The Orangeburg County Farm Bureau approved a resolution during its annual meeting encouraging Orangeburg County Council and the Orangeburg County Development Commission to seek industries that will add value to agriculture.
"We are looking for something that would add value to our product," Thad Wimberly, county Farm Bureau president-elect said after the Sept. 11 meeting held at the Edisto Shrine Club on U.S. 301. "If we can take corn and further it and maybe make ethanol, I know that is not feasible for our county but I am saying ... get some kind of industry here that will take what we grow and further it so we can use it in their process and give a local market for us that will help us gain."
Wimberly said adding value to the local farmer is crucial in light of transportation costs going to haul corn long distances. "That is 30-cents-a-bushel impact on us right off the top."
Wimberly said there are times when he thinks agriculture "takes a back seat" when it comes to industrial recruitment.
"I think County Council and the County Development Commission have the right idea as far as bringing industry into the county, but sometimes they kind of forget what our county is based on and that is agriculture. When you say 'Orangeburg County,' people know it as being one of the strongest agricultural counties."
Orangeburg County Council Chairman Harry Wimberly, a farmer and ironically the father of Thad, in answer to his son's concerns, said council and the commission have made not only economic development but agricultural development a priority. Harry, who is a member of the S.C. Farm Bureau Marketing Association, was one of the resolution committee members.
"I have been talking to biofuels people as far as an ethanol plant," the council chairman said. "It was a real hot issue at one time."
Also, Harry Wimberly said there has been some talk on the state level about getting a peanut-shelling processing plant located in the state in the near future. He declined comment on specifics but said an in-state processing plant would be beneficial.
"Priority one" is how OCDC Executive Director Gregg Robinson described the commission's interest in supporting the county's farmers.
In fact, Robinson said the commission met with an ag-based project on Sept. 13.
"We are really excited about it," Robinson said. "It is a high-tech and innovative start-up."
Robinson also said the county's desire to develop the western portion of Orangeburg County will become more of a focus and provide the opportunity for more ag-related products.
"It is a very important component in the OCDC mission to create jobs, and we have not forgotten that we are largely an ag-based community," he said. "Peanuts and cotton and alternative crops are key to the success of our farmers."
Current county Farm Bureau President Roland Moorer said the resolution was not intended to be critical of county economic development leaders.
"It is not an overlook concern but a general concern that everyone has," Moorer said. "In order to promote agriculture in Orangeburg County, we have to look at new avenues to do that and value-added is the way to do it. Every business you look at, one of the concepts they look at is value-added products. This is another way agriculture can increase its use."
For farmers, adding value to product is crucial in light of the number of challenges farmers face, least of all with Mother Nature and the lack of rain.
Thad farms about 2,000 acres of corn, cotton, soybeans, green peanuts and hay near Branchville.
"We have had a little problem with the drought, first of all with the corn," he said, but now it is the soybeans' "time to shine."
"We are seeing some problems with our soybeans," he said. "We need some rain there."
But for Thad the most significant impact of the dry weather has been on his hay.
"Our hay has been off," he said. "We missed one cutting in there. That will probably be a significant cost for our cows in keeping the feed and livestock."
He said corn yields are about 200 to 250 bushels per acre under irrigation and 115 to 120 bushels under dry land.
He said the numbers may be at or slightly below what he brings in on average.
"The soybeans look good right now, if we can keep worms out of them," Thad said, noting he planted about 400 acres of the crop. "We are spraying them consistently for that. The drought hurts us in that area too because of bugs. We are shooting for a 50-bushel average, but we have some irrigated soybeans that may see that."
Overall, he said his farm had about an average year "cause we got some pretty decent rain."
"Some other areas of the county probably have been affected worse than in our particular area," he said.
Woodford vegetable farmer Sidney Livingston, who grows about 200 acres of collards, turnips, oats, squash, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes and peppers, said the drought has not significantly impacted his crop since most is under irrigation.
"We made pretty good corn this year," Livingston said. "Now the beans, I don't know what they are going to do. They need rain now."
Livingston said overall the year was a positive one with the exception of the peach crop. "We lost all our peaches."
Another topic of concern to some was the U.S. House passage of the Farm Bill. The five-year farm bill carries a price tag of almost $286 billion. The Senate is due to begin its consideration of the legislation this month.
"It is hard to tell," Thad Wimberly said when asked about his assessment of the Farm Bill. "You don't really know how things get until you get in the middle of it. We are concerned about the government-assistance loans because without that it will be a killer for us."
Wimberly said the key is to have prices set at a profitable level (around $3.50 or $3.75 for corn) where subsidies "would not be a big deal."
"Now we have people who grow corn and want to get more than they can get and then you have people feeding corn to livestock and they want to get it as cheap as they can get it," he said. "It is kind of a two-edged sword. If we get everybody at a happy medium, we would not depend on subsidies as much."
In addition to the local resolution, the Farm Bureau approved two state resolutions.
The first called for the Farm Bureau to change the traditional red Farm Bureau logo to a green version to help convey that the bureau is an ally in environmental protection. The second called for the organization's services committee to work with Farm Bureau Insurance to provide comparable health insurance and benefits as provided by other industries.
As part of the night's activities, attendees heard from Orangeburg County ambassador Brent Hamilton Arant.
The Presbyterian College junior also received the $1,000 Orangeburg County Farm Bureau Scholarship.
Arant wrote an essay, as part of the Farm Bureau Youth Ambassador program, on "American farmers provide the safest food supply in the world." Arant said as part of his essay he got to interview S.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers.
Attendees were also treated to a clogging performance to an Old McDonald Had a Farm routine by Junior Talent Division winners featuring Calhoun Academy third-grader Rachel Fogle and Calhoun Academy second-grader Elly Haigler.
Senior talent division winner Eden Graves, a 10th-grader from Orangeburg Preparatory School, sang "Unchained Melody." First runner-up in the senior division, Calhoun Academy eight-grader Morgan Fanning, clogged to Tim McGraw's "Down on the Farm."
The students will take their talents to the OCFB annual winter meeting in Myrtle Beach.
Also, Angela Bair from Orangeburg Prep talked about her experience in Ag in the Classroom held in Columbia in June.
Youth leadership conference attendee Elizabeth Fogle, senior at Branchville High School, presented her experience at the conference held in Columbia College earlier in the year.
Fogle said she had an opportunity to go to Clemson University and there she saw an arborist presentation, took a tour of the Statehouse and the South Carolina Supreme Court.
In other business:
* Some of the nominated officers and directors for 2008 include: Thad Wimberly, president; Tommy Turner, vice president; Jim Russell, secretary-treasurer; Jennifer Wimberly, women's committee chairwoman.
* Farm Bureau senior adviser on communications and news media relations Reggie Hall presented an overview of the Farm Bureau membership benefits.
Hall also praised Orangeburg County's Young Farmer leadership.
* Women's committee chairwoman Jennifer Wimberly presented an overview of the women's committee activities for the past year. The committee was able to contribute to the Ronald McDonald House, spearheaded a Farm Safety Day for children and helped schools with supplies.
T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories at TheTandD.com.