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In 2021, 222 farmers in cities within Starr County received a total of $1.1 million in 360 farm subsidies, a 62.5% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $2.9 million in 571 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 Starr County, Year Over Year
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| G & H Farms | $192,916 | $74,702 | -61.3% |
| Raul Villarreal | $83,361 | $69,126 | -17.1% |
| Thomas D. Koeneke | $61,293 | $54,583 | -10.9% |
| Amclo Cattle Company, LLC | $33,005 | $31,356 | -5% |
| Leonel Lopez III | $14,498 | $28,680 | 97.8% |
| R. E. Schiefelbein III | $7,590 | $26,609 | 250.6% |
| El Triangulo Cattle Company | $52,049 | $24,521 | -52.9% |
| Dora Sylvia S. Garcia | $22,808 | $22,808 | 0% |
| Juan Carlos Salinas | $22,808 | $22,808 | 0% |
| Ociel Mendoza JR | $48,213 | $21,987 | -54.4% |
| Alberto Martinez | $27,282 | $20,318 | -25.5% |
| Amandos Beefmasters Cattle Company, LLC | $28,760 | $19,751 | -31.3% |
| Uvaldo Salinas JR | $38,046 | $15,234 | -60% |
| Alfonso H. Perez | $27,373 | $14,473 | -47.1% |
| Ana Lisa Garza | $36,971 | $12,745 | -65.5% |
| Arturo D. Ibarra | $42,608 | $12,600 | -70.4% |
| Ida Lou Perez | $25,706 | $12,130 | -52.8% |
| Paula R. Garcia | $28,100 | $12,075 | -57% |
| Tomas E. Villarreal | $36,663 | $11,055 | -69.8% |
| Guerra Cattle Company | $24,258 | $11,014 | -54.6% |
| Gloria B. Guerra | $0 | $10,969 | -- |
| Lucio Eden Gonzalez Jr. | $24,036 | $10,917 | -54.6% |
| Romualdo Solis Jr. | $25,898 | $10,754 | -58.5% |
| Exiquio Saenz | $32,302 | $10,455 | -67.6% |
| Lauro H & Dora M Salinas Trust | $27,150 | $10,046 | -63% |
| G L and C, LLC | $20,654 | $9,941 | -51.9% |
| Perfecta G Trevino | $15,156 | $9,937 | -34.4% |
| Carlos Bermudez | $9,844 | $9,824 | -0.2% |
| Jaime T. Villarreal | $25,646 | $9,289 | -63.8% |
| Maria E. Trevino | $2,931 | $9,063 | 209.2% |
| Mario A. Guillen | $10,144 | $8,664 | -14.6% |
| Silvia Albeza Pena | $0 | $7,985 | -- |
| Manuel Izaguirre Jr. | $17,030 | $7,954 | -53.3% |
| Jorge Alberto Gonzalez | $15,436 | $7,680 | -50.2% |
| Osmar Ociel Mendoza | $19,567 | $7,677 | -60.8% |
| Placido Pena Jr. | $10,487 | $7,062 | -32.7% |
| Thalia H. Munoz | $12,819 | $6,986 | -45.5% |
| Ricardo Gutierrez | $8,954 | $6,953 | -22.3% |
| George Diaz | $8,295 | $6,900 | -16.8% |
| Roberto Saul Margo | $14,282 | $6,667 | -53.3% |
| Running E Cattle Company, LLC | $13,822 | $6,624 | -52.1% |
| Triple a Ranch | $15,501 | $6,347 | -59.1% |
| Maria Isabel Alaniz | $11,814 | $6,107 | -48.3% |
| Rosa E. Ibanez | $12,089 | $5,912 | -51.1% |
| Eleazar Eden Garza | $7,145 | $5,893 | -17.5% |
| Richard D Garza-Ray | $1,925 | $5,803 | 201.5% |
| Everardo Garcia Jr. | $2,661 | $5,763 | 116.6% |
| Heron Alaniz | $1,155 | $5,587 | 383.7% |
| J & R Feedlot, LLC | $19,184 | $5,559 | -71% |
| Eloy Zarate Jr. | $1,847 | $5,431 | 194% |
| Alberto Ramon Olivares | $11,109 | $5,236 | -52.9% |
| Rosalba B. Cortez | $0 | $5,082 | -- |
