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In 2021, 204 farmers in cities within Winnebago County received a total of $2.2 million in 400 farm subsidies, a 52.6% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $4.7 million in 828 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 Winnebago County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egan Family Dairy, Inc. | $462,160 | $139,869 | -69.7% |
| Kafer Farms Holdings, LLC | $272,683 | $133,251 | -51.1% |
| Meyerhofer Dairy, LLP | $211,878 | $113,635 | -46.4% |
| Michael Mader | $171,612 | $111,168 | -35.2% |
| Kasten Waukau Creek Farms | $112,845 | $100,790 | -10.7% |
| Silver-Shea Holsteins, LLC | $143,228 | $97,715 | -31.8% |
| Knigge Farms, LLC | $150,788 | $94,191 | -37.5% |
| Keith Nettekoven | $99,929 | $62,919 | -37% |
| David Weyland | $95,773 | $62,274 | -35% |
| Remer Farms, LLC | $154,606 | $61,738 | -60.1% |
| Brookside Dairy Farm, LLC | $45,166 | $59,283 | 31.3% |
| Jeffrey A. Bradley | $74,462 | $55,913 | -24.9% |
| Nolte Farms, LLC | $48,986 | $53,836 | 9.9% |
| Daniel E. Stokes | $86,087 | $52,725 | -38.8% |
| Kenneth A. Mader | $68,087 | $49,021 | -28% |
| Brazee Farms, Inc. | $115,910 | $36,317 | -68.7% |
| Riverside Dairy Farm, Inc. | $28,605 | $35,913 | 25.5% |
| Albright Brothers, LLC | $161,716 | $33,950 | -79% |
| Kirk Ecklund | $23,560 | $31,982 | 35.7% |
| Gregory Jackson | $105,498 | $31,005 | -70.6% |
| Bohn Farms, Inc. | $87,410 | $30,748 | -64.8% |
| Fred Busse & Sons, Inc. | $71,988 | $26,494 | -63.2% |
| Robert Gehl | $85,198 | $24,311 | -71.5% |
| Joseph H. Cowling IV | $53,644 | $24,176 | -54.9% |
| Kuehnl Farms, Inc. | $64,243 | $23,423 | -63.5% |
| 5 K Acres, LLC | $75,161 | $22,460 | -70.1% |
| V Jay Potratz, LLC | $63,159 | $21,948 | -65.2% |
| Thomas Morgan | $41,426 | $20,869 | -49.6% |
| Richard R. Grundy | $51,018 | $18,778 | -63.2% |
| Amos M. Ihde | $51,399 | $17,363 | -66.2% |
| Sprangers Brothers | $76,731 | $17,197 | -77.6% |
| Seelow Farms, LLC | $70,746 | $16,774 | -76.3% |
| Maple Crest Acres, LLC | $58,260 | $15,874 | -72.8% |
| Kiefers Maple Ledge, Inc. | $26,241 | $15,684 | -40.2% |
| John Yost III | $22,949 | $14,870 | -35.2% |
| Robert Propson | $27,006 | $13,944 | -48.4% |
| Brei Brothers | $31,048 | $12,616 | -59.4% |
| Gehrke Family Farms, LLC | $23,800 | $12,349 | -48.1% |
| Paul Kuepper | $17,993 | $11,902 | -33.9% |
| Richard Potratz | $43,674 | $11,613 | -73.4% |
| Doro Family Farms, LLC | $81,249 | $11,211 | -86.2% |
| John D. Deno | $25,684 | $10,683 | -58.4% |
| Donald Mielke | $20,716 | $10,081 | -51.3% |
| Richard Szep | $29,375 | $9,155 | -68.8% |
| Thomas R. Jackson | $31,196 | $9,123 | -70.8% |
| Schuster Farms, Inc. | $20,957 | $8,589 | -59% |
| Ory Farms, LLC | $16,261 | $8,121 | -50.1% |
| Joseph A. Ihde | $16,852 | $8,105 | -51.9% |
| Harve C Ross | $28,098 | $8,064 | -71.3% |
| Jensen Brothers Farm, LLC | $19,204 | $8,036 | -58.2% |
