South Carolina

South Carolina ag entrepreneurs awarded state funding

Thu, 22 May 2025 14:10:44 GMT

South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship announced the 13 entrepreneurs will share $200,000 in funding for their agribusiness ventures on May 21.

Finalists for ACRE’s Advanced Entrepreneurship Program were scored by a panel of judges based on their business plans, a five-minute video presentation and a demonstrated history of business success, according to the department.

“South Carolina’s agribusiness entrepreneurs keep finding new ways to surprise and impress me. This year’s entrepreneurs are pushing the agribusiness industry forward in so many ways, from developing new crops for the state to serving new clients, including other farms,” Kyle Player, ACRE executive director, said in a news release. “I’m so glad ACRE can shine a spotlight on these agribusinesses.”

The winners are:

Kindlewood Farms of Colleton County, a diversified produce farm known for tomatoes, will acquire another high tunnel, helping it better serve its Lowcountry restaurant clients.
Veteran-owned Billue Family Farm of Aiken County will develop its hay bale business, which serves small farms.
Relinoca Farms, a veteran-owned Sumter County farm specializing in native landscaping plants, will build a retail and education facility at the family’s farm.
Old McCaskill’s Farm, a premier agritourism farm in Sumter County, will develop a line of freeze-dried MRE-style foods grown and processed on the farm.
Livingston Farms, a sustainable produce farm in Orangeburg County, will build a bathroom facility and procure internet access, allowing the farm to better serve clients.
Bushels and Bags Farm of Fairfield County, a diversified produce farm serving the Midlands, will use ACRE funds to cover supply costs, including drip irrigation, that will greatly increase organic vegetable production.
Anderson County flower farm Harvest Moon Farm and Flower will convert an existing yurt to a farm store and add a U-pick flower field to attract visitors.
J&E Homestead, a fiber mill and farm in Lancaster County, will procure new spinning equipment to better serve fiber clients in the region.
Roots and Shoots Nursery will expand its Charleston County nursery specializing in native landscaping plants.
Set In Stone Sustainability Farm of Fairfield County is developing an agriculture education program to teach food literacy and STEM to schoolchildren.
Merry Mixon Christmas Tree Farm, a family farm in Chesterfield County, will improve its parking area and entry infrastructure.
Carolina Bananas, a Charleston County banana grower, will extend its production and sale of cold-hardy banana plants.

SCDA founded ACRE in 2018, under the leadership of Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers, to help identify and nurture new ideas and businesses in South Carolina’s agribusiness sector. ACRE also partners with Clemson Cooperative Extension to offer a curriculum program each fall to train and mentor beginning agricultural entrepreneurs and prepare them to seek advanced award funding.

Land of opportunity: Carolina growers thrive with diverse crops and conditions

Mon, 19 May 2025 21:06:52 GMT

The Carolinas are unique states for growing fresh produce. The region represents a lot of climate and topographical diversity in a small space. Whether north or south, this diversity forces growers to be creative, adaptable and future-focused to meet evolving consumer demands in the face of sometimes unforgiving settings.

North Carolina boasts several high ranks across different types of fresh produce. It is the nation’s top producer of sweetpotatoes, its official state vegetable, for example. According to 2023 cash receipts (most recent complete USDA data), the state ranked fifth in the nation for blueberries, fresh and processing cucumbers and peanuts; sixth in the nation for other cucumbers, bell peppers and pumpkins; and seventh in the nation for squash and watermelons.

The state’s success with many different produce owes a lot to its physical variety.

“North Carolina is so fortunate and blessed that we have so many different topographies and soil types, as well as climate zones, in our singular state,” said Michelle Grainger, executive director of the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission.

Producers use this variety to their benefit. The folks at Happy Dirt, a produce distribution company with 16 farmer owners across the state, gave the example of their lettuce farms distributed across the state for strategic purposes.

“We’ve been utilizing the topography of having some mountain farms to extend our season,” said Alex Borst, purchasing manager for Happy Dirt. “We’ve got a good, solid, late-April-to-mid-June lettuce program now.”

South Carolina peaches benefit from having adequate chill hours, the conditions for which emerge with the state’s hot, humid summers and cool winters with a lot of moisture in the air, says Blakely Atkinson, executive director of the South Carolina Peach Council.

(Photo courtesy of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture)

Not to be outdone, South Carolinian growers take pride in the variety their state brings to the southeast.

“We are a small state, but we do so much,” said Eva Moore, communications director for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, adding that the state has a broad produce portfolio. “And, of course, we’re the ‘Tastier Peach State.’”

In 2023, South Carolina was second in the nation for peaches, sixth for peanuts and eighth for watermelons. That said, the state also grows crops rarely tracked by USDA, such as turnip greens and collards.

The South Carolinian claim of being the tastier peach state stems from its unique climate. Blakely Atkinson, executive director of the South Carolina Peach Council, explained that peach trees need a certain number of chill hours to set fruit and heat to make that fruit sweet. South Carolina gets that, she said, with hot, humid summers and cool winters with a lot of moisture in the air.

Weather woes add up

Produce growers in the Carolinas have been hard-hit lately from a series of extreme weather events. For example, those cold winters needed for peach setting went a bit overboard in 2023 when a late-season cold snap resulted in 70% crop loss.

“That was the state estimation loss,” Atkinson said. “Some people were able to squeak by, but some were hit worse. One of my growers had a 99% crop loss.”

Last year also saw some extreme weather events that greatly affected Carolina producers. Grainger called it a brutal year.

“North Carolina was just battered from the mountains to the sea and everywhere in between,” she said, explaining that right after the sweetpotato crop was transplanted, the state got hit with drought.

“Then we had three storms: Hurricane Debbie, Tropical Cyclone Eight and the tail end of Hurricane Helene,” Grainger said. “We had all the conditions that you could possibly have between the months of June and November, and it netted us a loss of anywhere between 40% to 45% of yield.”

Sim McIver, assistant director of domestic marketing at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, estimated 2024’s extreme weather cost North Carolina agriculture $5 billion. The disasters wiped out fields and destroyed infrastructure throughout the state.

Some operations were relatively lucky, however. Tendwell Farm co-owner Steven Beltram said that its packing shed was spared. While the company had a lot of equipment damage, it was repairable. The roads and bridges are back in place in the area, and tractor trailers can get in and out of the packing house again.

“We were very fortunate in that none of our fields were permanently damaged,” Beltram said.

North Carolina’s diversity in topography, soil and climate benefit growing areas throughout the state. “We’ve been utilizing the topography of having some mountain farms to extend our season,” said Alex Borst, purchasing manager for Happy Dirt. “We’ve got a good, solid, late-April to mid-June lettuce program now.”

(Photo courtesy of Happy Dirt)

Diverse varieties, growing methods

The increased demand for more variety, be that new crops, new growing styles or new varieties of familiar crops, and growers rising to meet that demand was a constant thread across the Carolinas.

“We are seeing producers investing in produce, putting their energy there and diversifying,” Moore said.

She highlighted that vegetable acreage in South Carolina expanded dramatically since the last Census of Agriculture. Taylor Holenbeck, grower services coordinator for Happy Dirt, said there has been a movement in growing organic vegetables in the South, in general.

But the trend for more diversity isn’t just relegated to vegetables. Both McIver and Moore noted growth in berry interest, strawberries specifically in North Carolina and berries overall in South Carolina.

“Berry sales by South Carolina producers more than tripled between 2017 and 2022, from $13 million to $44.3 million,” Moore explained, adding that a group of growers recently founded the South Carolina Small Fruit Growers Association. “Some of our large farms have been adding small fruit to diversify.”

Several of the groups The Packer spoke to highlighted plans for expanding into new crops or expanding existing variety due to increased demand. The farms that Happy Dirt works with planted more acres of organic strawberries this year, for example. Holenbeck said the company is working with smaller farms to grow specialty eggplant, cherry tomatoes and specialty peppers.

“We’re just trying to really up our specialty game with our smaller farms so our larger farms can crank out the volume items we need,” Holenbeck said. “We’re increasing acreage in micro ways on these smaller, hyperspecialty products. That’s been really exciting.”

Consumer interest in new varieties of familiar crops has been strong lately in the Carolinas as well. Interest in sweetpotato varieties is growing, for example, especially for the purple-skinned, white-fleshed murasaki varietal.

