SC Ag Commissioner Hugh Weathers

In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $648,631 in funding awarded to South Carolina through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.Through this program, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture funds projects that strengthen South Carolina's specialty crop industry through marketing, education,...

(Washington, D.C., September 30, 2025)– U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide more than $38.3 million in Congressionally mandated recovery assistance to South Carolina agricultural producers through a block grant agreement with the South C...

In July 2024, the former DHEC was dissolved and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture took on some important new duties related to food safety. Let's take a look at how that's going.We now inspect restaurants under the Retail Food Safety program.Added 10+ inspectorsSince July 1, we have done 48,766 inspections o...

We're in the heart of watermelon season in South Carolina.It's a very strong watermelon season in South Carolina due to fairly consistent rainfall and temperatures.The melons have great flavor this year and volume is good.Unfortunately, Florida's and Georgia's seasons got pushed back a bit because of weather, so we're ...

The inaugural Tri-State Ag Expo is happening in Clemson SC on July 16 and 17 and Commissioner Weathers is here to tell us about it.My good friend and Upstate producer RD Morrison had the idea to bring this expo to South Carolina and I am excited to talk to you about it todayWe have Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie GA, South...

South Carolina FFA state convention wrapped up and Commissioner Hugh Weathers is here to talk about a wonderful partnership between SCDA and FFA.Convention this year was a huge success and SCDA is proud to be a partner of FFA. We had a great presence during convention.We had human resources talking to students about ca...

The South Carolina Commercial Seafood Apprenticeship ProgramThe program offers classroom-based and on-the-job training that provides the knowledge and skills needed to start a career in commercial fishing or mariculture (e.g., growing oysters or clams).After the month-long training is complete, participants will get he...

COLUMBIA - Thirteen entrepreneurs will share $200,000 in funding for their agribusiness ventures through the South Carolina Department of Agriculture's Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship (ACRE).Finalists for ACRE's Advanced Entrepreneurship Program were scored by a panel of judges based on their busi...

We are pleased to report that the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Program is rolling forward.The South Carolina Department of Agriculture partnered with USDA AMS to award $4.1 million for 26 projectsThe 26 projects consist of four infrastructure projects and 22 equipment projectsGoal of these grants to bui...

Over the last several years, Florence 1 Schools has introduced farm-to-school concepts to students through gardens at many of the district's elementary schools and middle schools.The Farm at Florence 1 expands that curriculum and provides more opportunities for students across the district.The campus includes:Teaching ...