Growers in South Carolina have not slowed down. We continue to provide them with Produce Safety Rule Grower Trainings and are available for questions and consults. It’s been incredible to witness how growers and producers in the state have been innovative and pivoted to get food to the people. Some growers have never been busier; others are delivering food to those in need. We are optimistic that these local food relationships will continue to flourish beyond this pandemic.
Alongside the South Carolina Department of Agriculture and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, we have completed three remote online Produce Safety Rule Grower Trainings since May with a total of fifty-eight participants. Online trainings have attracted participants from all over the country. There is another remote Produce Safety Rule Grower Training scheduled for September 16 & 17 (bit.ly/Sept16SCPSR). To report progress and to share strategies with regional partners on Grower Trainings, Chad Carter, Food Systems and Safety Associate, recently attended the Southern Center for FSMA Training semi-annual meeting via Zoom.
Partnering with Zack Snipes (Horticulture) and Steve Richards (Agribusiness), and with assistance from Dr. Steve Kresovich and Matt Myers (Clemson Advanced Plant Technology Program), we have begun a small sweet sorghum variety trial pilot project at the Coastal Research and Education Center. The project will explore all aspects of sorghum syrup production to determine if it would be profitable for growers to produce sorghum syrup as a value-added product.
Chad Carter is also partnering on a USDA-NIFA AFRI (Agriculture and Food Research Initiative) project that focuses on the identification and development of crops (and their markets) of substantial culinary, cultural, and (potentially) economic value that could provide new diversification strategies for small to medium farmers in the South. The targeted crops are aligned with the Slow Food Ark of Taste project, and many already exist in the producer-to-market pipeline, at least in some measure (e.g. Carolina Gold Rice, Purple Ribbon Sugar Cane, Cocke’s Prolific and Jimmy Red Corn, White African Sorghum). The research team, led by Dave Lamie (Professor and Extension Specialist in the Agricultural Sciences Department), includes collaborators from Clemson University Advanced Plant Technology program, Clemson Extension Agronomic Crops Program Team, Pee Dee Research and Education Center, Coastal Research and Education Center, and the University of South Carolina.
We have been working with the Gullah Farmers Cooperative on St. Helena Island for several years with regard to equipment, packaging, and processing food safety, and also with building a produce processing facility. This work is in collaboration with the Horticulture and Agribusiness Program Teams. In addition, a grocery store is being built in Bluffton by another group of investors. The Lowcountry Fresh Market and Café broke ground in July and has pledged to buy the majority of their produce from the Gullah Farmers Cooperative and source the rest of their products locally. We have been assisting with kitchen design, food safety protocols, and identification of suppliers for the store.
Growers and producers are looking for every opportunity to capture more of the consumer dollar by adding food options to agritourism businesses, expanding markets, or through value-added processing. Whether it’s commercial fishermen, Christmas tree growers, urban farms, U-pick berry farms, Angus beef ranchers, a fruit bar producer, or a macaron baker, we are assisting South Carolina’s food entrepreneurs with regulatory guidance, training, and facility design to empower them to achieve their goals.
Submitted by: Chad Carter, Food Systems and Safety Extension Associate