Grainger said this push for different varieties started in the culinary world, then got picked up by social media influencers. She also cited the impact of the Netflix’s series “The Blue Zone,” which focused on areas of the world where populations live exceptionally long lives.

“The very first episode of this series was in Japan and within the first few minutes of that episode they were talking about the purple sweetpotato,” she said. “The individuals being interviewed expressed how important that sweetpotato is to their daily diet and they were attributing their longevity to it.”

Sweetpotatoes aren’t the only crop with growing varietal interest from consumers. Atkinson noted that consumers are also inquiring more about different peach varieties.

“We live in a society that is constantly wanting to learn, and consumers are really concerned about where their food is coming from,” she said. “So, they are asking questions and want to be educated on their food, and that’s great.”

A focus on sustainable produce

Expanding into new crops and new varieties aren’t the only ways Carolina growers are trying to serve their consumers better. New, different and more sustainable packaging that caters to customer needs was a frequently cited trend.

“Simplicity and affordability are huge with today’s consumers,” said McIver. “Simple recipes and affordable price options; pre-cut, ready-to -eat produce is gaining popularity. Any kind of value-added time-savers.”

The Nashville, N.C.-based fresh produce packer, shipper and marketer Nash Produce aims to meet those convenience needs.

“That’s where some of these new packaging strategies come in handy,” said Robin Narron, marketing director and sales support for Nash Produce. “For example, if you have a family of two, it’s easy to just grab two sweetpotatoes. But if you have a family of four, you can grab our 4-pack. You don’t have to sort through the bulk bin and worry about different cook times because ours are electronically sized to be as consistent as possible.”

Narron said the company strives to cater to the needs of its customers, be they the end consumer or retail customers.

“We have to do what’s popular in different areas. In some regions, for example, the larger sweetpotatoes are more popular, while in other areas, the smaller size are more popular,” she said. “So, we try to deliver whatever our customer base needs. If it’s something that we don’t have, we try to innovate something that would work for them.”

For Happy Dirt, changes in the way it packages its sweetpotatoes have not only served its customers but also its growers.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve really worked on our packaged sweetpotato program. Our 3-pound bags have been really successful,” Holenbeck said. “It’s
really helped our farmers, because they can put their smaller potatoes in those bags. Before, they would often just leave them in the field and not even pick them up because they couldn’t sell them. So, we’ve created, not necessarily a new market, but a new market for our farmers.”

Making better use of a harvest through packaging strategies is one way to improve sustainability. Some groups reported addressing sustainability issues directly with packaging, however.

“At Nash Produce, we are constantly working on sustainability projects,” said Narron. Part of this is innovation with packaging materials. “We’re trying to branch out into more eco-friendly packaging materials. Trying to get away from Styrofoam trays and trying to bring in more disposable or biodegradable packaging materials.”

Beltram observed another interesting sustainability-minded trend in his area among his neighbors.

“I don’t know if it’s on account of what we’re doing, but over the past 15 years, a lot of the conventional growers starting to incorporate sustainable practices,” he said.

Beltram said he’s started seeing a lot of conventional growers in his area starting to incorporate cover crops, something the all-organic Tendwell is proud of.

He also spoke about a different sustainability issue: the continuation of agriculture in the area. With Tendwell being a first-generation farm, this is a near-and-dear issue.

“Here in the mountains you see a lot of older folks who have been doing what they’re doing for a long time. As they’re starting to age out and they’re doing less farming, there’s not much of a new generation coming on,” he said. “So, we have a lot of really supportive neighbors. They are really happy about what we’re doing.”

Tendwell Farm has found that increased diversity of crops helps them meet consumer’s evolving demands.

(Photo courtesy of Tendwell Farm)

A look to the future

Tendwell is installing an optical sorter to speed up tomato sorting this summer.

“So, that should give our grape tomato pack a little more uniformity as far as sizing and color goes,” Beltram said. “We’re pretty excited about putting that machine in place this summer.”

Happy Dirt is also looking forward to infrastructure changes at its farms.

Borst said the company has been conducting trials on high and low tunnels. The trials have suggested ways tunnels can be used to mitigate the threats of disease and weather, extending their seasons on various specialty crops and increasing the consistency of the crops, said Holenbeck, adding that increasing infrastructure at the farms is a goal this summer.

For South Carolina peaches, the near future will mean spreading the goodness.

“New this year is the expansion of exports,” Atkinson said. “One of our larger farms has already been exporting to Mexico, but there has been expansion this year, and I think that is something that is pretty exciting.”

She added that expansion of export into Canada was also something the South Carolina peach industry is working on. “We’re already up there, but to say that we’re still growing is really something.”

South Carolina at large has also been working on recent and new efforts to connect local growers with consumers. Moore noted the recently launched Certified South Carolina Showcase, which just held its third annual event in late March.

“It grew out of a smaller effort to get growers and buyers in the same room, but we expanded it, and now it’s held at the big convention center here in Columbia,” she said. “It’s producers who are part of our big Certified South Carolina branding program, and they exhibit trade-show style.”

She also said the state is working on a portal for school food authorities to find and connect with local producers.

“Farms and producers that are looking to scale up and be able to serve markets in their communities often are interested in working with schools, so we are going to have an interface where that can happen,” Moore said. “It will be a portal where producers and distributors can list what they have available and their contact information, and on the other side school food authorities can make those connections.”

In both Carolinas, the emphasis on growing research is strong.

“Historically, the South has been largely ignored when it comes to developing varieties for our climate specifically,” Holenbeck explained. That has changed recently with the growing demand for growing produce, especially organic produce, in the southeast.”

“One of the reasons why North Carolina is as strong as we are in sweetpotato production is because of our growers and their close relationship with the research institutions,” Grainger said. She pointed to work at institutions such as North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T, the University of Mount Olive and across the Cooperative Extension System.

“North Carolina has an incredible Cooperative Extension Program that spans our entire state; all 100 counties have an office,” she said. “Our growers work side by side with individuals from each of these institutions, and they adopt research, they provide facilities and work with those who are trying to promote and progress the industry.”

Research efforts, both public and in private companies, are strong in South Carolina as well to find varieties that work for the state’s climate, Moore said, pointing to examples of heat-tolerant butter beans and peach varieties that can withstand the warmer weather of summers in the South.

“The climate here is, for lack of a better word, very volatile,” Holenbeck said. “To be adaptable within that is very important for our farmers and the longevity and sustainability of growing in the southeast.”

Geospatial mapping to help identify threats to South Carolina farmland

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 18:27:57 GMT

Modeling software has become sophisticated enough that when you plug in specific variables, it can simulate possible outcomes with unnerving accuracy. When layered with GIS mapping software that can pinpoint land-based data as broadly or precisely as the user requests, it’s possible to build a sophisticated tool that can predict the future with variables grounded in both space and time.

American Farmland Trust, in partnership with several South Carolina governmental and advocacy groups, is launching a tool that does precisely this to preserve vital farmland at risk of development. Palmetto 2040: Visioning Alternative Futures, Launching Solutions is a geospatial modeling and policy analysis tool designed to identify and model future outcomes, areas at highest risk of development and threats to South Carolina’s farmland, jobs and quality of life, according to a news release.

Ultimately, Palmetto 2040 seeks to identify how the state’s agriculture, business, quality of life, and environment would fare under specific scenarios, as well as spark discussion on tradeoffs and identify consensus and potential policy solutions.

“Together, our coalition will highlight the opportunities to improve state and local farmland protection policies, increase state and local funding and take advantage of federal matching funds,” Ryan Murphy, American Farmland Trust’s GIS manager, said in the release.

Combining geospatial analysis and policy insights will help local and state policymakers be better informed and motivated to act, Murphy said.

Using Lexington County as a pilot, the mapping tool will project what land is at highest risk of development by 2040. The analysis will take into account both rapid population growth and climate change impact on settlement patterns and agriculture, according to the release.

Balancing farmland conservation with development

“When it comes to balancing the need for development with protecting farmland and resources, none of these conversations are easy,” South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers said in the release. “We look forward to working together to identify the best paths forward for South Carolina.”

American Farmland Trust’s “ Farms Under Threat: The State of the States ” report asserts that South Carolina is at high risk for future farmland loss, giving the state the eighth-highest “threat score” in the nation, with over 280,000 acres of farmland converted between 2001 and 2016.

What’s more, Lexington County led the state in farmland conversion from 2001 to 2016, with over 29,000 acres of farmland paved, fragmented or compromised by commercial, industrial and residential development, according to the release.

