ST. MATTHEWS – S.C. Commission of Agriculture Hugh Weathers says while agriculture is big business in the state, it could be even bigger.

Speaking to the St. Matthews Rotary Club on Nov. 16, Weathers said that based on 2008 statistics, 190,000 people are employed in agriculture in South Carolina and agribusiness brings $34 billion into the state, with $3 billion generated from produce sales. Calhoun County’s share of that is $400 million, Weathers said.

“Agriculture is the largest impact in South Carolina. Agriculture is big but can be bigger,” he said, adding that this is where the state’s new “50 by 20” program fits in. The goal of the program is a 50 percent increase in agribusiness by 2020 – an increase of 4 percent a year, Weathers said.

The commissioner said South Carolina’s major market in the U.S. is on the East Coast, noting that Palmetto State produce has a good reputation. The state’s largest trading partner outside of the country is Canada, Weathers said. But, he said efforts will be made to sell more of the homegrown produce in the state.

In addition, Weathers said his department will work to increase products used in alternative energy sources, including corn for biofuels and timber for power generation. Other products that should be emphasized, he said, are agri-tourism and seafood. Poultry is South Carolina’s largest cash commodity, Weathers said.

He cited a need for additional research funds to support the efforts to grow South Carolina’s agribusiness, adding that it won’t happen without investment.

The new State Farmers Market in Columbia is scheduled to open in April 2010, Weathers said. The state will own 40 percent of it, and the remainder will be owned by private business, he said. The new Farmers Market will feature open areas for farmers to sell from their trucks, enclosed buildings for shops and five new laboratories.

“I applaud the Department of Agriculture under Mr. Weathers’ leadership,” Clemson Extension Agent Charles Davis said.

Weathers said, “I carried my farm work ethic to Columbia.”

He encouraged anyone interested in the S.C. Department of Agriculture to go online to www.agriculture.sc.org.

T&D Correspondent Larry P. Jordan can be reached by phone at 803-874-3276. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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