South Carolina Ag Commissioner Hugh Weathers, one of the things that I heard you say today, you were talking about the uncertainty that we’re in right now. As much as possible, I get the impression that we’re trying through the events that have taken place yesterday today, to provide a little bit of certainty moving forward for folks.
Weathers: “Well, we try to give them the certainty that the Department of Agriculture and others are there to help facilitate, and the showcase is facilitating building relationships, or the education might be to facilitate something they didn’t know before they sat down to listen to some of the panels. The point is, we can’t give answers that we don’t know. We don’t know some of the directions that the Washington policy might take. We’ve got to believe that we can convince policy makers that agriculture is key to a whole host of things in our country and in our state, and we feel that burden to communicate that even stronger the more of these meetings that we have and We hear the uncertainty that our producers are faced with.”
You recognized a lot of folks today, handed out some awards. Some lot of happy folks tell us about that.
Weathers: “Well, the LFPA (Local Food Purchase Assistance Program) was a really productive program. It accomplished what it set out to do, provide food for low income families that need that assistance. But what it also did was bring in to the to the loop, if you will, new producers who had not been involved in that formalized of a process because of the small size or whatever reason. So to bring them into it and that they can sort of be comfortable at that next level of consumer facing, type of operations that has benefits beyond the initial purpose of the LFPA and other programs like that.”
One of the things that impresses me every time that I get a chance to mix and mingle with the folks involved in South Carolina agriculture, there seems to be a family atmosphere here that everybody seems to to know so many other people with across the State and work together, and it seems to be a unique environment to work in.
Weathers: “You’re right about that. People speak to the six degrees of separation, not in South Carolina. There might be two at the most, but for example, I just spoke to a couple that are here for only eight years. They feel like newcomers. But no, she was here on the program. She volunteered her time. Felt very comfortable talking to her new family of farming in South Carolina, but still relatively new. We do have those multiple generation farms in South Carolina. I’m a number of one, but you blend it in with our newcomers, it is quite a mix. And in South Carolina, we are relatively small state, and I think everybody’s practically related to each other, but we certainly seem to know a little bit about each other. And, you know, farming, while we’re all competing against each other. It is still that family feel where if your neighbor has a problem, if the barn is on fire, you’re going to go help them. If it’s something in the business that you can help, you’re going to help your neighbor. And that is that’s why it’s a privilege to do what we do in the department, to support that, encourage it, and maybe we’ve had a small part to play in that sort of collegial feeling.”
Anything you’d like to add?
Weathers: “Well, today’s event and even yesterday, when we spoke at the Ag and tech forum, all designed about where can we take this industry? How do you provide opportunities? Because one of our main focus is how to find those next producers to be a part of our industry, so you won’t have something that they see as a chance for having a very enjoyable and profitable career. So that’s what these events are all about.”