| Ruperto Baldemar Escobar | $10,237 | $5,073 | -50.4% |
| David E. Guerrero | $4,411 | $4,712 | 6.8% |
| Alonzo H. Alvarez | $1,321 | $4,668 | 253.4% |
| Roel X. Villarreal | $5,200 | $4,545 | -12.6% |
| Jorge E. Falcon | $20,934 | $4,468 | -78.7% |
| Juan Romeo Montoya | $6,265 | $4,419 | -29.5% |
| Luis Mario Villarreal | $9,332 | $4,390 | -53% |
| Jose Luis Garza | $9,612 | $4,357 | -54.7% |
| Eleazar Elizondo | $8,629 | $4,260 | -50.6% |
| Noel Eloy Gonzalez | $1,683 | $4,184 | 148.6% |
| Jorge Luis Zapata | $8,678 | $4,169 | -52% |
| Jose A. Garcia | $8,840 | $4,162 | -52.9% |
| Ociel Guerra | $0 | $4,092 | -- |
| Jorge E. Pena | $9,095 | $3,923 | -56.9% |
| Maria Adelina Villarreal | $4,393 | $3,907 | -11.1% |
| Omar Montemayor | $8,394 | $3,892 | -53.6% |
| Roel Barrera | $8,451 | $3,838 | -54.6% |
| Rene Munoz IV | $8,042 | $3,796 | -52.8% |
| Raul Munoz | $5,764 | $3,754 | -34.9% |
| Roel Santa Maria | $9,762 | $3,691 | -62.2% |
| Jose A. Garcia | $11,563 | $3,682 | -68.2% |
| Jack Dillon Scoggins | $21,796 | $3,654 | -83.2% |
| Francisco Chapa III | $2,962 | $3,584 | 21% |
| Bernardo Garcia | $6,661 | $3,564 | -46.5% |
| Horacio Elizondo | $0 | $3,367 | -- |
| Maria Oralia Garza | $7,177 | $3,363 | -53.1% |
| El Rucio Land & Cattle Company | $2,483 | $3,311 | 33.3% |
| Pedro A. Trevino | $9,921 | $3,270 | -67% |
| Rafael Carrera Jr. | $7,320 | $3,236 | -55.8% |
| Carlos D. Guerra | $8,546 | $3,220 | -62.3% |
| Eligio Salinas | $0 | $3,215 | -- |
| Margarito Bermudez | $4,814 | $3,150 | -34.6% |
| Basilio D. Villarreal Jr. | $462 | $3,107 | 572.5% |
| Alberto Chapa Jr. | $3,106 | $3,106 | 0% |
| Jewel M. Peterson | $6,391 | $3,082 | -51.8% |
| Veronica Velasco de Cruz | $1,430 | $3,027 | 111.7% |
| Gissela Portillo | $827 | $2,999 | 262.6% |
| Leonel Cepeda | $13,915 | $2,985 | -78.5% |
| Alberto A. Guerra | $5,841 | $2,936 | -49.7% |
| Legacy Advance Development Partners, Ltd. | $0 | $2,911 | -- |
| Abel A. Laurel | $11,402 | $2,851 | -75% |
| Jose L. Barrera | $593 | $2,819 | 375.4% |
| Roberto L. Naranjo | $495 | $2,796 | 464.8% |
| Humberto C. Gonzalez | $2,918 | $2,786 | -4.5% |
| Romeo Guerra | $6,763 | $2,715 | -59.9% |
| Pedro Laurel IV | $5,537 | $2,675 | -51.7% |
| Humberto Saenz Jr. | $594 | $2,666 | 348.8% |
| Geronimo Guerra Jr. | $4,112 | $2,593 | -36.9% |
| Martin A. Canales Jr. | $5,556 | $2,590 | -53.4% |
| Patricia Laurel | $958 | $2,570 | 168.3% |
| Cesar Alaniz | $2,012 | $2,565 | 27.5% |
| Melecio Longoria | $6,578 | $2,540 | -61.4% |
| Noe Ricardo Gonzalez | $0 | $2,469 | -- |
| Melba A. Canales | $660 | $2,464 | 273.3% |
| Margarito Alaniz | $6,194 | $2,438 | -60.6% |
| Ruben Roberto Guerra | $4,862 | $2,322 | -52.2% |
| Arnulfo Moreno | $6,944 | $2,303 | -66.8% |
| Roel Cruz | $3,227 | $2,160 | -33.1% |
| Ruben Munoz | $2,244 | $2,148 | -4.3% |
| Adan H. Figueroa Sr. | $4,322 | $2,093 | -51.6% |
| Noel Trevino | $3,487 | $2,088 | -40.1% |
| Cornelio Alvarez Jr. | $2,055 | $2,046 | -0.4% |
| Adolfo Pena Jr. | $3,745 | $2,035 | -45.7% |
| Jorge E. Recio | $2,970 | $2,008 | -32.4% |
