By Ben Boyles and Diana VossbrinckSouth Carolina New and Beginning Farmer Program
March 31, 2026
If you spend any time in South Carolina’s agriculture community, you’ll hear a lot of acronyms, FSA, NRCS, SCDA, SBDC, and more. For new and beginning farmers, this alphabet soup can be confusing. The reality is that South Carolina has a strong network of organizations that support farmers through education, financing, conservation programs, and marketing opportunities. This guide breaks down the key organizations and explains how they help farmers succeed.
South Carolina Agricultural Organizations (Alphabetical Order)
Organization Acronym Full Organization Name Category(s) 4-H Clemson University Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Youth Programming ACRE Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship Education, Funding ASAP Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Non-Profit, Education, Environmental, Conferences CFSA Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Non-Profit, Advocacy, Education, Environmental, Conferences, Technical Assistance CSP Conservation Stewardship Program (USDA) Environmental CUCES Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service Education DPI Clemson University Department of Plant Industry Regulatory DPR Clemson University Department of Pesticide Regulation Regulatory EQIP Environmental Quality Incentives Program Environmental, Funding FFA South Carolina Future Farmers of America Youth Programming FSA Farm Service Agency (USDA) Funding, Federal FVCSC Farmer Veteran Coalition of South Carolina Non-profit, Conferences LPH Clemson University Livestock Poultry Health Regulatory NASS National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA) Federal Services NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA) Federal Services, Environmental RD Rural Development (USDA) Federal Services, Funding RMA Risk Management Agency (USDA) Funding, Federal Services, Insurance SARE – National Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Education, Funding, Environmental SARE – Southern Region Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Education, Funding, Environmental SC-SARE South Carolina Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education – South Carolina Education, Funding, Environmental SCAA South Carolina Agritourism Association Non-profit, Marketing, Conferences SCACD South Carolina Association of Conservation Districts Environmental SCBFC South Carolina Black Farmers Coalition Non-profit, Conferences SCDA South Carolina Department of Agriculture State Agency SCDES South Carolina Department of Environmental Services State Agency, Environmental SCF2S South Carolina Farm to School F2S Resources SCFB South Carolina Farm Bureau Advocacy, Insurance SCFC South Carolina Farm Credit (including AgSouth and ArborOne) Funding SCFHN South Carolina Food Hub Network Marketing SCAFM South Carolina Association of Farmers Markets Non-profit SCFSN South Carolina Food Systems Network (formerly known as SC Food Policy Council)Non-profit, Advocacy SCNBFP South Carolina New and Beginning Farmer Program (Clemson Extension)Education, Technical Assistance SCSCGA South Carolina Specialty Crop Growers Association Non-profit, Marketing* SCSU 1890 South Carolina State University 1890 Research and Extension Education SCSBDC South Carolina Small Business Development Centers Education, Technical Assistance SCWAgN SCWAgN Education, Conferences SWCD SC Soil and Water Conservation Districts Environmental SCDNR South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Environmental
Additional Resource Organizations (Non-Acronymn)
We know that some organizations and agencies that support farmers do not have an acronym, so we wanted to add them here:
