South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers on Tuesday surveyed crop damage from Tropical Depression Florence during an aerial tour of Chesterfield, Dillon, Florence, Horry, Marlboro and Marion counties.

Joined by Congressman Tom Rice from South Carolina’s 7th congressional district, Weathers met with farmers in Dillon, Marion, and Lake City before returning to Columbia.
Following the tour, Commissioner Weathers said, “We had good engagement with upwards of 60 farmers who verified what we suspected: cotton was most impacted by high wind, followed by peanuts damaged by drenched soil, and soybeans whose pods were blown from the plants.”

“No crop was a total loss; those that suffered the most were the closest to harvest.”
“As I said to the farmers at one of the stops, this has become all too familiar. One of the farms we visited today, I’ve actually visited that same farm two of the last three years because of natural disasters,” said Weathers.
“Dillon, Marion, Marlboro Counties – in that order – appear to be the most severely impacted by crop damage.”
“We believe the crop damage from Florence falls between that from the 1000-year flood ($330+ million) and Hurricane Matthew (mid-50s).”
“Today we had important conversations about our path forward. We must be certain that agriculture is at the table and included when we analyze the financial impact of Florence,” Weathers stated.
“There are no more farm disaster programs that might have come to the rescue eight or ten years ago,” said Weathers. “Agriculture needs to be a part of the business, residential and transportation losses reported by Governor McMaster to the federal government.”

“Our thanks to members of the National Guard, whose professionalism and expertise made it possible for us to travel to these suffering areas of South Carolina,” he said.