“Lexington County has long been a top producer of agricultural commodities in South Carolina, and now we are losing farmland at one of the highest rates in the state,” Lexington County Farm Bureau President Brandon Myers said in the release. “This project will help us make a plan to grow our county and state responsibly, while continuing to be stewards of our most important resource: land.”

Related news: Sweet potatoes lead the 2022 list of top-value crops in the Carolinas

The Palmetto 2040 project will first convene a group in Lexington County that includes key public and private conservation organizations, land trusts, farm groups and governmental officials working on farmland protection. After project kickoff, American Farmland Trust plans to draft maps of the threats that Lexington County’s agricultural land will face in the next dozen years.

From this data, stakeholders and citizen groups will use the maps to discuss and envision agriculture, business and conservation in Lexington County. American Farmland Trust envisions building a broad coalition around the policy solutions identified and targeting public and private conservation organizations, land trusts, farm groups, state agencies, local planners and interested citizen groups to enact necessary changes, according to the release.

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Lexington County Farm Bureau, American Farmland Trust and the Winthrop Family Fund are providing support for the project, with SustainSC as the convening partner, the release said.

Walmart's second automated grocery distribution center will be in Spartanburg, S.C.

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:28:14 GMT

Walmart plans to build a high-tech distribution center for fresh and frozen groceries in Spartanburg County, S.C., set to open in 2024.

The 720,000-plus-square-foot facility will rely on Walmart associates, automation technology, robotics and machine learning to process grocery perishables – such as produce – and deliver them to nearby stores, according to a news release.

The facility marks Walmart’s largest automated grocery distribution center to date and will move two times more product than a traditional grocery distribution center, as well as provide new tech-focused jobs in the region.

“Walmart’s high-tech grocery distribution center will include game-changing innovations that are radically disrupting the supply chain, getting products onto shelves for our customers even faster, while saving time for our associates,” senior vice president of automation and innovation David Guggina said in the release.

This distribution center is part of a larger investment the retailer announced earlier in 2021 to double down on the use of automation technology in its supply chain. The retailer announced its first automated grocery distribution center in 2018 and has since added new solutions that reduce handling cost and improve service to stores and customers.

The announcement of this latest new center comes months after Walmart released the news of its plans to add automation in more than half of its regional distribution centers and market fulfillment centers in select stores. The retailer has also made investments in drones and autonomous vehicles to support last mile deliveries.

“The new distribution center will be critical to ensuring our stores are stocked with the freshest grocery items … to customers and communities in the state of South Carolina,” Walmart U.S. senior vice president of supply chain operations Tim Cooper said in the release.

Walmart operates four distribution centers, 122 retail stores and employs 34,136 associates in South Carolina. In the fiscal year of 2021, the stores, clubs and the Walmart Foundation gave $15.3 million in cash and in-kind donations to local South Carolina organizations.

Sweet potatoes lead the 2022 list of top-value crops in the Carolinas

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 17:00:30 GMT

Sweet potatoes lead the list of top-dollar fruit and vegetable commodities in North Carolina and South Carolina, according to USDA agricultural statistics for 2022.

With fresh sales valued at $16.50 per cwt, the value of the North Carolina fresh sweet potato crop was rated at just over $164 million in 2022.

The total sweet potato crop in North Carolina, produced on 83,700 harvested acres, was valued at $225 million in 2022, according to the USDA.

Other top fruit and vegetable commodities in North Carolina were:

Blueberries: $69.7 million crop value, produced on 7,500 acres and producing 38.1 million pounds valued at $1.84 per pound.
Fresh watermelons: $56 million crop value, produced on 7,600 harvested acres at a value of $23.80 per cwt.
Cucumbers: Fresh market crop value of $9.75 million, valued at an average $45 per cwt.
Bell peppers: Total fresh and processed value of $26.9 million from 2,100 harvested acres at an average price of $74.20 per cwt.
Pumpkins: Total fresh and processed value of $16.75 million from harvested acres of 3,500 at an average value of $23.3 per cwt.
Squash: Total value of $14.96 million from harvested acreage of 3,200 and an average value $37.50 per cwt.

Top commodity values reported for South Carolina included:

Peaches: $98.5 million in crop value from harvested acreage of 15,500 acres at an average value of $1,600 per ton.
Peanuts: Crop value of $72.8 million from 68,000 harvested acres and an average value of 25.5 cents per pound.
Watermelon: Crop value of $21.4 million from 3,000 harvested acres and an average of $18.70 per cwt.

Carolina peanut expectations rise in 2023

Fri, 26 May 2023 17:04:19 GMT

North Carolina and South Carolina are anything but small potatoes when it comes to peanut production.

In fact, they are two of a handful of Southern states that produce the entire U.S. peanut crop.

The USDA reported that North Carolina growers harvested 116,00 acres of peanuts in 2022, compared with 68,000 acres harvested in South Carolina.

USDA numbers show the states with the most U.S. peanut production are Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.

According to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, the U.S. peanut crop in 2022 was estimated at 5.57 billion pounds.

This year, the USDA reported on April 30 that planting intentions in North Carolina totaled 130,000 acres, up 11% from 2022. For the entire U.S., the report said peanut planting intentions were 1.547 million acres, up 7% from 1.45 million acres in 2022.

The 2023 peanut crop will be harvested this fall from September through early November.

If peanut production is up, demand is up as well, said Eric Boonshaft, director of marketing for Hampton Farms , Severn, N.C.

Government reports indicate demand for in-shell peanuts produced primarily in the Carolinas is up 9.5% from August 2022 through March 2023, he said.

With a 100-year heritage, Hampton Farms has grown from a small family business to the leading roaster of in-shell peanuts, according to the company website.

Headquartered in Severn, and with additional plants in Edenton, N.C.; Franklin, Va.; Springfield, Mass.; Lubbock, Texas; and Portales, N.M., Hampton Farms roasts, packs and markets finished nut products direct to customers nationwide, the company said on its website.

South Carolina sees mixed shipment trends in 2022

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 17:00:30 GMT

A diminished peach crop hurt total fresh produce volumes in South Carolina in 2022, USDA statistics show.

Total South Carolina truck shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables totaled 314.4 million pounds in 2022, down 5% from 332.2 pounds in 2021, according to USDA statistics. The top month for produce shipments from South Carolina in 2022 was June when 106.5 million pounds of fruits and vegetables were shipped. July was second in importance with 94.5 million pounds shipped, the USDA said.

South Carolina fresh commodities that showed gains above 8% in 2022 were greens, green onions, tomatoes and seedless watermelon.

Here are 2022 shipments of South Carolina fresh produce items, with the percent change from 2021:

Greens: 86.6 million pounds, up 9%.
Green onions: 22.3 million pounds, up 23%.
Peaches: 54.1 million pounds, down 50%.
Squash: 3.8 million pounds, down 5%.
Tomatoes: 36.4 million pounds, up 99%.
Cherry tomatoes: 100,000 pounds, down 50%.
Grape tomatoes: 600,000 pounds, down 65%.
Seeded watermelons: 2 million pounds, up 43%.
Seedless watermelon: 108.5 million pounds, up 9%.
Total: 314.4 million pounds, down 5%.

Foxweather.com reported May 16 that South Carolina peaches may be on the light side again in 2023, as a mild winter in the Southeast followed by frost in the early spring hurt peach crop potential in Georgia and South Carolina. No USDA estimate on the U.S. peach crop had been issued as of May 23.

Titan Farms promotes two to leadership roles

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 18:25:25 GMT

South Carolina-based grower-packer-shipper of fresh peaches and vegetables Titan Farms has promoted two leaders to key positions.

Taylor Livingston has been named director of fresh packing operations and Jessica Williams has been promoted to sales manager. These strategic promotions are examples of Titan Farms’ dedication to nurturing talent and fostering growth within the company, according to a news release.

Livingston has showcased exceptional leadership skills and a profound understanding of fresh packing operations at Titan Farms, the release said. As director of fresh packing operations, Livingston will spearhead developing and implementing innovative strategies to enhance operational efficiency and ensure the delivery of premium quality produce to their customers, Titan Farms said. Livingston’s extensive experience and unwavering dedication are a few of the reasons she was picked to lead the fresh packing division, according to the release.

