WV Heartland News

Farms in Clay County received $1,758 in taxpayer-funded subsidies in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Of the eight subsidies provided, the largest was for William Rogers, which received $537 for the claim of "Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 3 - Livestock and Poultry".

The smallest subsidy provided to a Clay County farmer was $33 to Kathi F. Williams.

There were 22 fewer subsidies than the year before, and the total value of the subsidies fell by $8,309.

Kimberly Amadeo of The Balance said farmer subsidies "help high-income corporations, not poor rural farmers. Most of the money goes toward large agribusinesses."

USDA data analyzed by the Cato Institute found that "farmers (on net) have derived almost 40% of their income directly from the U.S. government” in recent years.

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	$ Received	Reason for Subsidy	Total Received in Subsidies by Farmer ($)
William Rogers	$537	Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 3 - Livestock and Poultry	$537
Boyd Williams	$360	Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 3 - Livestock and Poultry	$360
Allen King	$265	Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 3 - Livestock and Poultry	$265
Jerry Salisbury	$220	Coronavirus Food Assistance Program - Continuation of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act	$220
Glenna M. Triplett	$128	Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 3 - Livestock and Poultry	$128
Curtis West	$120	Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 3 - Livestock and Poultry	$120
Arthur Eugene Smith II	$95	Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 3 - Livestock and Poultry	$95
Kathi F. Williams	$33	Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 3 - Livestock and Poultry	$33