Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock
In 2021, 155 farmers in cities within Erie County received a total of $1.3 million in 308 farm subsidies, a 68.1% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $4.1 million in 642 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 Erie County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Krueger Farms, LLC | $129,084 | $105,037 | -18.6% |
| Maple View Farms, LLC | $210,080 | $72,922 | -65.3% |
| Nuhn Farms, LLC | $189,230 | $61,719 | -67.4% |
| Schuster Farms, Inc. | $215,924 | $61,544 | -71.5% |
| Bouy Bros Farms, LLC | $87,168 | $50,378 | -42.2% |
| K K & E Enterprises, Inc. | $0 | $49,251 | -- |
| Mil Farms LLC, Ltd. | $123,827 | $44,037 | -64.4% |
| William H. Hirt II | $35,048 | $39,609 | 13% |
| Kent D. Edwards | $118,897 | $39,094 | -67.1% |
| Braun Farms, Inc. | $65,330 | $38,225 | -41.5% |
| Galloway & Sons | $108,152 | $31,713 | -70.7% |
| R & D Schlessman, LLC | $114,911 | $31,369 | -72.7% |
| Quarry Hill Orchards, LLC | $94,841 | $29,502 | -68.9% |
| Boos Farms, LLC | $85,418 | $26,972 | -68.4% |
| Hermes Brothers | $106,610 | $25,884 | -75.7% |
| Burnham Orchards, Inc. | $248,993 | $25,580 | -89.7% |
| Bohn Implement Company | $73,456 | $22,688 | -69.1% |
| Wesley H. Miller | $67,931 | $22,124 | -67.4% |
| Cristopher N. Wensink | $58,867 | $21,507 | -63.5% |
| Thomas M. Wensink | $58,867 | $21,507 | -63.5% |
| Allen Puckrin | $36,511 | $19,779 | -45.8% |
| Jayson R. Rockwell | $52,697 | $18,476 | -64.9% |
| Raymond E. Enderle | $42,597 | $17,341 | -59.3% |
| Guy Miller | $47,143 | $17,188 | -63.5% |
| Milridge Farms, LLC | $49,136 | $16,337 | -66.8% |
| D & M Kuns Farm, LLC | $50,585 | $16,164 | -68% |
| Tadd J. Smith | $56,904 | $15,801 | -72.2% |
| Kromer Family Farms, LLC | $15,957 | $15,449 | -3.2% |
| Ro-Bern Acres, Inc. | $44,627 | $14,564 | -67.4% |
| Henry Kleinoeder | $42,618 | $14,059 | -67% |
| David C. Pocock | $25,506 | $13,365 | -47.6% |
| David P. Keller | $37,710 | $12,994 | -65.5% |
| Daniel B. Graves | $29,413 | $11,860 | -59.7% |
| Steven R. Deehr | $29,130 | $11,624 | -60.1% |
| Michael a Puckrin | $19,464 | $10,209 | -47.5% |
| James D. Keller III | $17,811 | $8,968 | -49.6% |
| David C. Schlessman | $23,601 | $8,368 | -64.5% |
| Barden L. Graves | $23,381 | $7,809 | -66.6% |
| A Few Good Acres, LLC | $18,086 | $7,592 | -58% |
| David J. Fitz | $17,817 | $7,172 | -59.7% |
| Matt Galloway | $26,706 | $6,872 | -74.3% |
| Richard F. Miller | $21,439 | $6,859 | -68% |
| Enderle Family Farm, Ltd. | $19,192 | $6,777 | -64.7% |
| Barry A. Brenner | $14,973 | $6,383 | -57.4% |
| Dennis Mesenburg | $8,165 | $6,197 | -24.1% |
| Michael R. Kraus | $16,223 | $6,188 | -61.9% |
| Edward D. Fitz | $15,365 | $6,089 | -60.4% |
| Larry Hummel | $6,376 | $5,600 | -12.2% |
| DMS Farms, Ltd. | $13,034 | $5,273 | -59.5% |