| Russell R. Volp | $12,900 | $7,924 | -38.6% |
| David L Ballwanz | $14,895 | $7,915 | -46.9% |
| Glenn Armstrong | $13,098 | $7,488 | -42.8% |
| James Crowley | $17,591 | $7,077 | -59.8% |
| Pahlow Farms, LLC | $20,622 | $7,007 | -66% |
| Aster E Kammrath | $6,670 | $6,670 | 0% |
| Roger Thums | $13,560 | $6,485 | -52.2% |
| Stephen C. Kratz | $15,939 | $6,443 | -59.6% |
| Alissa K. Murray | $0 | $6,385 | -- |
| Ryan M. Heise | $14,987 | $6,377 | -57.4% |
| Dennis N. Markham | $5,623 | $5,623 | 0% |
| Mark Heise | $9,596 | $5,444 | -43.3% |
| Peter J. Kallas | $13,528 | $5,422 | -59.9% |
| Spencer Stokes | $0 | $5,374 | -- |
| Robert T. Parr | $5,313 | $5,313 | 0% |
| Timothy Rose | $0 | $4,938 | -- |
| David J. Schmalz | $6,656 | $4,825 | -27.5% |
| Linda Kallas | $5,012 | $4,364 | -12.9% |
| Helen Wentzel | $4,329 | $4,329 | 0% |
| Larry J. Tritt | $10,648 | $4,253 | -60.1% |
| Donald Giddings | $12,086 | $4,204 | -65.2% |
| Randall Wolff | $11,591 | $4,143 | -64.3% |
| Brian James Poppy | $14,904 | $4,094 | -72.5% |
| Kenneth A. Kiesau | $17,799 | $4,093 | -77% |
| Brian Grundman | $9,964 | $4,047 | -59.4% |
| Gerald D. Rogers | $9,911 | $3,966 | -60% |
| R Ellis Family Farms, LLC | $10,703 | $3,961 | -63% |
| Thomas G. Tuchscherer | $3,889 | $3,889 | 0% |
| Edinger Enterprise, Inc. | $9,749 | $3,819 | -60.8% |
| Gerald E. Schoonover | $11,426 | $3,696 | -67.7% |
| Todd L. Wittmann | $11,308 | $3,652 | -67.7% |
| Robert J. Mueller | $9,153 | $3,546 | -61.3% |
| Rogers Haven Farms, Inc. | $10,353 | $3,504 | -66.2% |
| Muttart Brothers | $3,635 | $3,495 | -3.9% |
| Sleepy Hollow Farm, LLC | $8,720 | $3,453 | -60.4% |
| Gilbert Buser | $3,442 | $3,442 | 0% |
| Allen Tetzke | $6,105 | $3,420 | -44% |
| Tod Nortman | $3,646 | $3,420 | -6.2% |
| Borchert Farms, LLC | $0 | $3,402 | -- |
| Lee Volp | $10,507 | $3,373 | -67.9% |
| Eugene Ott | $4,864 | $3,348 | -31.2% |
| D & D Farms of Omro, Inc. | $7,121 | $3,336 | -53.2% |
| Tom Gillis | $6,183 | $3,229 | -47.8% |
| Michael J. Schulze | $3,719 | $3,216 | -13.5% |
| Gerald 0 Zink | $7,451 | $3,208 | -56.9% |
| Merle A. Carpenter | $1,804 | $3,131 | 73.6% |
| Dennis C. Retzlaff | $7,281 | $3,052 | -58.1% |
| James Reinert | $6,901 | $2,973 | -56.9% |
| Kyle P. Kafer | $5,247 | $2,850 | -45.7% |
| Todd Koch | $2,755 | $2,755 | 0% |
| Tilman O. Moe Jr. | $3,200 | $2,736 | -14.5% |
| Steve Helmuth | $4,288 | $2,692 | -37.2% |
| GMK Enterprises | $2,506 | $2,506 | 0% |
| Starward Farms, LLC | $3,814 | $2,493 | -34.6% |
| Thomas Sprangers | $3,556 | $2,457 | -30.9% |
| Edward F. Race | $6,773 | $2,452 | -63.8% |
| Douglas Bladorn | $2,412 | $2,412 | 0% |
| HMJ, LLC | $4,372 | $2,297 | -47.5% |
| Dylan A. Malson | $0 | $2,263 | -- |
| Rick J. Meyers | $6,036 | $2,256 | -62.6% |
| Russell Rilling | $5,856 | $2,228 | -62% |
| Carl J. Holzschuh | $3,749 | $2,139 | -42.9% |
| Roger A. Laabs II | $3,839 | $2,114 | -44.9% |