Related news: With Georgia production down, peaches are pricier

“As I step into my role as the director of fresh packing operations at Titan Farms, I am eager to collaborate closely with our talented team and harness our collective expertise to propel our fresh packing operations to unprecedented levels,” Livingston said in the release. “Our strategic focus will revolve around implementing innovative quality control measures, optimizing production processes, and ensuring meticulous attention to detail at every stage. By continually enhancing the efficiency, consistency, and freshness of our packed products, we will surpass customer expectations, deliver unparalleled quality, and uphold Titan Farms’ position as an undisputed industry leader.”

Additionally, Williams has been instrumental in driving Titan Farms’ sales growth, the release said.

As sales manager, Williams will oversee sales strategies, build strong customer relationships and expand market share, the company said. Her proven track record in achieving sales targets and her keen understanding of customer needs position her as a model sales team lead, according to the release.

“In this role, I am excited to work hand in hand with our talented sales team to optimize pricing structures, drive sustainable growth, and ensure the long-term financial success of our organization,” Williams said in the release. “I am committed to building upon our sales success and establishing enduring partnerships with our valued customers. Through effective communication and collaboration with internal stakeholders, such as marketing, production, and logistics, I will ensure seamless coordination to deliver exceptional products that consistently exceed customer expectations.”

The promotions are well deserved, Titan Farms CEO Chalmers Carr said in the release.

“Taylor’s expertise in fresh packing operations and Jessica’s exceptional sales prowess will undoubtedly strengthen our position in the market. These promotions acknowledge their individual achievements and exemplify our dedication to cultivating growth and nurturing talent within the Titan Farms organization,” he said.

These promotions mark a significant milestone for Titan Farms, strengthening the leadership team to ensure continued success in the fresh produce industry, the release said.

Titan Farms partners with CarbonCents to pioneer carbon footprint reduction

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 03:23:55 GMT

Ridge Spring, S.C.-based Titan Farms has unveiled a strategic partnership with CarbonCents, a technology firm specializing in carbon footprint tracking and reduction solutions.

The collaboration marks a significant milestone in Titan Farms’ commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability, company officials said in a news release. The decision to join forces with CarbonCents stems from Titan Farms’ dedication to understanding and mitigating its carbon footprint, the release said.

“We chose to partner with CarbonCents to help us set baseline emissions standards,” said Chalmers Carr, CEO and president of Titan Farms. “Without an understanding of where we stand today, we cannot set reduction targets in a realistic and informed manner.”

CarbonCents will play a pivotal role in implementing cutting-edge solutions at Titan Farms, according to the release.

The process involves consolidating all energy consumption data, as well as collecting data on other emission-related sources, and utilizing CarbonCents’ proprietary software, “Carbon BI,” to analyze consumption patterns across fields, facilities and supply chains, the release said. Titan Farms says this comprehensive approach will enable it to identify areas for improvement and implement targeted strategies to reduce emissions effectively.

Moreover, CarbonCents’ involvement ensures compliance with environmental standards and facilitates transparency in reporting carbon footprint to external parties, the release said.

“CarbonCents will not only compile our data but also verify its accuracy and audit for incongruences,” Carr said. “Their expertise will ensure that all data shared with external parties is accurate and understandable.”

Titan Farms aims to engage stakeholders, customers, and communities in its CO2 footprint reduction efforts. By leading the charge in environmental sustainability, Titan Farms hopes to inspire others in the industry to join their journey towards emissions reduction, the release said.

“Our long-term strategic vision is centered on becoming a leader in environmental stewardship within the agricultural sector,” Carr said. “Through rigorous data collection, strategic goal setting, and collaborative efforts, we are committed to achieving overall emissions reduction throughout our supply chains.”

As Titan Farms enters the data collection phase with CarbonCents, the company said it remains steadfast in its pursuit of carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions. By leveraging innovative technology and fostering industrywide collaboration, Titan Farms is poised to make a significant impact on environmental sustainability in agriculture, the release said.

South Carolina Grown programs boosts agribusiness

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:36:06 GMT

A University of South Carolina study shows that residents of the state are eating more local food because of the Certified South Carolina program.

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture established the program in 2007, according to a news release from the university.

According to the study, residents of the state purchased an additional $176 million in products from South Carolina farmers in 2018 than they did in 2010, across all food categories in the program. That accounts for an additional $274 million in economic activity, according to the study by Joseph Von Nessen, a research economist at the university’s Darla Moore School of business.

“Dr. Von Nessen’s findings tell us why Certified South Carolina is so important: Consumers want local food, and this program is helping them find it,” South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers said in the release. “I’m thrilled that South Carolinians continue to support our state’s 24,000-plus farmers.”

Previous research has shown there’s a 78% recognition rate for the Certified SC Grown branding campaign with residents of South Carolina.

Carolina market adapts in light of COVID-19

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:41:55 GMT

Marketing the spring harvest and stored produce of the Carolinas isn’t the same game these days.

Some South Carolina growers who lost their customer base due to COVID-19 quarantine closures have pivoted from foodservice customers to direct-to-consumer business, and the state department of agriculture is helping this effort.

On the website , growers can offer their delivery, on-farm pickup, CSAs and other shopping options during this time of social distancing.

“We’ve seen a huge demand in that direct-to-consumer sales model, so that’s a way for food suppliers to pivot, and that’s been encouraging,” said Katie Pfieffer, the department’s director of merchandising.

Instead of a lot of in-store promotions and samplings for watermelon and other crops, as well as Certified South Carolina Grown produce, this summer, marketing specialists are working to drive demand through websites and social media by posting South Carolina grower and chef recipes and preparation tips.

For South Carolina peaches, the agriculuture department is going the way of digital ads on radio, TV and e-mail blasts, using a message that emphasizes the health benefits of peaches, said Kyle Tisdale, marketing specialist and executive director of the South Carolina Peach Council.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture is doing all it can to promote local and state-grown fresh produce, said G.W. Stanley, assistant director for retail and foodservice, as well as “Got to Be NC” brand manager.

Foodservice wholesalers have had a 60% to 70% cut in business, he said.

North Carolina’s biggest crops based on cash receipts are sweet potatoes, apples, blueberries and tomatoes, according to the National Agricultural Statistical Services.

At Jackson Farming Co ., Autryville, N.C., demand for the state’s 2019 sweet potatoes in storage is off due to COVID-19-induced shutdown of the foodservice industry, where as much as 40% of the company’s sweet potatoes would normally be sold, said Matt Solana, vice president of operations and supply chain.

Solana expects North Carolina broccoli, running May 15 through June, to face a low market also, as it’s on almost all restaurant and school menus.
“This should start to improve as the economy opens back up,” Solana said.

Demand for the company’s watermelon from Florida has been good so far, with somewhat lower f.o.b. prices than normal, but he is optimistic as the melon crop gets undeway in Georgia and North Carolina.

Demand for the organic blueberries from Coosaw Farms , based in Fairfax, S.C., grows steadily every year but it’s taken a bit of a hit this year, said owner Bradley O’Neal.

“I think stores are limited on what they can put out,” O’Neal said, but as businesses re-open, the market for “organics will rise again.”

While retail potato sales have stayed steadily 50% higher than normal after the initial “tremendous” spike in most retail products, almost nonexistant foodservice and wholesale sales have been slowly improving the past couple weeks, said Greg Cardamone, general manager of the vegetable business of L&M Cos. , Raleigh, N.C.

“Probably because there’s a bit more restaurant activity, and we’re slowly seeing wholesale companies and foodservice companies ordering more products than in the previous week,” Cardamone said May 7.

But sales of restaurant-specific items such as larger-sized squash that chefs slice and the tomatoes and onions restaurants use for sandwiches are still “struggling,” Cardamone said.

To move some of the unsold product meant for foodservice customers, L&M has been able to contract with Feeding Florida, a food bank network, to make mixed-produce boxes.

The mixed boxes are more consumer friendly and eliminate the need for food bank volunteers to sort and repackage the produce.

“It has definitely helped us,” Cardamone said. “It’s been good for the farm and good for the consumer.”

Packaging

Jackson Farming’s North Carolina cantaloupe pack sizes have been getting smaller to fit the needs of retail partners.

In the past, a 24-inch bin of 110-count athena cantaloupes was the norm, and today the company is packing 18-inch bins, which hold 80 cantaloupes, and six-to-nine count cartons.

“The biggest challenge is moving the foodservice portion of our storage sweet potatoes, and we hope with the quarantines being lifted to some degree we will see a return of that business,” Solana said.

Other than sweet potatoes, most of Jackson Farming’s crops are sold in bulk, such as broccoli crowns, watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydews and pumpkins, and Solana hasn’t seen any change in demand for packaged produce.

“However, it is interesting to note how plastic, up to a few months ago, had such a bad image, and today, due to COVID-19, it is once again riding high,” Solana said.

When restaurants first closed, many North Carolina wholesalers repackaged bulk items into smaller, more retail-oriented, consumer-friendly sizes.

“Another challenge is when things re-open: Getting it back from retail sizes to foodservice sizes. We’re kinda going around circles there,” Stanley said. “At the end of the day, we just want people to buy local.”

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Carolinas' crops looking good

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:41:55 GMT

Out with the strawberries, in with the blueberries — and melons, peppers, potatoes, squash, cabbage, leafy greens and cucumbers.

In the Carolinas, spring and summer produce is an edible rainbow. And the harvest is looking good, growers say.

“As far as rain totals go, we’re right on schedule with annual totals,” said Nick Augostini, assistant director of horticulture and field crops for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.

“We had a couple late frosts in late April, which was very unusual.”

Some blueberry growers a few earlier varieties that were blossoming at the time, but later varieties are fine, he said.

Thunderstorms and cooler temperatures also delayed planting in the Carolinas, but the harvest volumes are looking up, especially for sweet potatoes, which increase in popularity every year and are a favorite during the pandemic, possibly for their hardiness and affordability, along with sweet taste, growers and marketers say.

Volume usually peaks mid-June for South Carolina and mid-July for North Carolina, said Eric Bolesta, who sells Carolina cabbage, cucumbers, bell peppers, eggplants and hot peppers for Grower Network , Lake Park, Ga.

Overall, spring and summer crop volume should be about 3% to 5% up, which is not much different from other years, Augostini said.

In 2019, North Carolina produced 2.2 billion pounds of sweet potatoes, 37.5 million pounds of blueberries, 185 million pounds of cucumbers, 190 million pounds of watermelon, 61 million pounds of bell peppers, 64 million pounds of summer squash, and almost 80 million pounds of pumpkins, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

In 2019, South Carolina produced 127.5 million pounds of peaches, 161.3 million pounds of watermelon, according to the USDA statistics service.

South Carolina had a great strawberry season with strong supply, thanks to good weather, and now it’s onto the state’s top-producing crops for late spring and summer: blueberries, peaches, melons, leafy greens, tomatoes and green onions, said LauraKate McAllister, South Carolina Department of Agriculture marketing specialist and executive director of the South Carolina Specialty Crop Growers Association.

Intermittent heavy rainstorms and winds have damaged some taller crops and led to diseases on tomatoes, McAllister said, but the warm and sunny days afterward have dried up excess water quickly.

Peach harvest began May 1 with volume looking good enough to last through August and a fine size, said Kyle Tisdale, South Carolina Department of Agricutlture marketing specialist and executive director of the South Carolina Peach Council.

“Strawberries moved really well, and we’re hoping peaches will piggyback on that trend,” Tisdale said.

L&M Cos., Raleigh, N.C., will have more product for summer because of more volume at its North Carolina and New Jersey farms, said Greg Cardamone, general manager of L&M’s vegetable business.

Squash will start shipping by the end of May, which is about a week later than the past two seasons, which were unusually warm, he said.

“Everything else is pretty much on time, no big growing issues,” Cardamone said.

That includes shipping volume for cucumbers to start about June 10, bell peppers in late June, North Carolina sweet onions and broccoli by the end of May, red and yellow potatoes around June 20 and North Carolina watermelons July 5.

L&M has vegetable farms in Florida, Georgia and New Jersey to offer product for longer windows of time, before and after the Carolina seasons.

For the first time, L&M’s onion grower, Flatland Ag Inc. in Beauford County, N.C., planted 90 acres of potatoes this year, Cardamone said.

Coosaw Farms, Fairfax, S.C., produces more than 2 million pounds of conventional and organic blueberries a year, and this year shouldn’t be different, said Bradley O’Neal, owner.

However, good chill hours on the conventional crop will increase volume and make the start a week to 10 days early at April 6, almost matching the organic blueberry crop, which had lackluster pollination and decreased volume, he said.

On May 5, O’Neal said they were shipping about two tractor-trailer loads of blueberries a day.

Watermelon is the other big crop for Coosaw Farms. Along with the larger-sizing crop from Florida, watermelons grown in South Carolina should be shipping June 1 through July.

Coosaw Farms has started planting and setting up the framework for tunnel growing systems to add blackberries for the first time to next year’s offerings.

Jackson Farming Co ., Autryville, N.C., is planting more sweet potato acreage according to plan because year over year, demand increases, said Matt Solana, vice president of operations.

Some spring planting was delayed because of hot and cold temperatures and rain, but crews have caught up, he said.

The company’s spring broccoli is starting to size up as harvest approached in mid-May, and will run through the first week of June, he said. Fall broccoli should be available November through December.

As far as melons, Solana said, “we’re planting like crazy. They’re looking great, as are the transplants on watermelons, ‘lopes and ‘dews.”

The Autryville farm’s first harvest on seedless and seeded watermelons is estimated for the last week of June, with seedless through the end of September and seeded through mid-August. Cantaloupe should run mid-June to mid-August, and honeydews the first week of July through the first week to middle of August.

Pumpkins at the company’s Edenton, Ennice, Sparta and Autryville farms will be planted in July with harvest from September through mid-October.

All in all, Carolina crops are doing fine.

“North Carolina produce is on track for another good season, the quality overall so far is excellent and we’re looking forward to a little bit more demand as things open up,” Cardamone said. “We’re on go. We’re ready.”

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Federal contracts awarded to fresh produce firms

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:49:09 GMT

Multi-million dollar federal contracts have been awarded to three firms to provide fresh produce to military customers and select schools.

On Oct. 7, Senn Brothers Inc ., West Columbia, S.C. was awarded a five-year, maximum $225 million contract by the Defense Logistics Agency to supply fresh produce South Carlina military customers and select schools, according to a news release.

On Sept. 25, Segovia’s Distributing Inc ., El Paso, Texas, was a five-year, maximum $87.75 million contract by the Defense Logistics Agency to provide fresh produce to military customers and select schools in Texas and New Mexico.

On Sept. 23, Ham Produce and Seafood Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii, was given a three-year, $9.9 million contract by the Defense Logistics Agency to supply fresh produce customers in Hawaii.

Contracts awarded to Texas, New Jersey firms

Georgia firm wins big federal contract

Carolina braces for Dorian rain

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:13:13 GMT

Crops in Florida were spared but Hurricane Dorian was still poised to dump big rains in coastal regions of the Carolinas on Sept. 5-6.

Between four and eight inches of rain are anticipated in the eastern North Carolina sweet potato growing area near Wilson, which is about 120 miles from the coast, according to Charlotte Vick, managing partner and director of sales and marketing with Vick Family Farms Partnership, Wilson, N.C.

Since the area has been extremely dry, Vick said the lower end of that projected rainfall amount would be welcome; even with eight inches of moisture, Vick said the crop could handle the moisture.

“(The rain) would help to size our crop up and help to tighten the skin up,” she said. “We actually need a little bit of this rain.”

Last year, Hurricane Florence dumped 10 to 15 inches of rain on the region, and that cut the 2018 sweet potato crop yields, ending the marketing season earlier than normal several weeks ago. That created a rare gap between old crop and new crop supply, Vick said.

For the 2019 sweet potato crop, Vick said harvest began on Aug. 26, about a week later than normal, and potatoes have been on the small side.

“The rain will actually be good; with warm weather and the rainfall, it should actually help size our sweet potato crop,” she said. Sweet potato harvest will continue until about the first of November.
“We’re not expecting (Hurricane Dorian) to be as bad as last year, but we’re not taking it lightly,” she said, noting that more storms could follow.

“We can’t stand eight inches now and another eight inches in a month,” she said.

South Carolina

About 100 miles from the coast of South Carolina, Hamilton Dicks III, representative with Melon 1, Bondwell, S.C., said watermelon fields didn’t sustain any damage.

“We consider ourselves to be very fortunate,” Dicks said. “I don’t think we’ve had a quarter of an inch or rain,” he said. Harvest of the fall watermelon crop will begin in mid-September and continue to the third week of October.

Watermelon fields in the coastal region of Beaufort, S.C., also survived the storm, he said.

“We were real concerned about that because fields are only six feet above sea level and we were afraid of salt water (on the fields) but that didn’t happen,” he said, noting the storm surge wasn’t as severe as predicted.

A few watermelon vines were broken by the wind, but the Beaufort crop also survived Hurricane Dorian, he said.

Florida spared

Crops in Florida avoided significant damage from the storm, industry leaders said.

No damage was reported by any tomato growers in Florida, said Michael Schadler, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange, “As far as I am aware the storm never made landfall anywhere in Florida and had relatively minimal impact even along the east coast,” he said Sept. 4.
Florida’s Indian River citrus region also dodged major damage from Hurricane Dorian.

“We went out and looked at everything this morning and the packinghouses were unscathed,” Doug Feek, president of DFL International Inc., Fort Pierce, Fla., said on Sept. 4.

Vero Beach citrus groves received about two inches of rain, while Fort Pierce had about three inches of rain, Feek said.

“I did not see any fruit drop at all,” he said, adding that winds were not extreme.

“There may be some punctured fruit here and there, but I don’t think that it is anything enough to be any real concern, so we are in good shape,” he said.

Harvest will start about the last week in September.

In general, he said the industry expects a fairly good crop.

“The fruit size looks a little bit bigger and the trees look more vigorous — I think we are going to have a good season.”

In the early afternoon on Sept. 4, Hurricane Dorian was east of Jacksonville, Fla. The National Weather Service reported the center of Dorian is forecast to move near or over the coast of South Carolina and North Carolina on Sept. 4 and Sept. 5.

The National Weather Service reported Sept. 4 that Dorian is expected to produce the following rainfall through Sept. 6:

Coastal Carolinas: five to 10 inches, isolated 15 inches;
Atlantic Coast from Daytona Beach, Fla., to the Georgia-South Carolina border: three to six inches, with isolated nine inches near the Georgia coast; and
Southeast Virginia: three to six inches.

Allen Lund Co. promotes Michael Patrick

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 20:00:28 GMT

The Allen Lund Co . has promoted Michael Patrick to director of business intelligence and analytics.

Patrick joined the company in 2018 and has been an account manager to branch manager and most recently was a senior business analyst. He has more than 20 years of experience in third-party logistics and supply chain management, according to a news release.

He is based in the company’s Charleston, S.C., office. He will lead business analysts in creating reports for branch offices, sales teams and support groups, according to the release. Pricing strategy, rate analysis and bid tool management will also be part of the group’s role.

“Since joining our team in January 2018 Michael has done a great job creating processes to put our data to work for us,” Jim McGuire, executive vice president, said in the release.

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WP Rawl supports Wreaths Across America

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:21:46 GMT

Pelion, S.C.-based leafy green marketer WP Rawl has again helped to honor military heroes by participating in the Wreaths Across Americas’ Honor Fleet.

The National Wreaths Across America Day takes place in over 1,600 locations in all 50 U.S. states, according to a news release.

This year, for the fourth time, WP Rawl was one of hundreds of volunteer truck companies participating in the event.
Making the 1,291-mile trip from Maine with thousands of wreaths, WP Rawl’s specially designed refrigerated truck brought them to the Beaufort National Cemetery in South Carolina, according to the release.

At the cemetery, WP Rawl was one of four tractor trailers included in the parade on Dec. 14, according to the release.

“We are happy to continue the tradition of supporting Wreaths Across America,” Ashley Rawl, vice president of sales, marketing and product development for WP Rawl, said in the release. “Part of our company vision is supporting the communities in our local areas, and what better way to support our local community by showing our thanks for the many of men and woman who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we have the freedoms we have today.”

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Titan Farms, Harris Teeter continue Peaches with a Purpose

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:41:19 GMT

Titan Farms , Ridge Spring, S.C., and Harris Teeter , Matthews, N.C., have donated 219,000 pounds of peaches to food banks through the Peaches with a Purpose program over the past five years.

The peaches go to Second Harvest Food Banks in Winston-Salem and Metrolina/Charlotte, N. Carolina, according to a news release.

“Five years ago, we never would have imagined the impact Peaches with a Purpose could have on these communities,” Lori Anne Carr, vice president of Titan Farms, said in the release. “Giving back and supporting local communities has always been important to us, and we are grateful we have been able to partner with Harris Teeter to help the food impoverished for so many years in a row.”

The grower-shipper created the program to help feed needy residents while bringing attention to food security in the U.S.

“It is imperative that those living in poverty can afford and have access to healthy food options and produce,” Kay Carter, executive director for Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, said in the release. “We are very grateful for this support that has made such a difference in so many lives.”

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South Carolina gets $314 million ag-tech center for multiple users

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 01:59:28 GMT

A $314 million ag-tech center — that will grow indoors, copack, distribute and sometimes process fresh greens, tomatoes, blueberries and other produce — is coming to South Carolina by the last quarter of 2022.

With artificial intelligence and blockchain technology provided by Core Scientific, this center is a joint venture project among Mastronardi Produce , Clear Water Farms, LiDestri Food and Drink and the GEM Opportunity Zone Fund. Core Scientific’s CEO is Kevin Turner, the former chief operating officer of Microsoft.

On the 1,000-plus acre site, there will be a 150,000-square-foot distribution center to ship the produce within 24 hours of harvest to an estimated 50 million people in the Southeast, said Zeb Portanova, CEO of the fund, in an exclusive interview with The Packer.

“We’ll be the first campus of this kind with this technology with multiple users at the same time in the Southeast,” Portanova said.

A private investment firm focused on impact investing, the GEM fund will build and own all of the facilities on the site. It’s a Federal Qualified Opportunity Fund, which is an investment vehicle set up as either a partnership or corporation for investing in eligible property in a Federal Opportunity Zone , or economically distressed community. Investors can get capital gains tax deferrals, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The project’s executives say it’s the largest agricultural investment in the history of South Carolina and the largest agricultural investment in a Federal Qualified Opportunity Zone.

Having this innovative center located in the rural Hampton County of South Carolina can make the state competitive in agribusiness like it is in the auto and airplane industries, said state Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers.

“The principles involved in this one are well-established in the industry, so there aren’t a lot of unknowns,” Weathers said. “This is like the Boeing of agriculture, because I think it will lead to other investments as well. And we can create a cluster of high-tech agriculture.”

As for the tech side, think of blockchain as the storage of data, and artificial intelligence as the processing of data, said Russell Cann, Core Scientific’s chief customer success officer.

The blockchain data from the seed to table can not only provide the consumer with the assurance of knowing which greenhouse, which row and which harvest date their tomato or lettuce came from, but it can also enable a grocer to know which combination of seeds creates the best-selling salad mix on the retail shelves, Cann said.

And with the quick turnaround of efficient, controlled environment agriculture crops, changes can be made fast to the benefit of all partners in the supply chain.

“We’re not reinventing the wheel here. We’re adjusting the model. We’re putting the copacker and greenhouse together. We’re trying to take what’s working in lots of places and put it all together in one place,” Cann said.

They’re in the design stage now and plan to break ground in October, Portanova said.

The number of different operations along the supply chain, as well as different branches, located in the same place enables nimble adjustments and redirections.

For instance, if a healthy tomato grown in the center looks ugly, it can then be sent to another part of the facility, processed and packaged into fresh salsa.

The artificial intelligence staff will focus on yield and crop maximization, said Ian Ferreira, chief product officer of artificial intelligence at Core Scientific.

“We’re using cameras to monitor growth and predictive models to forecast sizing, using smart feedback loops, adjusting the lighting, the humidity inside the facility to maximize the growth, light sensors,” Ferreira said. “So, it’s really just adding a lot of smarts on how these leafy greens grow but doing it with computer algorithms at scale.”

Weathers said he sees this kind agriculture as the future, but it doesn’t replace traditional agriculture either.

He envisions surrounding South Carolina open-field farmers using some these facilities too, after working with university experts to match crop standards.

“This is where fake world of AI and blockchain meets the real world of agriculture,” Cann said. “This is meaningful to people’s bellies.”

Titan Farms brings back its America’s Peach Box Summer Retail Program

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 16:12:07 GMT

Titan Farms , premier grower of South Carolina peaches, is now shipping their ever-popular patriotic-themed, volume fill box named “America’s Peach.”

The America’s Peach Box will be packed from June 23 to July 10 and will be available nationwide while supplies last.

“Titan Farms felt a patriotic tribute box was the perfect way to celebrate the pride our customers have for their great nation as well as to piggyback off the excitement for Independence Day,” says Ross Williams, Director of Packaging Operations and Food Safety. “With such great success from last year, we had to bring it back for another year. Retailers couldn’t get enough of “America’s Peach” and had built such large and luxurious displays drawing people to the produce department in the peak of peach season.”

The “America’s Peach” box will be sent to customers in place of the traditional Titan Farms volume fill box.
“Our peach is the true American peach, and it represents what America and summertime is all about,” says Williams. “What better way to tie it all together, than with an American flag as the focal point on this unique packaging.”

The unique microclimate and favorable soil conditions that exist on the ridge between the piedmont and coastal plain regions east of the Savannah River, is what makes Titan Farms’ peaches so filled with flavorful. The blend of sand and clay soils coupled with hot days helps to enrichen the sugar content of Titan Farms’ peaches. Titan Farms’ intensive horticultural practices during the offseason help produce premium size and quality fruit that will exceed the expectations of even the choosiest consumer.

Strong peach crop expected out of South Carolina

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:41:15 GMT

With harvest starting the first week of May, South Carolina is poised to offer buyers a good crop of peaches in 2021.

That’s the perspective of Juan Carlos Melgar, associate professor of pomology at Clemson University and extension specialist for peaches.
“The main producing area, on the ridge, is looking really good,” Melgar said. “Finally, we’re going to have a normal year.”

The ridge growing region, between Augusta, Ga., and Lexington, S.C., accounts for about two-thirds of the state’s peach output, industry sources said.

There have been minor losses with late freezes in Greenville and Spartanburg counties, Melgar said, but the general outlook for the state is positive.

Harvest had already begun for some growers, Melgar said.

Acreage of peaches in South Carolina was holding steady, and recently has been reported in the range of 15,000 to 16,000 acres.
One industry source, speaking on background, said that peach acreage has been stable because growers have been able to harvest a crop every year since 2007, when there was an Easter freeze that devastated the crop.

There are a handful of growers who each farm thousands of acres to meet the needs of big retailers, while small growers in the state have less than 100 acres; only five or six growers have acreage in the 500-600 range.

Acreage has been about the same in the past few years, though some orchards are going in with higher density plantings. Vertical integration for larger growers has increased, with packer-shipper-marketing responsibilities handled in-house.

Harvest of South Carolina peaches typically extends to about the first week of September, though earlier timing last year resulted in the end of the deal by late August.

“This year, it seems like more of a normal season based on when the bloom took place, in the middle of March,” Melgar said.

Last year, growers had H-2A workers delayed at the border because of COVID-19 disruptions to the program.

“I have not heard anything like that this year,” he said.

On the other hand, some growers were still thinning their fruit sets in May. That is a task that is usually completed in April, so that appears to be a sign that labor is tight.

In general, however, Melgar said the second week of May that peach growers could not have asked for a better season so far.

Lori Anne peaches are back in stores for the summer

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 09:37:31 GMT

Lori Anne peaches are back in stores at select retailers nationwide.

The varieties that make up the Lori Anne Peach brand are chosen for flavor and are the absolute best of the best fruit grown at Titan Farms .

Knowing Lori Anne Peaches will bring back childhood memories of chin dripping goodness and summertime fun, Titan Farms has revamped their POS signage for the upcoming season. Additionally, Lori Anne Carr will continue the tradition of in-store demos at select retailer locations in Minnesota and Louisiana this July and August.

“The opportunity to interact directly with customers is genuinely something I look forward to. We are excited to be able to travel and introduce Lori Anne Peaches to new market areas for these retailers. Consumers ask the best questions and I have the opportunity to share stories about the farm, peaches, and our family. At the same time, I am also able to share tips, techniques, and even some recipes! It’s truly a lot of fun!” - Lori Anne Carr, Vice President and Administrative Manager

“Lori Anne Peaches are by far the best tasting peaches I’ve ever had; there’s really no comparison.” – Lori Anne Peach repeat customer

For more than 10 years, Titan Farms has grown a beautiful peach like none other named the Lori Anne Peach, where only the top 20 percent of their peaches are selected for this brand. Grown by Chalmers and Lori Anne Carr, this peach is so special that Chalmers could not think of a better name than that of his beloved wife. College sweethearts, who are partners in life and in business, they have produced this ripe consistently tasty peach with just enough fuzz – a special peach that brings back memories of Southern summer days passed, and lazy days shared with family while a warm homemade peach cobbler cools on the kitchen counter. These peaches receive a lot of tender loving care—ripened by humid South Carolina nights, harvested by hand, and carefully selected for packing—giving Lori Anne’s Peaches that special flavor - just how a peach should taste: the perfect marriage between ripeness and flavor.

“A peach so special I named it after my wife.” - Chalmers Carr, President and CEO

L&M Cos. has big availability of Carolina produce

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:40:55 GMT

Raleigh, N.C.-based L&M Cos . has an ample supply of Carolina produce commodities in the months ahead, company leaders said.

Available fresh produce from the marketer includes cabbage, broccoli, cucumbers, bell peppers, chili peppers, summer squash, hard squash, tomatoes, onions, and red, yellow and sweet potatoes, said Lee Anne Oxford, director of marketing for L&M Companies, Raleigh, N.C.

The region has had slightly cooler and slightly more wet than usual weather. Overall, growing conditions have been very good for vegetables, potatoes and onions.

“On the vegetables, supplies look to be steady and uninterrupted through the transition up from Georgia all the way through the North Carolina season,” Oxford said. “Potato and onion supplies look to be above average this season.”

Oxford said cabbage volume will be higher on the front end of the vegetable season for L&M, while chilies and hard squash will be plentiful later in the season.

In addition to conventional volume, the marketer offers organic options for broccoli, tomatoes, squash, peppers and cabbage, she said.

Promotional support

L&M offers retailers local signage, bags, labels, trays and tags to help promote Carolina produce, in addition to grower profiles, recipes, photos, ad and display support, Oxford said.

The company has made investments in value-added products, she said.

“We have upgraded our facility to increase ability and efficiency of tray packed and wrapped produce – in order to keep up with demand,” Oxford said.

The company also is well positioned for timely deliveries, she said. “The opportunity to consolidate bulk and packaged and organic items all at our Raleigh Facility provides freight efficiencies and local packaging and marketing opportunities for our customers.”

Significantly rising farm input costs is the biggest challenge for growers, she said, but there are reasons for optimism.

“The biggest opportunities are consumer support for local growers and demand for local food, summer social and travel demand and importantly, freight advantages for keeping product local.”

Premium Lori Anne peaches now available, Titan Farms reports

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 21:22:26 GMT

Lori Anne Peaches are now available at select retailers nationwide, Ridge Spring, S.C.-based Titan Farms reports.

Shoppers can find Lori Anne Peaches at Harp, Central Market, Lunds & Byerlys, Wegman’s and Rouses, according to a news release. Throughout the month of July, Lori Anne Carr will carry on the tradition of in-store demos at select retailer locations in Minnesota and Texas, according to the release.

The varieties that make up the Lori Anne Peach brand are chosen for flavor and are the absolute “best of the best” fruit grown at Titan Farms, the release said.

“Every year, I look forward to traveling to select retail locations and sharing the Lori Anne Peach story,” Lori Anne Carr, co-owner, said in the release. “Our premium peaches hold a special place in my heart. Each bite brings back fond memories of summers shared with family and friends. Having the opportunity to share this message in person along with storage tips and my personal favorite recipes is truly a pleasure.”

Grown by Chalmers and Lori Anne Carr, the Lori Anne peach is a premium, consistently tasty peach with “just enough fuzz,” the release said.

“A peach so special I named it after my wife,” Chalmers Carr, president and CEO, said about the premium peach brand in the release “We take pride in carefully selecting each Lori Anne Peach by hand to ensure you are getting the best possible eating experience. Only the top 20% of our entire peach crop will make the cut to be a Lori Anne Peach, and I invite you to give them a try.”

Carolina growers expecting a good deal this year

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:42:43 GMT

Spring typically brings a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables from the Carolinas, and this year is no exception, suppliers and marketers say.

Autryville, N.C.-based Jackson Farming Co. was harvesting strawberries in North Carolina, with “good quantities coming off,” said Matt Solana, vice president of operations/supply chain.

Jackson anticipated a start to its spring broccoli harvest around May 20, and fields were “looking good” for that to occur, Solana said.

The company also started to transplant seedless watermelons April 29, with a first harvest in North Carolina set for June 30, Solana said. He noted that honeydew transplanting began May 5-6, for a first harvest planned for July 7.

There have been few weather issues, he said.

“Most of them were on the front side prior to planting, and the strawberries went through a tough new year with weather and covers,” he said.

“(We’re) just working out of that and should start to get to the best of the berry season if the rain will spare us.”

Few hurricane woes

Marketers reported no carryover issues from last summer’s big hurricanes, Michael and Florence.

“We had a lot of (hurricane) damage as a state, but the peach industry fared much better than some other industries and crops,” said Kyle Tisdale, marketing specialist with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

“The (peach) crop this year looks good. There will be good volume throughout the summer and we’re expecting a high-quality crop.”

Fairfax, S.C.-based Coosaw Farms (Coosaw Ag LLC) is optimistic about its blueberries, Asian vegetables and watermelon, said Bradley O’Neal, owner.

Seeded and seedless watermelon should be underway around June 1, O’Neal said.

“The melon crop is going to be a little bit ahead of schedule,” he said, crediting “It just looks like a good year fixing to shape up.”

Organic and conventional blueberry harvest started in mid-April, O’Neal said.

“That’s coming along real nicely,” he said. “Both look like a good, solid yield; the quality looks great. Everything seems to moving pretty good on those.”

Harvest on napa and Asian green cabbage began in late April, and the quality looks good, although the Asian green cabbage looks a little “rounder” on top than it should, O’Neal said.

“It tastes just as good round as flat but they like that head flat,” he said. “Evidently, some weather phenomenon during the season caused it to stay not flat on the top.”

Spuds looking good

North Carolina’s potato crop appeared to be “in excellent condition” for a mid- to late June start, said Tommy Fleetwood, a marketing specialist with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and advisor to the North Carolina Potato Association.

North Carolina produces round whites, reds, and yellows for the table market.

“The market season fills the niche window of market opportunity when storage states crops are winding down and going out of condition and before these late summer-fall areas begin harvest,” Fleetwood said.

North Carolina potatoes are shipped throughout the eastern U.S. and eastern Canadian markets, Fleetwood said.

Plenty of leafy greens and squash will be available from Pelion, S.C.-based WP Rawl, said Ashley Rawl, sales director.

“Right now, everything looks really good and seems to be on schedule,” he said.

“Praise the Lord, there’s nothing negative from the last hurricane season. We’ve finally made our way past that. It really took into March and April. We’re finally out of that.”

WP Rawl grows collards, kale, mustard greens, turnips, cilantro, beets, leeks and green onions. In late May, the company will start with zucchini and yellow squash, with sweet corn starting around June 10, Rawl said.

Markets appeared to be “steady” in early May, Rawl said.

“Now, I’d say they’re mostly steady compared to where we’d been the last six months,” he said.

“There was a lot of volatility with the hurricanes that came through the Southeast, but steady and stable right now, for the most part.”

Crops catching up

Good weather has helped crops doing some catching up, said Jon Shriver, vegetable sales manager with Raleigh, N.C.-based grower-shipper L&M Cos.

“Although the fairly wet weather experienced throughout the state in the early spring months pushed back planting dates for broccoli, potatoes, and onions, and is expected to bring somewhat smaller than usual cabbage yields, a recent spate of good weather has helped the crops to catch up,” Shriver said.

“L&M’s partner farms will be harvesting cabbage, broccoli, cucumbers, squash, bell peppers, potatoes, and onions throughout the spring and summer.”

“Solid” markets are expected for potatoes and onions during the summer, said Derek Ennis, L&M’s director of potatoes and onions.

“The demand for our North Carolina potato crop has been increasing each year, and we have solid local partners for our programs which helps ease some of the market volatility,” he said.

The Northwest is quickly finishing up their storage onion crop, Texas has a smaller crop than normal, and North Dakota has fewer potatoes in storage, Ennis said.

Ennis said L&M is already seeing good demand for its Florida potatoes and the colored potato crop is progressing nicely. Harvesting is expected in mid-June.

Shriver noted that the market for cabbage should be good and that broccoli markets, which are “typically very volatile from Georgia to Maine, are hard to predict, with a large factor dependent on whether temperatures remain below 85 degrees.”

As long as weather stays cool enough, the crops should be good quality, he said.

Cucumbers, squash, and bell pepper markets are dependent on Georgia and how quickly the northern regions begin production, Shriver said.

“Quality is coming along well, and the crops look good,” he said.

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EPC to feature S.C. agriculture at April meeting

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:50:02 GMT

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture is the featured guest at the next dinner meeting organized by the Eastern Produce Council.

South Carolina will be celebrating 48 years with the EPC.

“We continue to see more diversity each year in our overall product mix and strong growth in capital inputs to keep us on the cutting edge of production and in post-harvest handling technology,” South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers said in an online invitation to the meeting.

“As this message is being written, our peach trees are in full bloom and we are looking forward to a great peach crop,” Weathers said in the invitation. “Other producers are preparing land and are ready to begin plantings of many early summer crops such as mixed vegetables, watermelon , cantaloupes and tomatoes over the next several weeks. We are currently shipping leafy greens and value-added products each day and green onions, sweet onions, cabbage and other items are only days to a few weeks away from harvest.”

The event begins at 6 p.m. April 23, with the meeting and dinner at 7 p.m.

To register, visit the event page on the site.

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South Carolina growers give crop updates at EPC meeting

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:52:08 GMT

South Carolina growers are promoting their crops to mid-Atlantic and Northeastern buyers as a seasonal alternative, a South Carolina Department of Agriculture representative told the crowd at Eastern Produce Council’ s dinner meeting.

The department hosted EPC’s monthly meeting April 23, at Il Villaggio in Carlstadt, N.J., for the 48th consecutive year, according to a news release.

Katie Pfeiffer, the state’s director of merchandising, was the moderator for the state’s presentation, which included crop updates and comments by Jimmy Plunket of Seedway LLC and president of the South Carolina Watermelon Association; Matt Forest, owner-operator of Dixie Belle Peaches and president of the South Carolina Peach Council; and Weatherly Thomas, president the South Carolina Specialty Crop Growers Association.

Plunket said South Carolina is the fifth largest melon-producing state, and that 10,000 acres of watermelon were planted this season. Plants were in the ground by April, and growers expect harvesting and shipping to run mid-June thru late July. Plunket said 80% of their watermelons are seedless.

After an early March freeze, the state’s peaches dropped to about 70% of the crop, although excellent quality fruit is on the trees now, Forest said. Harvest will be early May through early August. South Carolina is the second-largest peach producer in the nation, Forest said.

The state is also known for collards, summer squash and sweet corn, Thomas said, although beans and peas are also staples and the Sea Island tomatoes are well-known. This year’s strawberries have a great size and sweetness, and blueberries should come in June, Thomas said.

As is tradition at the April meeting, Pfeiffer introduced the EPC’s new directors and slate of officers for the coming year.

Coming up is the Annual EPC Golf Outing June 1, at Royce Brook Golf Club, Hillsborough, N.J. Interested members can contact the EPC office at 908-723-0645 or easternproducecouncil@gmail.com to register a foursome or to reserve a sponsorship.

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South Carolina officials call for supplier, buyer cooperation

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 05:52:49 GMT

About two dozen retail, wholesale and foodservice produce buyers and other supporters joined South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers at the governor’s mansion for an agriculture summit to promote cooperation among southeastern producers and sellers.

The goal was to prioritize promoting Certified South Carolina Grown products, according to a news release.

“This is the season of a new spirit of cooperation between southeastern growers and distributors to capture more market share among the 80% of the U.S. population who live east of the Rocky Mountains,” Weathers said in the release.

Weathers and McMaster emphasized current strengths in South Carolina agriculture: diversity of product, supporting infrastructure, transportation grid and ports, processing and distribution capabilities and its central hub location on the East Coast.

They also pledged a willingness to explore new ideas with partners from the buying side on-demand and by request, noting the success of South Carolina farmers with an increasingly diverse crop mix, according to the release.

Also, the leaders called for ways to work regionally with other states to increase opportunities for Southeastern growers and producers.

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