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In 2021, 178 farmers in cities within Westmoreland County received a total of $1.7 million in 314 farm subsidies, a 49.8% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $3.4 million in 631 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 Westmoreland County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopeway Dairy, LLC | $365,694 | $141,983 | -61.2% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity Credit Corporation | $0 | $130,810 | -- |
| Charles S. Carr Jr. | $214,350 | $126,582 | -40.9% |
| William Rosco Smith | $129,138 | $118,525 | -8.2% |
| Kepple Farms | $149,582 | $97,981 | -34.5% |
| Catalina Dairy, Inc. | $131,149 | $95,078 | -27.5% |
| Selembo Farms, LLC | $135,158 | $87,827 | -35% |
| Heinnickel Farms, Inc. | $197,750 | $49,327 | -75.1% |
| Jerry L. Hixson | $51,546 | $41,228 | -20% |
| Scott H. Branthoover | $38,292 | $41,206 | 7.6% |
| Logan Family Farms, LLC | $100,896 | $39,669 | -60.7% |
| Decision Maker, Inc. | $35,943 | $35,830 | -0.3% |
| Michael S. Baker | $45,115 | $35,354 | -21.6% |
| Mark Feiling | $169,387 | $33,028 | -80.5% |
| Todd J. Crownover | $73,264 | $26,351 | -64% |
| P&S Lumber, LLC | $0 | $25,938 | -- |
| Phillip G. Long | $68,611 | $23,989 | -65% |
| Brian D. Hall | $26,961 | $23,659 | -12.2% |
| Lone Maple Farms | $50,560 | $22,087 | -56.3% |
| Kavel Farms, LLC | $37,662 | $21,022 | -44.2% |
| Joseph a Barcovtch | $30,317 | $19,913 | -34.3% |
| Ralph L. Frye Jr. | $29,030 | $15,573 | -46.4% |
| Todd N. Frescura | $9,867 | $15,534 | 57.4% |
| Bruno a Holnaider II | $36,240 | $15,108 | -58.3% |
| Richard J Hajnosz | $16,534 | $13,662 | -17.4% |
| Farm Service Agency | $8,614 | $11,354 | 31.8% |
| J & N Trust of 2002 | $11,157 | $11,157 | 0% |
| Sam J. Stoner | $26,688 | $11,101 | -58.4% |
| James G. Schenck Jr. | $13,301 | $10,598 | -20.3% |
| Robert Sever | $15,999 | $9,672 | -39.5% |
| Pleasant Lane Farms Creamery, LLC | $0 | $9,498 | -- |
| Rodney K. Bloom | $38,689 | $8,997 | -76.7% |
| Doris A. Lowe | $8,960 | $8,960 | 0% |
| Ralph Myers | $24,931 | $8,181 | -67.2% |
| Janice Greenawalt | $12,583 | $7,906 | -37.2% |
| Ralph B. McConnaughey | $2,376 | $7,818 | 229% |
| John G Mravintz III | $42,590 | $7,756 | -81.8% |
| Charles John Pudliner | $0 | $7,680 | -- |
| Randy K. Shoaf | $28,265 | $7,253 | -74.3% |
| Kenneth B. Walters | $7,103 | $7,103 | 0% |
| Chad Michael Firestone | $12,942 | $6,959 | -46.2% |
| Clark Farms | $7,218 | $6,589 | -8.7% |
| Sichula's Bros Farms | $16,144 | $6,336 | -60.8% |
| The Fulmer Oakdale Farm, LLC | $15,045 | $6,101 | -59.4% |
| Curtis W. Keenan | $16,503 | $5,603 | -66% |
| Richard Lee George | $14,097 | $5,580 | -60.4% |
| William Robert Smith | $11,585 | $5,398 | -53.4% |
| Betty Joan Matson | $9,759 | $5,193 | -46.8% |
| Charles S Carr JR - Lone Oak Farm | $10,609 | $5,072 | -52.2% |
| Frank L. Rush | $5,038 | $5,038 | 0% |
| Dale Myers | $4,718 | $4,718 | 0% |
| Charles E. Bowman | $5,547 | $4,681 | -15.6% |
| Stanley Angelcyk | $8,094 | $4,619 | -42.9% |
| Justin S Matson Farming, LLC | $9,083 | $4,565 | -49.7% |
| Betty S Barisone | $4,488 | $4,488 | 0% |
| John M. McIlvaine | $15,191 | $4,383 | -71.1% |
| Joel T. Derr | $12,285 | $4,360 | -64.5% |
| Kim E. Miller | $10,718 | $4,109 | -61.7% |
| Samuel D. Smail | $8,750 | $3,941 | -55% |
| Duane E. Stahl | $11,820 | $3,881 | -67.2% |
| John J. Guthrie | $11,126 | $3,760 | -66.2% |
| Duane E. Hutter | $6,381 | $3,613 | -43.4% |
| Glenlyn Kalp | $3,579 | $3,579 | 0% |
| Glenn Kerr | $11,726 | $3,576 | -69.5% |
| Todd R. Reamer | $12,124 | $3,502 | -71.1% |
