The state of taxpayer-funded farm subsidies in cities associated with Penobscot County in 2021

Farms throughout cities in Penobscot County received $1.1 million less in subsidies in 2021 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture compared to the year before.

In 2021, 40 farmers in cities within Penobscot County received a total of $740,398 in 58 farm subsidies, a 59.1% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.8 million in 74 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.