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From branding S.C. ag products to adapting to Hispanic labor force, panel looking at competitiveness

The stated mission of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness' Agricultural Committee is to "improve the average wage and quality of life in ... rural areas (and to) develop a flourishing rural economy in South Carolina."

It is a mission that committee Chairman and Orangeburg SuperSod President Jim Roquemore is confident can be accomplished in a spirit of cooperation and openness to new methodologies.

"We want to work with folks and not isolate ourselves," Roquemore said, noting the state has done a fairly good job of being efficient over the years in the economic sphere.

Changing times, however, have required changing approaches, Roquemore said.

"Innovation is a key," he said. "What has made South Carolina tick economically for the last 40 years is efficiency; a cheap work force and a cheap labor force. But we have really squeezed all the efficiency we can get out of our processes. It is not about efficiency but about innovation. It is about thinking out of the box."

The agricultural committee or Agribusiness Cluster Working group is one of the clusters under the umbrella of the South Carolina Competitiveness Initiative, a public-private coalition working to reshape the state's economy by developing plans for distressed areas and determining how to measure progress.

The initiative is chaired by Gov. Mark Sanford and Ed Sellers, president and CEO of Blue Cross-Blue Shield of South Carolina.

The agribusiness group, which is composed entirely of volunteers, held its first organizational meeting Sept. 15 at the Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College campus.

Follow-up committee meetings are scheduled monthly with committee reports eventually submitted to the South Carolina Council of Competitiveness quarterly. Quarterly meetings will be held in Columbia in conjunction with the Palmetto Agribusiness Council.

Agricultural Committee

subclusters and issues

Statistics released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service and Bureau of Economic Analysis reveal that South Carolina agriculture tends to rank low in farm gross state product per-worker earnings when compared to neighboring states of Georgia, North Carolina and Florida.

In 2001, the farm GSP per worker for the state was $26,622 compared to $30,583 (Alabama), $38,727 (Georgia), $42,652 (North Carolina) and $38,263 (Florida).

The 2001 farm earnings per worker was $17,821 in the state compared to $22,882 (Alabama), $28,664 (Georgia), $30,918 (North Carolina) and $19,259 (Florida).

The agribusiness cluster group will consist of 10 subclusters, each with designated missions or goals. It is estimated the entire committee will consist of about 150 individuals.

The 10 subclusters and respective issues are:

n Education: Work force development (Hispanic labor); the need to educate the general populace about the importance of agribusiness to the state, the coordination of research and development being done by major research universities such as bioengineering and nutritional testing, and educating K-12 about agriculture.

"We don't have very good communication skills," Roquemore said, referring to the current employer-employee relationship with the Hispanic labor force. "They (Hispanics) are going to be the largest work force. They are more incorporated every day in our work force. We have to find a way to leverage that."

n Animal agriculture: pork, beef, milk, chicken, turkey, eggs, aquaculture industries.

Issues of concern in this subcluster entail permitting and regulatory measures placed on agricultural-based industries, environmental controls, milk-support prices and imports.

"We have a huge issue in South Carolina where we have to import pork and import milk," Roquemore said. "This needs to be looked at. We need to find out how animal agriculture and society can co-exist with citizens and environmental needs of the state."

n Row crops: Small grains, soybean, cotton, tobacco, peanuts and chemical and fertilizer.

Issues here include commodity programs, the USDA program price support and tobacco buyout.

n Fruits, nuts and vegetables: Apple, pecans, tomatoes, turnips and peaches.

Issues addressed are the need to incorporate vegetable and fruit growth according to new diets and labor force with seasonal trends.

"We had one of the best peach crops we ever had," Roquemore said. "Yet the Atkins diet, where people don't want sugar in their diet, caused there to be a decrease in demand."

"Another issue is branding," Roquemore said. "One issue is to carry these commodities to a brand. This is important to carry our niches. To lift businesses up, you have to have value-added. If you remain commodity, someone else dictates the price to you. If you have value-added to a brand, then you start dictating the price and have a better chance for margins."

n Food products: (processing/packaging)

"There are marketing opportunities," he said. "Maybe we could get a plastics company to move here to help with the packaging."

n Regulatory/legislative/environmental

Roquemore said that while farmers and environmental groups can often be at odds over issues, the subcluster group would like to reach common ground with conservation groups to ensure a better environment.

"I prefer to think that farmers were the first conservationists," Roquemore said. "Most farmers work hard to protect the land. For too long we have let extremists on the left and on the right dictate too much policy. We want to work lock step with the mainstream environmental group and move forward."

Looking at new processes that will help reduce runoff and waste is another goal.

n Forestry products: wood products, forestry industry, paper industry.

Issues of property rights, runoff, water rights, and property taxes are among the concerns, Roquemore said.

"Consolidation of paper mills is a big issue," Roquemore said. "You got a lot of imports and a lot of lumber is being outsourced now to foreign countries."

n Turf and ornamentals: flower farms, tree nurseries, golf courses.

Trucking costs, fertilizer and pesticide regulations are some of the issues of concern in this subcluster.

n Recreation and tourism: to review hunting and fishing regulations.

The committee plans to work with the Department of Natural Resources, and Parks, Recreation and Tourism Departments to ensure adequate recreational opportunities for the state. The expansion of marketing the state will be one key in this group, Roquemore said.

n Support groups: A subcluster consisting of entities such as Farm Bureau, the South Carolina Agricultural Commission and the Palmetto Agribusiness Council to assist in the overall committee's work.

Beyond agriculture

Under the leadership of F. Duane Ackerman, chairman and CEO of BellSouth Corp., and Michael E. Porter, and guided by a Steering Committee of national leaders, the 2003 competitiveness study examined the state's economic performance, economic composition, business environment and current industrial clusters.

The SCCI concluded the state can become a leading region in the United States for advanced processing by tackling new ideas and innovations.

Eight issues were cited to be addressed: the activation and upgrading of clusters; the enhancement of education and work force training; an investment in research and university systems; increase support for start-ups and local firms; the creation of economic development programs for distressed areas; the creation of new institutions to support economic development, the launch of internal and external marketing campaigns and a progress report on raising prosperity.