FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – The South Carolina State AgriBiz and Farm Expo inside the Florence Civic Center wrapped up Thursday afternoon.
The event had a different atmosphere this year as some farmers are still in limbo after the historic flooding back in October.
Farmers like Jim Lawson’s main source of income, was left in ruins.
The Darlington County farmer has been farming for nearly 30 and lost most of his crops after October’s flood and after a road washing out onto his fields.
“This isn’t just sort of a bad thing. This is an extremely unprecedented situation,” mentioned Lawson.
And that’s because even with the possible loans and crop insurance available that still may not be enough.
“You know that will not cover the cost of planting. It’ll help some but it won’t even cover the cost of planting,” Lawson said.
Williamsburg County farmer Atwood Mcintosh is dealing with the same problem. In fact, he’s been farming since he was six-years-old so the devastation hit home.
” It makes you feel like you’re not appreciated as much as you thought,” mentioned Mcintosh.
“You can see it on the faces of farmers that this was drastically different and is different,” said South Carolina Department of Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers.
So to help, the Department of Agriculture is partnering with Advocates for Agriculture to raise dollars to help farmers plant for next year.
“So the more that we in leadership are able to do to help them, the more those farmers are here together and talk it out and not just overwhelmed by the challenges in front of them,” explained Weathers.
Department of Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers says so far they have received $350,000 in commitments so far.
He says anyone can donate to the cause and one hundred percent of the monies raised will go towards farmers who’ve suffered a loss.
If you would like to donate or apply for flood relief you can visit http://plantitforwardsc.org/
