Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
More than 180 people from the tri-county area gathered at the new Huckleberry Bay Barn in Hilda on February 8 for the annual Blessing of the Crops event.
Mindy Sandifer owns the Huckleberry Bay Barn where Blessing of the Crops took place.
Kinard's Kitchen, an up-and-coming Allendale restaurant, serves food at the Blessing of the Crops event.
Allendale County Council chairman Matthew Connelly speaks with attendees of the Blessing of the Crops event.
Tania Johnson-Hester of Saltcatcher Farms in Bamberg, speaks to the crowd about the importance of supporting Black farmers.
Bob Snead, executive director of the Southern Palmetto Regional Chamber of Commerce, discusses the state of agriculture during the Blessing of the Crops event.
The new Huckleberry Bay Barn was packed with more than 180 people for the Blessing of the Crops.
FFA students from the Barnwell County Career Center helped with the event.
As the 2024 growing season draws near, the southern farmer faces numerous challenges: the regional explosion of wild pigs and deer, supply chain shocks, crop diseases and increasingly severe weather caused by global climate change.
To bring farmers and local farming communities together ahead of the growing season, the Southern Palmetto Regional Chamber hosted its second annual Blessing the Crops event on February 8th at the Huckleberry Bay Barn in Hilda. Over 180 people attended the event, ranging from local elected officials to local non-profit leaders to farming families, and food from the new start-up Kinard's Kitchen was served.
Tim McCormick of Humble Acres Organics in Blackville led the crowd in a prayer about the challenges of the upcoming growing season.
“We pray that you give us the rain at the right time, in the right amounts,” said McCormick. “We pray that it’s not overwhelming at times. We pray Lord that the wind will be bearable and that when it’s time for the tornadoes and hurricanes to come through that you lift them over us. We pray Lord that there are no insects and fungus and nematodes and other issues.”
This past growing season, The People-Sentinel reported on how wild deer and pigs were affecting local farmers’ financial sustainability. Farmers in the region took losses on their crops as a result. Other issues, like harmful bacteria and fungi have also caused crop losses for regional farmers.
The event featured multiple presenters from the regional agricultural community. Angela Rainwater, the chief executive officer of the Aiken benefit corporation Growers for Grace, spoke about the importance of transforming the agricultural system to better serve communities.
“Nutrition intervention can aid in prevention,” Rainwater said about the role that agriculture can have in helping improve public health. Rainwater continued, saying that creating less wasteful and more intentional agricultural systems can help both farmers and their communities.
Tania Johnson-Hester, a presenter who works at Saltcatcher Farms in Bamberg, spoke about how religion has influenced Black and Indigenous farming communities, particularly in regard to land use. However, throughout the 20th century, Black and Indigenous farmers lost large amounts of land.
“I don’t know if a lot of people in the room know this but in 1910, 14 percent of farmers in the United States were Black,” Johnson-Hester said. “Today, less than 2 percent of farmers in the United States are Black. What that means is we don't have people who look like us in [farming] communities.”
Bob Snead, director of the Southern Palmetto Regional Chamber of Commerce, thanked the event’s sponsors (AgSouth Farm Credit, Barnwell County Healing Partners, Walther Farms, Saltcatcher Farms and Green Tech Greenhouses) and the presenters.
“In its second year, we had 180 in attendance, and sold out the event again for the second year in a row, all while also raising $3,000 to support the non-profit work of our foundation and the Farmer's Market,” Snead said. “The popularity of this event is a testament to the need for more celebration and recognition of the Ag producers and farmers that are so important to our region.”
