Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 199 farmers in cities within Lapeer County received a total of $3 million in 436 farm subsidies, a 21.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $3.8 million in 610 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 Lapeer County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Dyk Agent Properties, LLC | $0 | $718,237 | -- |
| Campbell's Greenhouses, LLC | $0 | $115,088 | -- |
| David W Brusie & Sons, Inc. | $193,939 | $96,004 | -50.5% |
| William Ankley | $59,185 | $89,059 | 50.5% |
| Ken Jostock | $177,516 | $82,210 | -53.7% |
| Siegler Dairy Farm, LLC | $86,707 | $77,716 | -10.4% |
| Norman Walton & Sons, LLP | $25,374 | $75,130 | 196.1% |
| Thomas Stoldt | $26,546 | $71,142 | 168% |
| Ivory Bros | $30,489 | $52,202 | 71.2% |
| Tim Campbell Farm, LLC | $125,909 | $50,000 | -60.3% |
| Mark June | $103,870 | $49,596 | -52.3% |
| Barber Farms, LLC | $30,178 | $49,241 | 63.2% |
| Donald J. Koning | $52,243 | $47,365 | -9.3% |
| Swoish Farms, LLC | $124,237 | $41,520 | -66.6% |
| Frederick a Snoblen | $18,792 | $40,946 | 117.9% |
| Sharon Stoldt | $57,307 | $40,381 | -29.5% |
| David A. Clark | $186,543 | $36,028 | -80.7% |
| Kingsbury Farms, LLC | $102,905 | $34,946 | -66% |
| Newbegin Farms | $84,139 | $31,694 | -62.3% |
| Albertson Farms, LLC | $92,327 | $31,083 | -66.3% |
| Solon Farms, LLC | $101,416 | $30,306 | -70.1% |
| Daniel Steckly | $39,856 | $29,954 | -24.8% |
| Douglas J. Steele | $5,010 | $29,373 | 486.3% |
| Earthly ARTS Greenhouses, Inc., Ltd. | $0 | $29,088 | -- |
| Christopher C. Swoish | $23,413 | $26,378 | 12.7% |
| Robert E Nelson & Sons | $19,004 | $24,302 | 27.9% |
| Gary Murray | $12,571 | $24,048 | 91.3% |
| David a Barber | $11,332 | $23,310 | 105.7% |
| Mutch's Hidden Pines, LLC | $0 | $22,146 | -- |
| Douglas Phillip Hunter | $33,883 | $20,886 | -38.4% |
| Valley Farms, LLC | $383,677 | $20,580 | -94.6% |
| Gary Bulzan | $27,241 | $19,983 | -26.6% |
| Timothy L. Harmon | $15,106 | $19,970 | 32.2% |
| Laur Family Farms, LLC | $52,696 | $18,803 | -64.3% |
| Phoenix Farms III, LLC | $13,851 | $18,775 | 35.5% |
| Danny Curell | $17,062 | $18,112 | 6.2% |
| Schlaud Farms, LLC | $68,803 | $17,986 | -73.9% |
| Kenneth Penzien | $47,911 | $17,648 | -63.2% |
| K & T Farms, LLC | $15,278 | $17,166 | 12.4% |
| Green Farms, Inc. | $0 | $16,815 | -- |
| Gary L. Turner | $35,398 | $15,626 | -55.9% |
| Hoeksema & Jager, Inc. | $42,413 | $15,076 | -64.5% |
| Terry Dale Jostock | $39,147 | $14,962 | -61.8% |
| Larry Joseph Winget Jr. | $36,206 | $14,772 | -59.2% |
| Thomas Cichoracki | $16,865 | $14,478 | -14.2% |
| Dale E. Lanway | $14,242 | $14,434 | 1.3% |
