By Lindsay Street, contributing writer | Thirty-three-year-old John Warren is one of a growing cadre of young, new farmers who either changed careers, refused to go into corporate America or couldn’t land a job there.
“(Farming) was a way to take control of the creative process again. In my own mind it was an act of rebellion,” said Warren, who grew up in Columbia but now farms on Johns Island in Charleston County.
He had a traditional trajectory from boyhood to becoming an adult. His mother was a teacher and school administrator, and his father was a psychologist. After high school, he went to college in New York City to pursue a degree in sculpture. After graduation, Warren landed a job as a mold-maker in the city. He wanted to work with his hands, but he was left unsatisfied.
“I was spending most of my life in an activity that was making me money, but it was like I didn’t count,” Warren recalled.
Years later, Warren has found in an entirely different way of making a living. Instead of drawing a regular paycheck, Warren tills dirt, plants seed and sells his produce from his Spade and Clover Gardens. It generates organic produce, cut flowers and perennial herbs that are sold directly to consumers at retail prices. He started the business with about $4,000 in his pocket. Within a few years, he was able to economically sustain himself without any outside income. The farm has about two acres in production.
Emerging, small farmers being noticed
How many young people are turning to direct-market farming rather than slogging it out 40 hours a week at a desk job while fighting bad traffic? Hard to say as firm statistics are difficult to find. Much of the research done nationally appears to focus on large, commodity farms. For young, niche farmers, there’s mostly anecdotal evidence of business opportunities.
At the S.C. Farm Bureau, the S.C. Young Farmer program and at the state’s agriculture department, the rise in young farmers — many with zero family ties to past agricultural pursuits — are being noticed.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average farm size is 441 acre. The average income for that farm has dropped more than 4 percent in the last five years and the average age of farmers is 58.3 years old. Clearly, that’s not representative of Warren or many of his peers at farmers markets around the state.
Larry McKenzie, assistant to the president at S.C. Farm Bureau, said there is definitely a surge of the niche farmer who farms on only a few acres like Warren. Niche farmers are seen more often these days at local markets or in farm stands selling tomatoes, eggs, raw milk, poultry and more.
McKenzie said he sees the growing number of young farmers by watching the increase in attendance of its Young Farmer and Rancher Program’s annual conference, which is slated to occur in January in Charleston.
At Clemson’s participant-funded and grant-funded South Carolina New and Beginning Farmer Program, Director Dave Lamie sees the trend in the growing waiting list for interested farmers to learn how to create a business plan and marketing strategies.
McKenzie added the niche market requires fewer acres, less machinery and less startup capital than commodity farming of soybeans, corn or wheat. And now that consumers are hip to buying local, there are more opportunities to make money for these smaller farmers, he added.
Paving the way
Becoming an emerging farmer in South Carolina isn’t simply just putting seed in the ground and getting cash. New farmers are finding a host of food safety regulations, running into high property prices, and discovering that products need to match market demand and able to get to consumers.
The Farm Bureau is creating a new committee to address the specific needs of these small farmers. McKenzie said the sustainable or diversified agriculture program is currently seeking nominations for its committee. He said the hopes are for that committee to identify needed legislative changes.
“Our members establish what positions we take on legislative activity,” McKenzie said.
He said among the top issues will likely be taxes, food safety regulations, and — for meat producers — viable slaughterhouse opportunities.
“We don’t need to put our farmers at a disadvantage,” McKenzie said.
Commissioned by the state in 2013, “Making Small Farms into Big Business” recommended specific infrastructure investments to be made by the state and partners to promote small farms. One of the items identified was continued education of consumers and farmers.
Since 2010, South Carolina New and Beginning Farmer Program has worked to help educate farmers on the business side of farming. The program is mostly funded by federal grants, but Lamie said he hoped the state will begin to fund the program.
“We need to have core funding from the state,” he said.
Beyond legislative and business help, Warren said emerging farmers should, at the very least, do one thing: visit a current farmer.
Warren got started by apprenticing at a farm in Rhode Island, and then working at the Charleston incubator farm DirtWorks, which is no longer operating.
“It’s a good idea to get a lot of experience before you start on other farms,” Warren said. “But if you want to actually support yourself, you have to do it on your own no one is going to pay you to farm.”
More resources
Statehouse Report requested an interview with the S.C. Department of Agriculture on what the agency does to help small farmers. In lieu of an interview, communications director Stephanie Sox sent an email regarding programs at the agency:
- Membership in the Certified SC Grown Program. According to Sox, this program “gives farmers access to value-added marketing tools as well as the benefits of the brand power associated with CSCG.”
- Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) training and certification. Sox wrote, “We partner with Clemson University to help train and certify farmers under GAP affording them more opportunities for retail sale of produce.”
- S.C. Commissioner’s School for Agriculture. Held every summer at Clemson University, the school “provides exposure for students interested in agricultural majors and careers first-hand experience with many facets of the industry,” Sox wrote.
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