| Schuster Land Company | $12,503 | $5,243 | -58.1% |
| Gregory J. Otto | $13,821 | $5,070 | -63.3% |
| Wiedenheft Cattle Farm, LLC | $12,614 | $5,062 | -59.9% |
| Joseph T. Burnham IV | $689 | $4,972 | 621.6% |
| David J. Mulvin | $29,613 | $4,657 | -84.3% |
| Ogontz Farm, LLC | $4,373 | $4,533 | 3.7% |
| David Kelley | $10,569 | $4,425 | -58.1% |
| Leis Limited Partnership, LLLP | $8,841 | $4,041 | -54.3% |
| Dennis Sessler | $8,217 | $4,024 | -51% |
| Matthew Miller | $10,140 | $3,918 | -61.4% |
| Charles Hummel Jr. | $4,621 | $3,845 | -16.8% |
| Edward Scott Schenk | $5,452 | $3,679 | -32.5% |
| Daniel Gies | $0 | $3,623 | -- |
| Kevin Lynn Demuth | $11,035 | $3,598 | -67.4% |
| Susan Finnegan | $10,379 | $3,563 | -65.7% |
| Austin R. George | $9,087 | $3,531 | -61.1% |
| Thomas Eugene Ward | $8,920 | $3,499 | -60.8% |
| Clark A. Hahn | $4,393 | $3,350 | -23.7% |
| Agent-Land Limited | $9,756 | $3,247 | -66.7% |
| Richard C. Malone | $29,611 | $3,228 | -89.1% |
| Scott E. Schlessman | $5,132 | $3,164 | -38.3% |
| Chris Bauer | $6,752 | $3,062 | -54.7% |
| Jason A. Thompson | $8,577 | $2,988 | -65.2% |
| Kenneth L. Schlessman | $10,248 | $2,925 | -71.5% |
| John M. Young | $5,892 | $2,817 | -52.2% |
| Ryan Michael Miller | $8,700 | $2,608 | -70% |
| Thomas A. Miller | $8,299 | $2,608 | -68.6% |
| Tad L. Faber | $8,513 | $2,577 | -69.7% |
| Thomas E. Crapsey | $4,484 | $2,074 | -53.7% |
| Ned Otto | $4,983 | $1,941 | -61% |
| Alex D. Schlessman | $2,377 | $1,915 | -19.4% |
| Daryl Deering | $4,779 | $1,911 | -60% |
| Craig A. Moore | $6,183 | $1,855 | -70% |
| Mark Wilson Michel | $1,797 | $1,797 | 0% |
| Lyle J. Kinsley | $1,711 | $1,711 | 0% |
| Charles D. Hummel Sr. | $2,999 | $1,704 | -43.2% |
| John J Dete Trust | $0 | $1,687 | -- |
| Kromer Farms, LLC | $3,743 | $1,678 | -55.2% |
| Craig J. Galindo | $2,622 | $1,655 | -36.9% |
| Richard D Delamatre JR | $1,641 | $1,641 | 0% |
| Michael L. Millis | $2,433 | $1,560 | -35.9% |
| Weston R. Miller | $3,148 | $1,560 | -50.4% |
| Curtis C. Boger | $1,951 | $1,535 | -21.3% |
| Spiro Vamvakas | $1,284 | $1,512 | 17.8% |
| Jeffery A. Meyer | $4,190 | $1,437 | -65.7% |
| Eugene J. Davlin | $4,249 | $1,430 | -66.3% |
| Joanne C. Toll | $1,358 | $1,358 | 0% |
| Amy L. Jordan | $2,520 | $1,329 | -47.3% |
| J Conrad, Ltd. | $5,392 | $1,316 | -75.6% |
| George Jenkins | $1,265 | $1,265 | 0% |
| Alice Moore Fanning | $4,383 | $1,254 | -71.4% |
| John Didion | $1,187 | $1,187 | 0% |
| Anthony R. Myers | $0 | $1,143 | -- |
| Connie L. Ward | $2,106 | $1,121 | -46.8% |
| Judith D. Gibbs | $2,179 | $1,090 | -50% |
| Marlene A. Poock | $1,046 | $1,046 | 0% |
| Kurt Heyman | $2,443 | $1,036 | -57.6% |
| Otto L. Kromer Jr. | $2,792 | $998 | -64.3% |
| Joy A. Hoffman | $2,599 | $965 | -62.9% |
| Sweetgum Farms, LLC | $402 | $961 | 139.1% |
| Charles Malone | $1,580 | $947 | -40.1% |
| Ron Cook | $0 | $911 | -- |