| Howard F. Stack | $34,485 | $13,858 | -59.8% |
| Roger A. Johnson | $15,162 | $13,647 | -10% |
| David J. Penzien | $39,520 | $13,465 | -65.9% |
| Ryan Allen Walker | $25,026 | $13,024 | -48% |
| Ryan A. Chapman | $11,629 | $12,412 | 6.7% |
| Joseph R. Swain | $9,616 | $11,954 | 24.3% |
| Richard H. Wagner II | $4,477 | $11,814 | 163.9% |
| Lon C. Kenny | $10,606 | $10,606 | 0% |
| John L. Brendel | $38,758 | $10,347 | -73.3% |
| Ryan W. Goodwin | $4,253 | $10,211 | 140.1% |
| Allen Harsen | $1,904 | $9,982 | 424.3% |
| Allan Wayne Perdue | $10,838 | $9,882 | -8.8% |
| Daniel Marquardt | $9,953 | $9,063 | -8.9% |
| Kevin - Kevin J Polega Dec of Trust J Polega | $8,170 | $8,797 | 7.7% |
| Janineh Farms, Inc. | $19,274 | $8,593 | -55.4% |
| Michael L. Sexton | $17,175 | $8,477 | -50.6% |
| Tim Williams | $30,253 | $8,157 | -73% |
| John Felton | $1,534 | $8,149 | 431.2% |
| Bradley A. Nellenbach | $4,036 | $8,114 | 101% |
| William Maasch | $19,558 | $8,101 | -58.6% |
| Kaleb Parsch | $5,217 | $8,029 | 53.9% |
| James Caldwell | $28,653 | $8,028 | -72% |
| Connie J. Henne | $3,896 | $7,846 | 101.4% |
| Gary Bennett | $7,639 | $7,639 | 0% |
| Thomas Gormley | $3,650 | $7,595 | 108.1% |
| Lisa Seres | $5,619 | $7,493 | 33.4% |
| Robert Sawgle | $1,851 | $7,470 | 303.6% |
| Joshua Allen Kingsbury | $13,744 | $7,325 | -46.7% |
| Edward D. Heffel | $767 | $7,307 | 852.7% |
| Thomas M. Brozowski | $7,551 | $7,254 | -3.9% |
| Lucinda Mitchell | $0 | $7,216 | -- |
| William Jostock | $2,984 | $7,185 | 140.8% |
| Jean Rodenbo | $6,984 | $6,984 | 0% |
| Rockne L. Fiebelkorn | $15,164 | $6,822 | -55% |
| Donald R. Wilson | $18,084 | $6,796 | -62.4% |
| Richard L Pettit Living Trust | $6,802 | $6,752 | -0.7% |
| Thomas Orton | $6,472 | $6,472 | 0% |
| Emily Marie Muto | $7,014 | $6,251 | -10.9% |
| George Addison | $27,302 | $6,175 | -77.4% |
| Craig E. Muxlow | $2,317 | $5,882 | 153.9% |
| Bryan Kreiner | $18,336 | $5,859 | -68% |
| Arthur C. Sutter | $15,211 | $5,702 | -62.5% |
| John Daniel Miller | $17,079 | $5,647 | -66.9% |
| Duane Fischer | $6,708 | $5,503 | -18% |
| Joseph R Donovan Irrevocable Living Trust | $5,348 | $5,482 | 2.5% |
| William C. Curell | $6,841 | $5,434 | -20.6% |
| Jeffrey A. Willson | $1,575 | $5,424 | 244.4% |
| John Perkins | $10,198 | $5,356 | -47.5% |
| Kevin James Bader | $3,492 | $5,350 | 53.2% |
| Curt Coulter | $6,410 | $5,239 | -18.3% |
| Tracy G. Sohn | $79,665 | $5,149 | -93.5% |
| Kevin Daley | $11,132 | $5,114 | -54.1% |
| Pat Boughan | $5,338 | $5,007 | -6.2% |
| Caleb Schank | $12,892 | $4,925 | -61.8% |
| James E. Young | $7,684 | $4,923 | -35.9% |
