South Carolina farms get funding for agribusiness innovation

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A goat dairy, an artisanal jam company, a produce-and-flower farm, and an organic vegetable grower are among the South Carolina businesses awarded new funding through the South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship, also known as ACRE.

Twelve entrepreneurs will share $185,000 in funding for their innovative agribusiness ventures. The finalists pitched to a panel of judges earlier in June and were scored based on their business plans, a five-minute video presentation and their demonstrated history of business success, according to a news release.

The diverse group of awardees encompass animal agriculture, specialty food producers, produce farms, and new and established farmers:

The honorees are:

Split Creek Farm, a goat farm and cheesemaker in Anderson which is modernizing its milk bottling to better meet customer demand.

Sakhar Jams, a Columbia company that makes artisanal jams using certified South Carolina fruit and Indian flavors and will leverage the grant for warehouse and kitchen space.

Paxville-based Grateville Acres in Clarendon County, a diversified farm supplying produce and flowers in a food desert which plans to add a multi-use wash/pack building.

Bio Way Farm in Ware Shoals, which has been growing organic produce since 2004 and plans to build a new packing shed and commercial kitchen to reduce produce waste and support its continued expansion.

Gullah Man Oyster Co. on St. Helena Island in Beaufort County, which is working to transition from wild harvest to farmed oysters.

Old Tyme Bean Co. in Calhoun County, planning to expand its shelling capacity to process more butterbeans, field peas and other local legumes.

Purebred Compost, located in the Aiken County town of Warrenville, which creates compost for area farms using waste from horse farms and green debris from landscapers. They aim to buy a compost mixer and bag filler to scale up operations.

Momma B’s Farm, a regenerative farm on 20 acres in Edgefield County, will market its teas and produce boxes and branch out into honey production.

Joyful Souls Heirloom Nursery, a seedling farm based in Columbia, aims to expand its garden education mission through new teaching tools.

Altman Farm and Mill, based in Florence, plans to adopt more efficient packaging and scale up production with new equipment.

Fifth generation farmer Marvin Ross and his brother Jada Ross raise heritage pigs using woodlot practices at Peculiar Pig Farm in Dorchester. They plan to open a butcher shop with freezer storage to achieve more meat processing efficiency.

Set in Stone Sustainability Farm of Jenkinsville in Fairfield County will build new facilities to develop its agricultural education mission.

“These finalists were selected from a larger pool of applicants, and it wasn’t an easy choice – we had an outstanding bunch of entrepreneurs,” said ACRE Executive Director Kyle Player. “ACRE continues to attract and nurture some of our state’s top talent in agribusiness.”

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture founded ACRE in 2018 to help identify and nurture new ideas and businesses in the state’s agribusiness sector, according to the release.

ACRE also partners with Clemson Extension to offer a curriculum program each fall to train and mentor beginning agricultural entrepreneurs and prepare them to seek advanced award funding. More information about the program can be found online.