| Stahl Farm, LLC | $5,414 | $2,095 | -61.3% |
| David Wiesner | $5,124 | $2,063 | -59.7% |
| Thomas R. Lee | $5,096 | $2,017 | -60.4% |
| John F. Giddings | $4,124 | $1,932 | -53.2% |
| Daniel J. Springhetti | $0 | $1,927 | -- |
| Russell Stone | $3,561 | $1,916 | -46.2% |
| Robert L. Hildebrand | $1,903 | $1,903 | 0% |
| Patricia Schroeder-Haase | $5,951 | $1,878 | -68.4% |
| Thomas Rogstad | $1,862 | $1,862 | 0% |
| Lee L. Bartelt | $6,210 | $1,841 | -70.4% |
| Lynn Stacker | $3,614 | $1,829 | -49.4% |
| Richard J. Hertel | $3,636 | $1,760 | -51.6% |
| Thomas G. Herbst | $2,743 | $1,733 | -36.8% |
| Paul Thompson, LLC | $4,800 | $1,697 | -64.6% |
| John E. Rilling | $1,662 | $1,662 | 0% |
| Marcia J. Bishop | $1,644 | $1,644 | 0% |
| Nathan Benjamin Decker | $1,622 | $1,622 | 0% |
| Robert Rohan | $1,856 | $1,617 | -12.9% |
| Christian Clausen | $4,165 | $1,566 | -62.4% |
| Dennis Palmbach | $2,827 | $1,564 | -44.7% |
| Casey L. Anderson | $2,559 | $1,531 | -40.2% |
| Clarence D. Lee | $1,519 | $1,519 | 0% |
| Diane Kromm | $2,425 | $1,502 | -38.1% |
| Allen Knurr | $1,519 | $1,499 | -1.3% |
| Valentine Gardehl | $1,486 | $1,480 | -0.4% |
| Lynn D. Davis | $2,499 | $1,454 | -41.8% |
| Douglas W. Bohn | $1,190 | $1,428 | 20% |
| Sandra Scovronski | $1,765 | $1,404 | -20.5% |
| Edward G. Carpenter | $3,083 | $1,397 | -54.7% |
| Michael P. Schroeder | $4,562 | $1,386 | -69.6% |
| Patricia Palecek | $1,369 | $1,369 | 0% |
| Jeffrey P. Sommer | $709 | $1,324 | 86.7% |
| Steven C. Seidl | $3,918 | $1,322 | -66.3% |
| Richard L. Christl | $1,662 | $1,286 | -22.6% |
| Shane R. Kallas | $2,205 | $1,275 | -42.2% |
| CBCBF Farm, LLC | $3,896 | $1,237 | -68.2% |
| Ronald R. Buser | $1,201 | $1,201 | 0% |
| Lewis Hintz | $2,573 | $1,197 | -53.5% |
| Lori Sall | $3,750 | $1,195 | -68.1% |
| John Freund | $1,157 | $1,157 | 0% |
| Michael J. Mijal | $594 | $1,130 | 90.2% |
| Npotratz, LLC | $7,025 | $1,100 | -84.3% |
| Constance C. Kuhlman | $1,098 | $1,098 | 0% |
| Jacob Wiesner | $1,098 | $1,098 | 0% |
| Jackson P. Remer | $948 | $927 | -2.2% |
| Darrell Tritt | $2,755 | $916 | -66.8% |
| Kirt Hoffmann | $913 | $913 | 0% |
| Jeffrey Sperger | $2,695 | $911 | -66.2% |
| Rendell J. Potratz | $2,231 | $903 | -59.5% |
| Joseph H. Cowling V | $1,679 | $881 | -47.5% |
| Gregg a Pattison Revocable Living Trust | $877 | $877 | 0% |
| Shannon Davis-Foust | $863 | $863 | 0% |
| Brian S. Allison | $2,419 | $861 | -64.4% |
| Scott Thums | $1,718 | $785 | -54.3% |
| Rick Tritt | $1,011 | $729 | -27.9% |
| Patrick F. Crowley | $2,035 | $726 | -64.3% |
| Randy A. Radig | $1,776 | $636 | -64.2% |
| Mary K. Beattie | $738 | $623 | -15.6% |
| Doris Strehlow Trust | $1,176 | $623 | -47% |
| Jack Borchert | $0 | $600 | -- |
| Kiesau Family Farms, LLC | $3,292 | $570 | -82.7% |
| John J. Russell | $557 | $557 | 0% |
| RSLD Enterprises, LLC | $209 | $507 | 142.6% |
| Tami Verhagen | $884 | $492 | -44.3% |
| Rick Rubbert | $896 | $492 | -45.1% |
| Robert-Kuhlow Family Real Estate Trust Kuhlow | $0 | $492 | -- |
| Philip N. Ertmer | $428 | $428 | 0% |
| Charles R. Peterson | $904 | $427 | -52.8% |
| Jody D. Andres | $427 | $427 | 0% |
| Rocky Gardehl | $2,858 | $381 | -86.7% |
| J4, LLC | $376 | $376 | 0% |
| James R. Nye | $1,028 | $355 | -65.5% |
| David Scherer | $3,264 | $340 | -89.6% |
| Jerry B. Szulczewski | $564 | $334 | -40.8% |
| Marlyn L. Carpenter | $802 | $326 | -59.4% |
| M and B, LLC | $769 | $305 | -60.3% |
| Sheila Henke | $298 | $298 | 0% |
| Jeffrey A. Schuster | $0 | $281 | -- |
| Robert R Chabalowski | $276 | $276 | 0% |
| Craig Challoner | $258 | $258 | 0% |
| Michelle Rohan | $0 | $238 | -- |
| Ellen M. Newman | $710 | $231 | -67.5% |
| Bates Family Trust | $231 | $230 | -0.4% |
| Joshua Bartlein | $9,037 | $229 | -97.5% |
| David L. Weiss | $1,726 | $218 | -87.4% |
| James A. Sturgis | $0 | $190 | -- |
| Gail Eileen Miller | $349 | $174 | -50.1% |
| Rebekah Weiss | $161 | $161 | 0% |
| Richard Davis | $233 | $119 | -48.9% |
| Randy S. Kallas | $3,983 | $75 | -98.1% |
| Joseph a Loderbauer | $630 | $40 | -93.7% |
| Chester van de Hey | $2,098 | $0 | -100% |
| Hugh S. Waite | $1,104 | $0 | -100% |
| Molly Hoffmann | $428 | $0 | -100% |
| S Bevers -Steve Bevers, LLC | $19,380 | $0 | -100% |
| Skarda Land, LLC | $1,388 | $0 | -100% |
| Verona van de Hey | $35 | $0 | -100% |
| Gerald B Sitor | $289 | $0 | -100% |
| Glenn Winkler | $851 | $0 | -100% |
| John R. Langner | $2,089 | $0 | -100% |
| Melvin Sommer Estate | $1,229 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul Grunska | $71 | $0 | -100% |
| Peter K Costello - the Peter and | $249 | $0 | -100% |
| Robert-Kuhlow Family Real Estate | $648 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas W. Christianson | $203 | $0 | -100% |
| Brenda S. Shea | $1,639 | $0 | -100% |
| Brian J. Poppy | $304 | $0 | -100% |
| Carol Remer | $738 | $0 | -100% |
| Clarence Olson | $129 | $0 | -100% |
| David C. Kallas | $3,624 | $0 | -100% |
| Dennis Craig | $517 | $0 | -100% |
| Donald Wagner | $2,783 | $0 | -100% |
| Donna Jean Schonscheck | $87 | $0 | -100% |
| Doris - Doris Strehlow Trust - St. | $419 | $0 | -100% |
| Doris Strehlow | $405 | $0 | -100% |
| Francis Fisher | $223 | $0 | -100% |
| Glenn L. Lawson | $5,811 | $0 | -100% |
| Isabel G. Taylor | $270 | $0 | -100% |
| Kafer Farms, LLP | $15,188 | $0 | -100% |
| Kathryn Lewis | $2,868 | $0 | -100% |
| Louise Thums | $2,056 | $0 | -100% |
| Mark Merrit Schneider | $2,450 | $0 | -100% |
| Paul Timm | $637 | $0 | -100% |
| Peter I. Kromm | $2,742 | $0 | -100% |
| Richard W. Gehrke | $1,177 | $0 | -100% |
| Springbrook Road, LLC | $1,474 | $0 | -100% |
| Thomas W Wrchota | $832 | $0 | -100% |
| William R. Spanbauer | $196 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $4,698,141 | $2,228,792 | -52.6% |
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