| Ryan Lee Piper | $10,573 | $3,343 | -68.4% |
| Roger T. Altman | $5,318 | $3,328 | -37.4% |
| Terrence J. Matty | $12,978 | $3,286 | -74.7% |
| Joanne Dillinger | $3,276 | $3,276 | 0% |
| Mv Farms Lp | $9,300 | $3,221 | -65.4% |
| Attilio A. Pecora | $9,938 | $3,154 | -68.3% |
| E a Cramer Farm, LLC | $9,355 | $3,128 | -66.6% |
| Paul Skirda JR | $13,114 | $3,118 | -76.2% |
| Donald B. Bowman | $3,041 | $3,041 | 0% |
| Angelcyk Holding, LLC | $5,938 | $3,040 | -48.8% |
| James A. King | $5,251 | $2,878 | -45.2% |
| William D Selembo | $8,237 | $2,861 | -65.3% |
| Scott Merichko | $7,433 | $2,704 | -63.6% |
| Robert D. Myers | $2,754 | $2,640 | -4.1% |
| James F. Stiffler Jr. | $4,619 | $2,554 | -44.7% |
| Bakers Acres, LLC | $10,151 | $2,535 | -75% |
| Richard O. Love | $9,751 | $2,528 | -74.1% |
| Michael L. Filippini | $5,152 | $2,475 | -52% |
| William John Ebert | $2,983 | $2,474 | -17.1% |
| Lucas Hochard | $4,886 | $2,443 | -50% |
| John R. Greenawalt | $9,782 | $2,386 | -75.6% |
| William Doney Sr. | $3,576 | $2,299 | -35.7% |
| Abbe Wagenblast | $7,455 | $2,235 | -70% |
| Thomas E Gretz Farm | $13,840 | $2,221 | -84% |
| Rodney Artman | $2,208 | $2,208 | 0% |
| Edward M Bilik Partnership | $2,178 | $2,178 | 0% |
| Marvin J Huls Trust | $1,037 | $2,173 | 109.5% |
| Clinton a Pizarchik | $3,034 | $2,111 | -30.4% |
| Audley Couch and Sons | $8,570 | $2,110 | -75.4% |
| Steven Rhoades | $5,922 | $2,081 | -64.9% |
| Kavel Agent Services, LLC | $2,152 | $2,014 | -6.4% |
| Barry Highberger | $5,166 | $1,874 | -63.7% |
| Sportsmens Association of GBG | $1,818 | $1,818 | 0% |
| Linda Stumpf | $1,806 | $1,806 | 0% |
| George E. Stanislaw | $11,842 | $1,795 | -84.8% |
| John H. Greenawalt | $4,307 | $1,783 | -58.6% |
| Weimer Brothers Farm, LLC | $6,653 | $1,743 | -73.8% |
| David H. Smith | $4,001 | $1,722 | -57% |
| Dennis Sweeney | $2,329 | $1,711 | -26.5% |
| Thomas N. Meyer | $5,089 | $1,691 | -66.8% |
| Douglas Greenawalt | $1,877 | $1,670 | -11% |
| Nathan E. Boggs | $3,352 | $1,657 | -50.6% |
| Raymond Butz | $4,388 | $1,610 | -63.3% |
| Corbin J. Crownover | $4,507 | $1,606 | -64.4% |
| William T. Ebert | $4,246 | $1,582 | -62.7% |
| Judith R. Backus | $1,753 | $1,576 | -10.1% |
| Loyalhanna Watershed Association | $1,567 | $1,567 | 0% |
| Timothy L. Fretts | $1,548 | $1,548 | 0% |
| Ronald E. Fretts | $1,536 | $1,536 | 0% |
| Scott Malnofski | $6,002 | $1,522 | -74.6% |
| The Old Goat Farm | $2,827 | $1,438 | -49.1% |
| Hettler Family Farm, LLC | $2,310 | $1,406 | -39.1% |
| Randy Gillis | $13,181 | $1,403 | -89.4% |
| Samuel R. Greenawalt | $3,751 | $1,399 | -62.7% |
| Stahls Dairy Farm | $4,379 | $1,353 | -69.1% |
| Thomas E. Gretz | $1,256 | $1,256 | 0% |
| Mills Rolling Acres Farm, LLC | $3,652 | $1,129 | -69.1% |
| Charles Bobich | $4,343 | $1,102 | -74.6% |
| Albert Detillo | $2,253 | $1,060 | -53% |
| Donald B. Bowman Jr. | $1,060 | $1,060 | 0% |
| Rocking a Ranch, Inc. | $0 | $977 | -- |
| Lawrence Bash | $6,806 | $969 | -85.8% |
| Billy J. Porter | $2,987 | $960 | -67.9% |
| M & T Sleith Farms | $2,194 | $934 | -57.4% |
| Florence Lenhart | $0 | $880 | -- |
| Bernard E Domblesky | $1,254 | $877 | -30.1% |
| Cindy Thorne | $774 | $774 | 0% |
| John Kapusta Jr. | $3,001 | $771 | -74.3% |
| Long's Autumn Ridge Farm | $15,030 | $764 | -94.9% |
| David John Kavel | $5,302 | $731 | -86.2% |
| Michael Sloskey | $992 | $712 | -28.2% |
| 3-Z Partnership | $2,467 | $700 | -71.6% |
| Samuel Menzie | $7,102 | $695 | -90.2% |
| Boggs Hollow Farm | $11,246 | $679 | -94% |
| John E. Palko | $1,378 | $663 | -51.9% |
| William J. Adamy | $1,486 | $628 | -57.7% |
