | -45.1% |
| Gordon M. Hitchcock | $7,851 | $2,920 | -62.8% |
| Covered Bridge Gardens, LLC | $13,879 | $2,876 | -79.3% |
| Frederick R. Humphries | $7,064 | $2,645 | -62.6% |
| Adam W. Ruck | $4,785 | $2,608 | -45.5% |
| Joseph E. Nagy | $4,682 | $2,413 | -48.5% |
| Shane W. Slanina | $4,241 | $2,394 | -43.6% |
| Robert B Compton Estate | $0 | $2,296 | -- |
| Keith D. Kingdom | $3,713 | $2,260 | -39.1% |
| Stephen E. Humpal | $2,885 | $2,222 | -23% |
| Scott A. Rice | $3,522 | $1,995 | -43.4% |
| Eric E. Eckstein | $0 | $1,993 | -- |
| Joshua Ughrin | $3,486 | $1,966 | -43.6% |
| Mcmahan-Spafford, Inc. | $4,728 | $1,943 | -58.9% |
| May Hill Maple, LLC | $0 | $1,878 | -- |
| Jason P. Fink | $2,294 | $1,861 | -18.9% |
| Arlen Overholt | $0 | $1,857 | -- |
| Brian D Parnaby | $3,295 | $1,843 | -44.1% |
| Adam Graves | $4,582 | $1,829 | -60.1% |
| Adam L. Berrier | $3,299 | $1,817 | -44.9% |
| James P. Kennedy | $3,502 | $1,660 | -52.6% |
| David J. Ballentine | $2,491 | $1,647 | -33.9% |
| Norman Housel | $3,379 | $1,601 | -52.6% |
| Mark C Debevc | $0 | $1,588 | -- |
| Todd S. Judson | $3,894 | $1,553 | -60.1% |
| Terry Moody | $4,299 | $1,498 | -65.2% |
| Peter E. Janson III | $1,356 | $1,410 | 4% |
| Karl K Tussel | $2,897 | $1,302 | -55.1% |
| Thomas a Ondrejovic | $1,888 | $1,162 | -38.5% |
| Ralph C. Smith | $2,789 | $1,153 | -58.7% |
| Hilda J. Cook | $1,580 | $1,134 | -28.2% |
| Brandon Yauger | $1,005 | $1,105 | 10% |
| Timothy G. Hopes | $936 | $1,105 | 18.1% |
| Robert Jeffrey Obhof | $1,611 | $1,050 | -34.8% |
| Mosquito Creek Farm | $2,800 | $1,049 | -62.5% |
| Bruce A. Vance | $2,603 | $1,020 | -60.8% |
| Dennis D. Marlow | $1,150 | $957 | -16.8% |
| Duane L Parnaby | $2,708 | $942 | -65.2% |
| Winifred M Cerbin | $1,701 | $884 | -48% |
| Timothy J. Fink | $1,694 | $825 | -51.3% |
| George E. Simpkins Sr. | $614 | $819 | 33.4% |
| Timothy T. Martin | $884 | $740 | -16.3% |
| Betty Vins | $2,131 | $737 | -65.4% |
| James Vins | $2,195 | $737 | -66.4% |
| Tod A. Mogren | $5,850 | $688 | -88.2% |
| Rodney D. Eldred | $1,029 | $681 | -33.8% |
| Anthony W. Stocker | $814 | $674 | -17.2% |
| Phillip K. Davis | $1,037 | $669 | -35.5% |
| Mildred S Burhenne | $1,772 | $594 | -66.5% |
| Bryan P. Elliott | $1,529 | $536 | -64.9% |
| Michael a Kurpyl | $612 | $484 | -20.9% |
| David R. Streets Jr. | $3,425 | $480 | -86% |
| Mike Berry | $1,073 | $416 | -61.2% |
| Judith Housel | $1,549 | $317 | -79.5% |
| Edward Paul Zgrabik | $562 | $317 | -43.6% |
| Leonard D. Richmond | $0 | $305 | -- |
| Barbara A. Schaab | $144 | $299 | 107.6% |
| James S Liviola | $2,531 | $258 | -89.8% |
| Welker Farm Equipment, Inc. | $528 | $130 | -75.4% |
| Ashtabula Biomass Energy, LLC | $232 | $114 | -50.9% |
| Joseph A. Sitek | $397 | $110 | -72.3% |
| Mary E Chutas Revocable Trust | $907 | $96 | -89.4% |
| Richard L. Benson | $677 | $95 | -86% |
| Keith A. Henry | $450 | $86 | -80.9% |
| Jeffrey S Liplin | $65 | $54 | -16.9% |
| Catheryn M. Bennett | $225 | $53 | -76.4% |
| Everett Hunt | $0 | $52 | -- |
| Joanne M Blieden | $83 | $50 | -39.8% |
| Jefferson W. Kidd | $155 | $47 | -69.7% |
| Erie Bank | $11,088 | $43 | -99.6% |
| John Case | $756 | $40 | -94.7% |
| Margaret D. Popovich | $0 | $29 | -- |
| Richard S. Averill | $159 | $24 | -84.9% |
| March Farms, LLC | $165 | $22 | -86.7% |
| Kathleen A. Brockway | $39 | $15 | -61.5% |
| Dennis A. Gadley | $23 | $11 | -52.2% |
| Charles F. Rose | $2,051 | $0 | -100% |
| Gretchen M. Cain | $2,530 | $0 | -100% |
| Louis M. Popovich | $160 | $0 | -100% |
| Rick A. Woodard | $8,298 | $0 | -100% |
| Kelly's Gardens & Landscape Servi | $34,341 | $0 | -100% |
| Kiraly Orchard | $9,988 | $0 | -100% |
| Kosicek Farms, LLC | $4,759 | $0 | -100% |
| Tree Tyme Nursery, Inc. | $88,911 | $0 | -100% |
| Dwight J. Smith | $63 | $0 | -100% |
| John W. Watson Jr. | $136 | $0 | -100% |
| Joyce M. Ring | $1,316 | $0 | -100% |
| Brian A. Henry | $605 | $0 | -100% |
| Cover Bridge Farms, LLC | $1,260 | $0 | -100% |
| Frank W. Slanina | $1,471 | $0 | -100% |
| Gruber Vineyards, LLC | $4,150 | $0 | -100% |
| Harpersfield Vineyards, LLC | $11,026 | $0 | -100% |
| John M. Linehan | $3,082 | $0 | -100% |
| Josephine Cornely | $2,414 | $0 | -100% |
| Meineke Vineyard, Ltd. | $5,592 | $0 | -100% |
| Meineke Vineyards II, Ltd. | $538 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael Burgett | $345 | $0 | -100% |
| Michael F Drugovich | $5,178 | $0 | -100% |
| Monte G. Stoltz | $2,680 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard Virant | $2,992 | $0 | -100% |
| South River Vineyard, Inc. | $45,522 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas H. Robertson | $2,096 | $0 | -100% |
| Vance Grabelsek | $4,822 | $0 | -100% |
| Wayne B Grabelsek | $4,030 | $0 | -100% |
| Barbara A. MacDonald | $186 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles A. Waid | $157 | $0 | -100% |
| Dale A. March | $338 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert A. Wilson | $284 | $0 | -100% |
| Ruth Ann Manners | $10,157 | $0 | -100% |
| Carl J. McElroy | $8,659 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles R. McElroy | $47 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $33,636 | $0 | -100% |
| Kassay Greenhouse | $4,536 | $0 | -100% |
| Trixye Case | $2,619 | $0 | -100% |
| Brinker Dairy and Farm Services I | $4,503 | $0 | -100% |
| George W. Bean | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Karyn Cassell | $15,228 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $3,318,067 | $1,481,972 | -55.3% |
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