Farmers cultivate crops for pharma industry

Tuesday, 27 February 2007

Page 2 of 2 Future on the vine Grape cultivation will be a big shift for some farmers, Martin said. “We’re going to a green crop, one of the things that’s healthy for you,” Martin said. “We’re finding some tobacco farmers will make that shift. What we’re hoping to do is see growers make some transition so they can keep the family farm alive.” Hyman said there are about 400 acres of muscadine grapes planted around the state, In Charleston County, muscadines are being cultivated for wine making at Irvin Vineyards on Wadmalaw Island. An experimental muscadine vineyard has also been planted at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center. Hyman noted that not every farmer will want to be involved in the development of new products from transition crops. “They’ll want to grow grapes and sell them at a profit and I’ll be glad to talk to those farmers about buying from them,” Hyman said. “The purchase price for those grapes right now is already substantially higher than tobacco.” Grant programs USDA Value-Added Grants, such as the one Hyman received, are designed to help any agricultural producer find innovative ways to get more value out of the products they are producing, whether it is soybeans, watermelon or aqua-culture produce such as shrimp, clams and oysters. “This grant program allows some of the producers who want to stay in agriculture to take some of that money and invest back into the rural economy,” said Gregg White, director for business and cooperative programs for the USDA’s rural department in Columbia. Alternative agriculture is almost a necessity if the state’s farmers are going to continue to survive, produce and compete in today’s world market, White said. Hyman’s muscadine project would save three jobs on his farm and create 17 new ones, he said. “For small towns such as Green Sea and some of the other rural towns around Conway, that’s a big input,” White said. “The idea is to come up with innovative ways to put more money back into agriculture producers’ pockets.” << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>