| Ken Bader | $16,375 | $4,917 | -70% |
| Hawthorne Point Farms West, LLC | $10,840 | $4,855 | -55.2% |
| Henry Schank | $14,903 | $4,705 | -68.4% |
| Leonard Sanford | $10,025 | $4,689 | -53.2% |
| Barry Bethell | $0 | $4,660 | -- |
| Leonard Schank | $17,325 | $4,607 | -73.4% |
| Michael Elling | $6,363 | $4,285 | -32.7% |
| Lablanc Farms, LLP | $8,252 | $4,283 | -48.1% |
| James D. Buckner | $2,954 | $4,099 | 38.8% |
| James Heacock | $3,398 | $4,019 | 18.3% |
| Russell C. Cranick | $500 | $3,937 | 687.4% |
| John Allen Jocham | $3,822 | $3,822 | 0% |
| Michael D. Coulter | $854 | $3,802 | 345.2% |
| Thomas Brown | $5,825 | $3,684 | -36.8% |
| Farmgirl, LLC | $0 | $3,376 | -- |
| Perry Heckman II | $0 | $3,300 | -- |
| Margaret Markle | $3,289 | $3,289 | 0% |
| Hawthorne Point Farms East, LLC | $8,625 | $3,114 | -63.9% |
| Hinshaw Brothers, LLC | $9,694 | $2,976 | -69.3% |
| Chase A. Dobbelaere | $0 | $2,923 | -- |
| Mark Ambro Williams | $0 | $2,676 | -- |
| Willow Row Farm, LLC | $1,304 | $2,673 | 105% |
| Howell Farm, Ltd. | $111 | $2,662 | 2,298.2% |
| Thomas J. Grant | $2,610 | $2,610 | 0% |
| John Parnicky | $3,924 | $2,564 | -34.7% |
| Earl Hummel | $3,923 | $2,514 | -35.9% |
| Jeff Dufraine | $0 | $2,482 | -- |
| Matthew D. Swoish | $8,028 | $2,457 | -69.4% |
| Trey a Bazinaw | $2,534 | $2,403 | -5.2% |
| Daniel Czaczkowski | $7,369 | $2,348 | -68.1% |
| Isaac Brown | $2,431 | $2,342 | -3.7% |
| Mae Addison | $7,373 | $2,310 | -68.7% |
| William G. Case | $5,430 | $2,252 | -58.5% |
| Jack Clark | $14,248 | $2,223 | -84.4% |
| Kevin Kardell | $2,134 | $2,134 | 0% |
| Donald R. Slesinski | $11,687 | $2,070 | -82.3% |
| George M. Robinet | $6,437 | $2,067 | -67.9% |
| Perry Turner | $2,224 | $2,030 | -8.7% |
| Walter Bublitz | $6,071 | $2,020 | -66.7% |
| Daryl F. Messenger | $0 | $1,962 | -- |
| Delong's Dairy Farm | $16,735 | $1,953 | -88.3% |
| James R. Smith | $5,523 | $1,945 | -64.8% |
| Leland Ford | $4,915 | $1,921 | -60.9% |
| Richard W. Haack | $972 | $1,888 | 94.2% |
| Francis R. Schulte | $1,879 | $1,879 | 0% |
| Dennis L. Kreiner | $13,708 | $1,816 | -86.8% |
| Margaret M Alcodray | $1,470 | $1,787 | 21.6% |
| Robert Dale Gleason | $1,401 | $1,765 | 26% |
| Frank Zawodny | $1,401 | $1,731 | 23.6% |
| Raymond S. Reed | $1,069 | $1,709 | 59.9% |
| KBL Farms, LLC | $594 | $1,577 | 165.5% |
| Dale Duckert | $5,096 | $1,538 | -69.8% |
| Jeff Hodge | $2,756 | $1,534 | -44.3% |
| Matthew Thomas Newbegin | $0 | $1,491 | -- |
| Frederick J. Beaufait | $5,322 | $1,436 | -73% |
| Kyle L Snoblen | $8,470 | $1,371 | -83.8% |
| mac Hind | $662 | $1,324 | 100% |
| Martin F. Smith II | $5,863 | $1,211 | -79.3% |
