Washington, D.C., March 10, 2008—“The landscape of coastal South Carolina is in a state of fluctuation,” says Gerry Cohn, American Farmland Trust’s Southeast States Director. “Where we once had tomato packing houses and open fields, we’re seeing a new crop of houses going up for retirees and vacationers.” 

Cohn says many of the new residents were drawn to the area by the reputation of Lowcountry cuisine, and are also looking for high-quality food at farmers markets and restaurants. “As a result, the South Carolina coast is seeing a shortage of farmers to meet the rapidly expanding appetite for locally grown foods.”

The situation presents a number of opportunities—for young farmers looking to start up in agriculture, for restaurants to hire grower-employees, for plantation owners with land available for the right producer, and those with an entrepreneurial spirit. “We believe that a community approach is needed to address the opportunities and the challenges,” says Cohn. “Young farmers and agriculturally-based businesses have all sorts of specific needs and concerns, and we want to begin to address those at a roundtable discussion called “Growing New Farmers for the Lowcountry next week.”

Attracting farmers to the Lowcountry has many benefits. “Farms provide fresh, healthy food, enhance our local economy, and help protect our environment,” says Cohn. “Across the county, more communities are making these connections and are taking action to promote the success of local agriculture because they see that it is a win-win proposition.” 

The free, roundtable discussion, Growing New Farmers for the Lowcountry will be held on March 20, 2008 at the Coastal Electric Outback Building in Walterboro from 9:00 a.m. to Noon. There is no charge, but registration is required by March 18. To register, contact the Colleton Clemson Extension office at 843-549-2596.

Conference topics include: Hiring a Farmer: A Guaranteed Market; The Legal Sides: Leases, Liability and Transition Planning; Financing the New Operation, Creating a Support System for New Farmers; and more. For more information, contact Gerry Cohn at gcohn@farmland.org or call 919-732-7885. The conference is supported by American Farmland Trust, Clemson Extension and Lowcountry
Local First.

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American Farmland Trust is a national nonprofit organization working with communities and individuals to protect the best land, plan for agriculture and keep the land healthy.
AFT’s Southeastern States office is located in Hillsborough, NC at telephone number 919-732-7885.