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Ag commissioner at home to address local Farm Bureau

Hugh Weathers

Bowman dairy farmer and newly appointed state Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers stood before his Orangeburg County Farm Bureau family Tuesday night still wet behind the ears in his new position.

"I don't want to act like a politician, but I think I am right at home so I can dispense with all that," Weathers told those gathered at Orangeburg's Elks Lodge for the annual OCFB meeting. "I took the assignment because I felt like farmers needed to be represented by a farmer."

And so Weathers, who will have to step down from the OCFB's legislative committee chairmanship and his other Farm Bureau related positions due to his new assignment, acknowledged that he feels like he has been put into the "deep end" of governmental life, but he expressed confidence that his appointee, Gov. Mark Sanford, and his staff would help ease the transition.

"Before I took this, the first response when the governor's staff called me, I said, 'I will pray about it and let you know,'" Weathers said. "I prayed about it ... and felt like it was important enough to disrupt our lives both at the farm and at home to do this."

Weathers is serving as interim commissioner while charges against suspended Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Sharpe are pending.

In tackling his new job, Weathers said, "I will keep agriculture in the mind of people that don't really have a clue as to what we do. They like that we do it and how it is in the grocery store or on the clothes racks."

Weathers said he plans to evaluate the department with open eyes.

"I told them (governor's staff) that I did not come with any changes on my list but a commitment that I would help look at the department and try to advance the things we do better and get rid of the things we do not need to do as much."

OCFB president Bryan Dantzler said Weathers' attendance at the Farm Bureau meeting amidst his increasingly busy schedule was inspirational.

"All ... our farmers here have the same background he has in farming," Dantzler said. "Folks know him."

Dantzler applauded Sanford's decision to appoint Weathers.

"He has been an active member of our Farm Bureau for years," Dantzler said. "He has done everything n he has served in every role from president, right up to the state level. He is very knowledgeable of what it takes to succeed. Hugh has the background to be a good leader for our state. There is no question about that."

S.C. Farm Bureau Federation President David Winkles also attended the event Tuesday, saying it was important to support the grass roots efforts of each county Farm Bureau. The relationship between the state and local offices is crucial to keeping the bureau functioning well, Winkles said.

He also wanted to support Weathers, one of the Farm Bureau's own.

"The governor made a wise choice," Winkles said. "We asked him (Sanford) to consider many criteria, one of the most prominent being somebody who had agriculture in heart, had experience in agriculture and wanted to make sure agriculture is going to be a firm part of South Carolina's future."

As part of the night's activities, attendees were treated to the talents of Eden E. Graves and Elizabeth Elaine Fogle. Both girls will represent the OCFB in a statewide event to be held Dec. 3-4 in the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

Graves sang karaoke to "Breathe" by Marie Barnett, "I Fall to Pieces" by Patsy Cline and "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" off the Cinderella soundtrack. Fogle did an interpretative dance to "Who Am I?" by Kraus.

In other business, the bureau unanimously passed three resolutions for 2005 urging: