Did farm subsidies in cities associated with Santa Cruz County rise or fall in 2021?

Farms throughout cities in Santa Cruz County received $13.5 million less in subsidies in 2021 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture compared to the year before.

In 2021, 112 farmers in cities within Santa Cruz County received a total of $5.9 million in 140 farm subsidies, a 69.7% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $19.3 million in 338 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.