| Pablo Munoz Jr. | $0 | $2,007 | -- |
| Gerardo Garza | $9,060 | $1,969 | -78.3% |
| Jose Raul Solis | $2,615 | $1,956 | -25.2% |
| Heraldo Gonzalez | $3,983 | $1,902 | -52.2% |
| Enrique E. Gonzalez Jr. | $4,902 | $1,866 | -61.9% |
| Lydia G. Duran | $0 | $1,862 | -- |
| Liza R. Solis | $3,040 | $1,843 | -39.4% |
| Gonzalez Bros | $7,581 | $1,837 | -75.8% |
| Alberto Flores | $1,595 | $1,813 | 13.7% |
| Blas Garza Jr. | $4,145 | $1,779 | -57.1% |
| Omar S. Salinas | $4,288 | $1,769 | -58.7% |
| Fernando Garza | $1,045 | $1,750 | 67.5% |
| Lazaro Moreno | $3,556 | $1,733 | -51.3% |
| Eviel Ely Moreno | $4,872 | $1,726 | -64.6% |
| Catclaw, Ltd. | $3,595 | $1,719 | -52.2% |
| Jaime Heron Villarreal | $1,449 | $1,716 | 18.4% |
| Luis A. Falcon | $1,696 | $1,696 | 0% |
| Jose Carlos Saenz | $0 | $1,679 | -- |
| Arturo Gonzalez | $3,814 | $1,653 | -56.7% |
| David T. Villarreal | $2,908 | $1,620 | -44.3% |
| Grande Butane Company, Inc. | $495 | $1,612 | 225.7% |
| Hector Javier Carrera | $0 | $1,598 | -- |
| Fabiola Guerra | $2,538 | $1,579 | -37.8% |
| Jorge Eduardo Canales | $4,485 | $1,577 | -64.8% |
| Antonio Garcia | $2,964 | $1,566 | -47.2% |
| Ismael Guerra III | $5,878 | $1,554 | -73.6% |
| Armin A. Solis | $1,629 | $1,535 | -5.8% |
| Quirino Vela II | $0 | $1,476 | -- |
| Arturo Cruz Jr. | $398 | $1,438 | 261.3% |
| Leida P. Reyes | $1,320 | $1,389 | 5.2% |
| Julia E. Moreno | $0 | $1,376 | -- |
| Victor D. Garcia Jr. | $6,688 | $1,374 | -79.5% |
| Francisco Hilario Chapa | $1,243 | $1,341 | 7.9% |
| Ruben Salinas Jr. | $2,469 | $1,318 | -46.6% |
| Juan Luis Longoria | $3,491 | $1,237 | -64.6% |
| Idalia Villarreal | $3,631 | $1,228 | -66.2% |
| Jose M. Garza | $3,300 | $1,221 | -63% |
| Raul Hernandez | $715 | $1,220 | 70.6% |
| Alfredo Javier Martinez | $1,001 | $1,162 | 16.1% |
| Jose Luz Gutierrez | $330 | $1,159 | 251.2% |
| Aurelia G. Lopez | $1,158 | $1,158 | 0% |
| Renato Chavez Jr. | $2,880 | $1,156 | -59.9% |
| Israel Leal | $1,101 | $1,140 | 3.5% |
| Maria Ramona G. Flores | $15,329 | $1,129 | -92.6% |
| Victor Gonzalez | $1,618 | $1,124 | -30.5% |
| Gloria F. Zarate | $6,957 | $1,040 | -85.1% |
| Eli Ramirez | $1,891 | $1,021 | -46% |
| Fidel Salazar | $0 | $1,009 | -- |
| Sabas Ozuna | $1,599 | $1,009 | -36.9% |
| Arnaldo Zarate | $4,093 | $1,002 | -75.5% |
| C R Pena Cattle Company, LLC | $11,073 | $1,000 | -91% |
| Antonia S. Trevino | $3,046 | $980 | -67.8% |
| Robert Conner McBryde | $5,229 | $979 | -81.3% |
| David Raul Ramirez | $0 | $969 | -- |
| Roel O. Guerra Sr. | $1,610 | $916 | -43.1% |
| Manuel Chapa | $2,856 | $782 | -72.6% |
| Rosendo Guerra | $3,381 | $759 | -77.6% |
| Jaime Garza | $1,064 | $740 | -30.5% |
| Joseph Ellert | $701 | $684 | -2.4% |
| Juan P. Escobar | $1,100 | $684 | -37.8% |
| Rolando Garza | $0 | $679 | -- |
| Ricardo Belmontes | $5,377 | $676 | -87.4% |
| Daisy Lopez | $395 | $631 | 59.7% |
| Rigoberto Benitez | $0 | $622 | -- |
| Enrique Lopez | $0 | $617 | -- |
| Armando Guerra | $1,538 | $614 | -60.1% |
