South Carolina Farmers Face Challenges, From Weather to Labor to Prices

JEB Wilson and his brother, Pete, farm on about 1,000 acres in Chester County. The farm features 400 acres of cotton, 100 acres of pumpkins, 30 acres of peaches, and an assortment of vegetables. The brothers sell to a produce company in Columbia that has a contract with Food Lion stores. They also sell to Harris-Teeter stores in the Charlotte area. In addition, they operate three retail markets in Chester County. 

The Wilsons face many of the obstacles other farmers face: weather, labor, and the rising prices of inputs such as fertilizer.

“The price of cotton is a big challenge for us, and it continues to go down,” Wilson says. “If we grew cotton exclusively, we would be in a tough spot. It’s selling at 64 cents a pound; 80 cents is the break-even point.”

Finding labor can be a dilemma, but the Wilsons have had success using the H2-A temporary agricultural worker program, hiring workers from Mexico and South Africa. 

“We always try to be optimistic,” Wilson says. “I feel good from the retail side. We are growing food that folks want to buy at our produce markets. People appreciate the value of locally grown food.”

Farming is the state’s leading industry, accounting for 260,000 jobs and $51.8 billion in economic impact, according to the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. The most recent USDA Census, conducted in 2022 and released in 2024, shows there were 22,633 farms in the state, covering 4.6 million acres. The state ranks No. 1 nationally in terms of collard and turnip green production, second in kale and peach production, and fifth in production of asparagus, honeydew melons, and okra. South Carolina also ranks in the top 10 in several other produce categories.

Bryant Harrison grew up farming in southern Greenville County, working on his dad’s farm. In 1975, at the age of 24, he bought 75 acres to use as his own farm. His dad gave him another 30 acres. He farmed part-time until he retired from a telephone company in 2000.

“I grew row crops, such as soybeans starting out, but it wasn’t profitable, so I continued working with the phone company,” he recalls. 

Harrison now grows sweet potatoes, collards, turnip greens, green beans, onions, beets, broccoli, and other crops on just five acres of his 105-acre farm. The farm has a conservation easement, so the land will always be preserved as a farm. Harrison and his wife, Margaret, sell their produce to area restaurants and regular customers who come to the farm. 

Harrison says the low sale price of many commodities is the biggest challenge facing farmers. With rising input costs for fertilizer, fuel, and equipment, it’s difficult for them to make a profit. He notes that the average age of farmers is around 60, and there is a need to attract young people into the industry. Harrison, 74, has no plans to retire from farming.

“I intend to get out there and plant and plow and do what I can for as long as I can. I do that because I love it. It’s not a career that is as attractive as others are.” 

Succession could be a looming issue for Harrison. He has four daughters, who help out on the farm when asked, but so far none has expressed interest in taking over the farm when the time comes. 

The Harrisons recently joined a group of South Carolina farmers as Conservation Champions, a National Wildlife Federation program that promotes soil health, erosion control, and other conservation practices.

Nathan Vannette, who runs Growing Green Family Farms in Anderson County, is also president of the 55-member South Carolina Specialty Crop Growers Association. The majority are considered small farms.

“Our goal is to try to find resources that are readily available and to continue to provide a support network to farmers that are growing specialty crops around the state of South Carolina,” Vannette says. “This could be in the form of a crop cost-share grant, networking or helping them with GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification. "

Tariffs haven’t affected the state’s specialty growers as much as commodity farmers since they rely on local and regional supply chains, Vannette says.

Growing Green Family Farms has a strong customer base, but it has endured its share of challenges. It provides vegetables and herbs to 20 restaurants in the Upstate. It also sells at local farmers’ markets. 

Hurricane Helene in September 2024 resulted in the loss of infrastructure and loss of crops. But Vannette says the population increase in the Upstate over the past several years has helped insulate the farm from financial downturns.

“There is 100 percent demand for our crop. Everything we have growing has an end customer. That definitely has helped us grow, and has allowed us to shift from survivor mode more toward innovation. We are trying to create a resilient model that can be replicated around the state, with a focus on innovation, whether it’s through the advancement of AI in agriculture, or just looking at different growing methods, such as hydroponics.”