| Jerry L. Crawford | $1,445 | $902 | -37.6% |
| Noah's Playground, LLC | $831 | $831 | 0% |
| Michael Sayler | $3,840 | $826 | -78.5% |
| Gary R. Lewis | $818 | $818 | 0% |
| Thomas J. Sloma | $2,107 | $804 | -61.8% |
| Joshua Mesenburg | $1,257 | $796 | -36.7% |
| Gary E. Miller | $1,598 | $725 | -54.6% |
| Raymond G. Witt | $1,253 | $717 | -42.8% |
| Clayton E. Dauch | $3,808 | $709 | -81.4% |
| Gene Lee Gibson | $0 | $662 | -- |
| Richard A. Pitsinger | $1,063 | $598 | -43.7% |
| Andrew O. Butler | $0 | $595 | -- |
| Bruce Thayer | $4,249 | $591 | -86.1% |
| John M. Moyer | $825 | $564 | -31.6% |
| Amy E. Lowery | $560 | $560 | 0% |
| Andy Kromer Farms, LLC | $1,534 | $525 | -65.8% |
| Crowell Family Farm Partnership | $476 | $508 | 6.7% |
| Dayle R. Alderman | $1,072 | $481 | -55.1% |
| Michael D. Moore Rvoc Trustee | $472 | $472 | 0% |
| Sean M. Smith | $1,131 | $454 | -59.9% |
| Michael J. Grote | $438 | $438 | 0% |
| Lois Boone | $0 | $433 | -- |
| John E. Myers | $1,216 | $431 | -64.6% |
| Frederick W. Hast III | $1,193 | $393 | -67.1% |
| Richard S. Hillis | $1,193 | $393 | -67.1% |
| Sarah J. Graves | $0 | $376 | -- |
| Randall G. Koch | $93 | $362 | 289.2% |
| The Eugene E Koch Family Irrev Trust | $0 | $362 | -- |
| David H. Kishman | $2,612 | $325 | -87.6% |
| Jill Wilhelm | $281 | $281 | 0% |
| Kris Tina Wilson | $368 | $204 | -44.6% |
| Gerald Salyers | $223 | $183 | -17.9% |
| Michael W. Pasqualini | $360 | $183 | -49.2% |
| Suzanne Kaufman | $182 | $182 | 0% |
| Mark Doerner | $175 | $175 | 0% |
| Brett W. Thayer | $365 | $142 | -61.1% |
| Derek A. Siesel | $108 | $141 | 30.6% |
| Melvin J. Knapp | $2,424 | $134 | -94.5% |
| Julia I. Runion | $248 | $134 | -46% |
| John W. Hartman | $935 | $126 | -86.5% |
| William David Harlan | $49 | $49 | 0% |
| Joyce M. Moyer | $97 | $45 | -53.6% |
| Lisa Barnhart | $0 | $29 | -- |
| Jefferey Nielsen | $413 | $18 | -95.6% |
| Quarry Hill Wine Company, LLC | $3,180 | $0 | -100% |
| Timothy J. Beckwith | $312 | $0 | -100% |
| Gary S Windau Living Trust | $201 | $0 | -100% |
| Jane E. Berlekamp | $294 | $0 | -100% |
| Kirk D. Edwards | $51,213 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard C. Kurt | $876 | $0 | -100% |
| William T. Jordan | $367 | $0 | -100% |
| Gordon Hahn | $3,006 | $0 | -100% |
| Mary Ann Post | $87 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert S. Taylor | $4,255 | $0 | -100% |
| The Chef's Garden, Inc. | $633,921 | $0 | -100% |
| Darren L. Draper | $606 | $0 | -100% |
| David L. Draper | $404 | $0 | -100% |
| Leroy Boone | $679 | $0 | -100% |
| Luke A. Kromer | $1,024 | $0 | -100% |
| Martin D. Hemminger | $1,296 | $0 | -100% |
| Matthew Paul Kromer | $7,274 | $0 | -100% |
| The Eugene E Koch Family Irrev Trustee | $94 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $4,117,775 | $1,313,083 | -68.1% |
Alerts Sign-up