| David Valdez | $0 | $605 | -- |
| Eloy Vera | $2,859 | $604 | -78.9% |
| Reyna M. Garcia | $2,419 | $552 | -77.2% |
| Elvira G. Canales | $3,223 | $552 | -82.9% |
| Roel Rolando Garza | $696 | $535 | -23.1% |
| Maria E. Villarreal | $2,926 | $511 | -82.5% |
| MRS Maria Dina Gutierrez | $0 | $505 | -- |
| Bettina Garza | $825 | $479 | -41.9% |
| Felipe Omar Barrera | $549 | $471 | -14.2% |
| David Salinas | $5,344 | $466 | -91.3% |
| Agustin Benavidez | $4,588 | $425 | -90.7% |
| Clodin L Guerra | $0 | $424 | -- |
| Sonia L. Galvan | $0 | $420 | -- |
| Ana L. Garcia | $0 | $405 | -- |
| Danelo I Gonzalez JR | $550 | $401 | -27.1% |
| Jose L. Barrera | $1,301 | $397 | -69.5% |
| Juan Luis Longoria Jr. | $1,146 | $380 | -66.8% |
| Gilberto E. Garcia | $690 | $376 | -45.5% |
| Romana E. Leal | $3,374 | $346 | -89.7% |
| Jose H. Garcia Jr. | $0 | $311 | -- |
| Raul Pena III | $1,177 | $307 | -73.9% |
| Brenda Salinas | $440 | $303 | -31.1% |
| Aniceto Garza | $1,566 | $296 | -81.1% |
| Jose Israel Guerra | $1,321 | $293 | -77.8% |
| Aurelio Garza Jr. | $2,001 | $288 | -85.6% |
| Ismael Roberto Saenz | $1,505 | $270 | -82.1% |
| Juan R. Rodriguez | $429 | $268 | -37.5% |
| David D. Porras | $0 | $250 | -- |
| Ricardo Garza Jr. | $583 | $235 | -59.7% |
| Pedro Gonzalez Jr. | $0 | $226 | -- |
| Maria Diana Solis | $617 | $217 | -64.8% |
| Jaime Saenz | $657 | $211 | -67.9% |
| Hector Gutierrez | $1,035 | $178 | -82.8% |
| Albert Brown Jr. | $473 | $169 | -64.3% |
| Elda V. Garza | $567 | $169 | -70.2% |
| Narciso Garcia Jr. | $396 | $156 | -60.6% |
| Simon Garza Jr. | $2,028 | $100 | -95.1% |
| Ovando A. Barrera | $165 | $94 | -43% |
| Jose David Villarreal | $231 | $49 | -78.8% |
| Jorge Luis Munoz | $0 | $47 | -- |
| Dennis P. Brown | $835 | $0 | -100% |
| Neal J. Alvarado | $717 | $0 | -100% |
| Aaron Garza | $3,509 | $0 | -100% |
| Antonia G. Trevino | $410 | $0 | -100% |
| Blanca M. Gonzalez | $23,832 | $0 | -100% |
| Eliud Rodriguez | $275 | $0 | -100% |
| Elizabeth Lopez | $3,377 | $0 | -100% |
| Hector J. Guerra | $407 | $0 | -100% |
| Idolina Flores | $1,045 | $0 | -100% |
| Javier Pena | $65 | $0 | -100% |
| Jorge Chapa | $550 | $0 | -100% |
| Juan P. Escobar | $1,584 | $0 | -100% |
| Leonel Guerra Jr. | $1,193 | $0 | -100% |
| Ramiro Zamora | $893 | $0 | -100% |
| Rogelio Guerra | $2,600 | $0 | -100% |
| Saul Mendez | $1,860 | $0 | -100% |
| Starr Feedyards, Ltd. | $947,860 | $0 | -100% |
| Christian Gonzalez | $385 | $0 | -100% |
| Everardo Lopez Garza | $1,826 | $0 | -100% |
| Florentino Luera | $165 | $0 | -100% |
| Gabriel Resendez Jr. | $1,045 | $0 | -100% |
| Lazaro Moreno | $737 | $0 | -100% |
| Legacy Advance Development Partne | $25,543 | $0 | -100% |
| Sixto Rusbel Salinas | $2,145 | $0 | -100% |
| Abraham V. Barrera | $1,925 | $0 | -100% |
| Alberto Adrian Alvarado | $223 | $0 | -100% |
| Omar Lopez | $562 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $2,857,641 | $1,071,717 | -62.5% |
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