Tom Garrison is a fourth-generation farmer whose family has operated a farm in Anderson County since right after the Civil War. He has scaled his operation back in recent years, and now focuses on raising beef cows and corn. 

“Generally, things aren’t encouraging (for farmers),” Garrison says. “The only thing encouraging is that beef cattle prices are up. We tried hemp a few years ago, and that didn’t work. We moved away from growing soybeans and wheat.”

Garrison says it became unprofitable to grow wheat. The current price of wheat of around $5 per bushel is about the same as in 1980. “I’m not growing wheat at $5 per bushel.”

Adam Kantrovich, a Clemson extension specialist and agricultural economist who is program team director for agribusiness, says the overwhelming majority of South Carolina’s more than 22,600 farms fall into the small category. 

Kantrovich, who is also director of the Clemson Tax School, which provides training to South Carolina residents on income tax, farm tax and timber tax, says farmers of all sizes face a gauntlet of challenges:

• Losing acreage to development through urbanization

• Labor, both costs and scarcity

• An uncertain and difficult economy

• Increasing cost of inputs such as fertilizer, fuel and equipment.

There are different definitions of small farms, Kantrovich says. 

“A lot of people have this picture in their head of American Gothic. Small farms, if you look at it right, are really revenue-based structures simply because of the diversity of crops. You can have somebody who can produce a lot of revenue on a few acres, or a little revenue on a lot of acres. Some individuals, because of location and with what they are doing, may be OK. Then, you’ve got others who are simply trying to run commercial farms, and depending on what area in South Carolina, they just simply may be stuck in the middle, with no way to expand and they may be struggling financially for a number of reasons. And, on top of that there are the geopolitical things that are taking place that are also creating difficulties on all farms. The reality is, small farms are feeling the same pain as large farms.” 

Kantrovich says farmers have to deal with an economy of scale. Accessing labor in general is a big issue, and even more so for farmers. A weakening economy often puts pressure on small farms that have high-cost products. Urbanization, which threatens farmland, is a long-term challenge requiring a multi-pronged approach.

Another struggle for farmers, regardless of farm size, is mental health issues, caused by the prolonged stress of keeping the farm and dealing with financial issues.

“Under good times, farmers are stressed, dealing with weather and machinery breakdowns,” Kantrovich says.  "This now seems to be prolonged, creating issues and burnout, until farmers may consider suicide.” 

The South Carolina Farm Bureau, along with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture and Clemson have partnered to develop the S.C. Agriwellness Program, which provides mental health counseling sessions.

The potential difficulties of farming notwithstanding, the state is seeing a steady stream of prospective farmers of all ages seeking ways to enter the field. Clemson University’s New and Beginning Farmer Program, created in 2010, is helping with the transition. 

“We focus on the business side of farming and helping folks find a concept and a business model,” says Ben Boyles, a senior agribusiness extension agent and director of the program. “Interest in farming is strong all across South Carolina. I enjoy working with these folks to help navigate the startup environment.”

Some of the participants have recently moved to the state after retiring and are looking for second careers. Others just have a passion for growing food, Boyles says. Others come from farming families, and they are coming in to refine their skills after completing college. Boyles’ program helps them match up with funding grants and other resources. 

Jordan Hodgens is now in her seventh year of managing Livingston Farms in Woodford, a tiny town in Orangeburg County. She has been a part of Clemson’s New and Beginning Farmer Program.

Hodges works with owner Sidney Livingston to oversee a 20-acre farm, which produces a wide variety of vegetables year-round. Much of its production is committed to Piggly Wiggly stores in the area and mixed food box programs, such as FoodShare Bamberg County. It also operates a farm store.

“We want to provide the community with food at a reasonable price, but our input costs are definitely going up,” Hodgens says. 

Labor costs are rising, too, and finding sufficient labor can be a challenge, but Hodgens mitigates that in the summer by hiring high school students. “We try to keep things as local as possible, so we have partnered with a local high school.”