| Deborah Guthrie | $0 | $592 | -- |
| Frank Scarpa | $603 | $568 | -5.8% |
| Paul W. Bush | $911 | $555 | -39.1% |
| Gregg L. Goldstrohm | $534 | $534 | 0% |
| James A. Kovacs | $936 | $492 | -47.4% |
| Larry Brinker | $479 | $479 | 0% |
| James Fulmer | $477 | $477 | 0% |
| Craig A. Lash | $2,413 | $477 | -80.2% |
| Gary Kiser | $5,589 | $469 | -91.6% |
| Ronald B. Ambrose | $2,207 | $459 | -79.2% |
| Mae Weinschenker Irrevocable Trust | $0 | $448 | -- |
| Edwin Hurst | $3,432 | $444 | -87.1% |
| Robert Dean Vijuk JR | $1,914 | $440 | -77% |
| John V. Orgovan | $401 | $401 | 0% |
| Lewis K. Thomas | $1,837 | $385 | -79% |
| Richard Firestone | $1,221 | $338 | -72.3% |
| Cody Reesman | $1,320 | $316 | -76.1% |
| Andrew Ambrose | $1,815 | $271 | -85.1% |
| Brian Mizikar | $852 | $260 | -69.5% |
| Regina L. Carpenter | $979 | $234 | -76.1% |
| David Gaut | $25,855 | $195 | -99.2% |
| William Gaut | $17,728 | $195 | -98.9% |
| Wayne E. Baughman | $179 | $179 | 0% |
| Timothy W. Martin | $169 | $169 | 0% |
| Robert Diberardine | $10,806 | $168 | -98.4% |
| Herbert Randy Riddell | $1,276 | $166 | -87% |
| Donald W. Brown | $0 | $137 | -- |
| Neil C. Markle | $1,169 | $122 | -89.6% |
| Eric Nelson | $0 | $119 | -- |
| James Riederer | $165 | $117 | -29.1% |
| Shirley J Shpargel | $97 | $97 | 0% |
| Ronald Schmucker | $995 | $94 | -90.6% |
| Charles R. Addison | $78 | $78 | 0% |
| David W. Shero Jr. | $7,047 | $70 | -99% |
| Lentz Family Farm | $733 | $61 | -91.7% |
| Dennis K. Frye | $1,379 | $48 | -96.5% |
| Cindy L. Brinker | $131 | $7 | -94.7% |
| Donna L Machulsky | $6,343 | $0 | -100% |
| Sandra Truckner | $1,675 | $0 | -100% |
| Timothy Allen Coleman | $1,375 | $0 | -100% |
| Irvin W. Tantlinger | $155 | $0 | -100% |
| Farm Service Agency/Commodity CRE | $11,298 | $0 | -100% |
| Larry L. Poole Sr. | $1,664 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert M. Fink Jr. | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Ruth F. Smith | $1,457 | $0 | -100% |
| Staci A. Neptune | $1,434 | $0 | -100% |
| Wayne C. Frye | $1,718 | $0 | -100% |
| William E. Crites | $916 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph E. Kerber | $6,790 | $0 | -100% |
| Joel Milowicki | $20,402 | $0 | -100% |
| Greenhouse Winery, LLC | $3,270 | $0 | -100% |
| Jamison Farm, LLC | $7,761 | $0 | -100% |
| Lee Himler | $847 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas A. Stickle | $1,526 | $0 | -100% |
| Gary T. Shank | $22 | $0 | -100% |
| Ronald Hodoba | $995 | $0 | -100% |
| William Roscoe Smith | $99,304 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert C. Speer | $145 | $0 | -100% |
| Arona Road Greenhouse, Inc. | $78,041 | $0 | -100% |
| Cindy Geary | $1,320 | $0 | -100% |
| John M Guzzy | $11,857 | $0 | -100% |
| Helinski Holdings, LLC | $2,646 | $0 | -100% |
| John O'Laughlin | $9,020 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert Welch Jr. | $427 | $0 | -100% |
| Susan Hepler | $4,666 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $3,390,843 | $1,701,783 | -49.8% |
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY
Borough of Bolivar• Borough of Hunker• Herminie• City of New Kensington• Borough of New Alexandria• Borough of West Newton• City of Greensburg• Borough of Scottdale• Bradenville• Borough of Irwin• Norvelt• Borough of Latrobe• Borough of New Florence• Borough of Ligonier• Borough of Vandergrift• Borough of New Stanton• Borough of Seward• City of Jeannette• Borough of Avonmore• City of Lower Burrell• Borough Of Export• Borough Of Smithton
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