| Joseph Ruhlman | $3,111 | $1,201 | -61.4% |
| Sherry E. Wagner | $1,194 | $1,194 | 0% |
| John McDonald | $2,832 | $1,139 | -59.8% |
| Andrew C. Crousore | $52,917 | $1,133 | -97.9% |
| Ray D. Davis | $1,117 | $1,117 | 0% |
| Fredric K. Taube | $1,095 | $1,095 | 0% |
| Harold Tarzwell | $1,064 | $1,064 | 0% |
| Hannah Schank | $0 | $1,034 | -- |
| Patrick J. Ankley | $2,085 | $1,024 | -50.9% |
| Trybus Children's Trustee | $2,928 | $950 | -67.6% |
| Brandon Urchick | $11,244 | $930 | -91.7% |
| Jack Jostock | $9,930 | $929 | -90.6% |
| Janet M Jurgess | $486 | $846 | 74.1% |
| Marilyn Dingman | $836 | $836 | 0% |
| Stephen Bossenberry | $3,363 | $769 | -77.1% |
| James Mikulski | $0 | $682 | -- |
| Patricia K. Brown | $659 | $659 | 0% |
| Roger Ransom | $841 | $622 | -26% |
| Susan K. Stewart | $22,021 | $609 | -97.2% |
| Eddings Services | $707 | $569 | -19.5% |
| Patricia L. Lashbrook | $0 | $560 | -- |
| Daniel L. Hurley | $533 | $533 | 0% |
| Delore D. Hurley | $533 | $533 | 0% |
| James Scott Elmslie Elmslie Trust Dated 12/24/12 | $0 | $520 | -- |
| Randall K. Hodges | $855 | $486 | -43.2% |
| Anna P. Nichols | $2,364 | $402 | -83% |
| John D. Miller | $3,636 | $378 | -89.6% |
| Robert D. Mitchell | $3,064 | $368 | -88% |
| Betty Czaczkowski | $356 | $356 | 0% |
| DSCS Farms, LLC | $0 | $317 | -- |
| Gene R. Winnie | $285 | $285 | 0% |
| Ronald B. Ackerman Irrevocable Trust | $365 | $254 | -30.4% |
| Kenneth Gerald Nelson | $4,998 | $198 | -96% |
| Rich King | $176 | $176 | 0% |
| John Loeding | $0 | $133 | -- |
| Julia Ann Hiett Raymond | $0 | $71 | -- |
| Jane L. Cantrell | $256 | $68 | -73.4% |
| Estate of Julette Hiett | $9 | $23 | 155.6% |
| Jimmie E. Butler | $180 | $11 | -93.9% |
| Charles Frazee | $25 | $6 | -76% |
| Catherine Zehr | $99 | $0 | -100% |
| Dale E. Zehr | $149 | $0 | -100% |
| Toby Parker | $4,594 | $0 | -100% |
| Albert Alcodray | $317 | $0 | -100% |
| Donald N. Wheeler | $3,049 | $0 | -100% |
| Emily M. Muto | $335 | $0 | -100% |
| James Scott Elmslie | $2,575 | $0 | -100% |
| Andrew I. Galante | $2,133 | $0 | -100% |
| Van Den Berg Farms, LLC | $297 | $0 | -100% |
| Great Lakes Bioregional Land Cons | $240 | $0 | -100% |
| James H. Steffler | $547 | $0 | -100% |
| Jerome E. Calleja | $246 | $0 | -100% |
| Jessica L. Beeson | $862 | $0 | -100% |
| John Paul Stock Jr. | $895 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph Bellor | $1,389 | $0 | -100% |
| Wayne A. Davis | $660 | $0 | -100% |
| William Stanley Crawford | $963 | $0 | -100% |
| David Brace | $1,701 | $0 | -100% |
| Mark Reynolds | $150 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $3,792,417 | $2,975,950 | -21.5% |
Alerts Sign-up