SC Ag Commissioner Hugh Weathers

Veterans Day is coming up on Monday, November 11. How important are military veterans to South Carolina agriculture? Here in South Carolina, around 12 percent of producers are serving or have served in the military. We’re tied with Florida for 1st in the nation. Nationwide, there are around 306,000 producers with previous or current military […]

Commissioner, I understand you went to Sunbelt Ag Expo recently for the Southeastern Farmer of the Year Awards in support of a South Carolina farm family. Yes, Mike. Every October we head to Moultrie, Georgia, for Sunbelt and for the Farmer of the Year awards.   South Carolina was runner-up this year. Faylene Whitaker of […]

COLUMBIA – In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $603,000 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, and research. Specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and […]

We are now getting some data on how Helene and other disasters have affected South Carolina agriculture. Tell us about it, Commissioner. Agriculture Here are the initial damage projections using data and calculations from Clemson Extension: Loss Category Drought & Other Debbie Helene Total Crop & Livestock $31,335,370 $133,220,315 $65,358,490 $229,914,175 Infrastructure (including Fencing) $0 […]

It’s fall, and to many people that means pumpkin patches and hayrides. Commissioner, tell us what South Carolina agritourism farms are doing this October. Fall is an especially busy time for agritourism farms. Pumpkin patches, hayrides, corn mazes, trick-or-treat events, harvest festivals… We continue to see an increase in agritourism. Definition: agriculture-based activities that bring […]

At these updates, you will normally hear a lot of specific data. When it comes to agriculture, we don’t have much data yet, but I will tell you what we do know. The parts of the state that were hit by Helene have a are mainly livestock, trees, forage, poultry. We have also heard of […]

Hurricane Helene walloped South Carolina last week. What were some of the effects on farms and agribusinesses, Commissioner? Well, we are still taking stock of the effects of this storm. The western part of the state was hit hardest. The strong winds downed trees and knocked out power for close to half the homes and […]

South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers recently reached a major milestone. Yes, Mike. As of Sept. 14, I have been South Carolina’s Commissioner of Agriculture for 20 years. I was appointed by the governor in 2004. As a department and as an industry, we have accomplished some important things during these 20 years: These did […]

At the South Carolina Advocates for Agriculture Recognition Reception this evening (Wednesday, September 11), we recognized several people, two in particular that you recognized, Commissioner. Tell us about them. “Well, every year we honor a public service individual and then a private industry, and we did the same this year in the public service was […]

South Carolina has a new commodity checkoff program. Let’s hear about it, Commissioner. As our ag-savvy listeners know, checkoff programs promote and provide research and information for a particular agricultural commodity without reference to specific producers or brands.  South Carolina has checkoff programs for beef, cotton, peanut, pork, soybean, tobacco, and watermelon. Conversations about a […]