Scott Celebrates South Carolina Farmers, Ranchers During National Agriculture Week

WASHINGTON – This week, Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) highlighted South Carolina farmers and ranchers and the vital contributions they make in feeding our nation and growing our local economies.
 
“South Carolina’s agricultural tradition is rooted deep,” said Senator Scott. “Our farms not only grow food, but opportunities in our local economies. This week, we celebrate the Palmetto State’s farmers and ranchers who keep this vibrant industry alive and keep our families fed.”

“I am a second-generation farmer,” said Manchester Farm’s Brittney Miller. “There was no commercial quail before my dad got into the business, and now we process about 70,000 meat birds and we sell about 500,000-600,000 fresh eggs a week to retailers and distributors that sell to restaurants across the country. So it really is the American dream.”

                                                                                                           Watch the Manchester Farm video here.

“We love what we do. We try to do a good job and take care of our land,” said fourth-generation farmer Jeff Wilson from Cotton Hills Farm. “I do not hesitate to encourage anyone to go into farming. I hear it over and over – ‘why in the world did you go into farming? Why did your sons come back to the farm?’ It’s a great life. It’s a hard life at times – you have to work hard. If you’re scared of work, stay away from farming, but if you’re not, it’s so satisfying.”

                                                                                                          Watch the Cotton Hills Farm video here.

Background: 

Agribusiness is South Carolina’s largest economic sector, contributing nearly $52 billion and over 250,000 jobs to the state’s economy.

To protect South Carolina’s farmers and ranchers, Senator Scott:

• Authored a bipartisan letter to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) expressing concern over Mexico’s efforts to ban certain American-grown corn;
• Joined Senate Republican colleagues in cosponsoring the Protect the Farmers from the SEC Act which would protect family farmers and ranchers from burdensome greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting rules proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
• Pushed back on a proposed rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would place burdensome climate disclosure regulations on farmers, ranchers and agriculture producers.
• Co-sponsored the Keep Food Local & Affordable Act of 2021 which would implement a temporary stay on the H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) and give financial relief to farmers’ rapidly rising input costs and enable farmers to continue feeding American families.
• Wrote a letter urging Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra to reconsider a new data collection rule that would place undue burden on South Carolina farmers;
• Fought against President Biden’s estate and death tax policies which jeopardized farmers’ ability to pass their property to the next generation; and
• Penned a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) urging him to extend the time farmers had to comment on a proposed rule that would have a major impact on the poultry industry.