Organic farmers get financial help
Rebecca J. Ducker/MORNING NEWS
Timmonsville USDA Certified Organic farmer Jannie Dickson poses for a portrait Dec. 31 in between rows of arrugalah on her Timmonsville farm. For Dickson gardening began as a way of feeding her friends and family, however, in 2006, the farm became a USDA Ceritfied Organic producer, allowing the family to send more of their products to market.
Published: January 5, 2009
Updated: January 6, 2009
The S.C. Department of Agriculture recently announced plans to help organic farmers in the state achieve organic certification through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Certification Cost-Share program.
The program will provide organic farmers in the state with up to 75 percent of the costs of organic certification, not exceeding $750.
For many farmers in South Carolina, farming organically is an added cost they just can’t afford.
But Cynthia Mize, an organic farmer in Timmonsville, said she can’t imagine farming any other way.
“It is a wonderful thing for me,” Mize said. “To get your organic certification from the USDA, it was costing right at $1,000, which was something we had not been able to do. Now I believe it is at about $500.
“For us it’s great because if we come up with that $500 and they reimburse us 75 percent, that keeps us a little bit more fluid, cash-wise. It lightens our burden.”
One great aspect of the local organic farming movement is that many people are rediscovering the value of bartering for goods and services, Mize said.
“It’s great,” she said. “That’s how people get along. It eases the burden and the load and that is how it should be.”
Mize said Jannie Dickson, a friend and fellow organic farmer from Timmonsville, is sharing the cost of certain organic products with her that will benefit both farms.
Fred Broughton, spokesman for the S.C. Department of Agriculture, said it’s hoped the program will help the organic movement in South Carolina to continue to grow.
“We think this may generate some interest in people becoming certified,” he said. “The department fully supports the organic movement because it is part of the agricultural movement in South Carolina and we are supporting all aspects of agriculture.”
Mize said the help couldn’t have come at a better time for local farmers.
“If we can get help with anything at all it helps us,” she said. “People trust (USDA Organic Certification). This will help me get that.”
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