by WILL FOLKS

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Crippled by drought and rising prices on fuel and fertilizer – and increasingly hemmed in by encroaching development – it’s been a devastating stretch of time for South Carolina farmers.

Some help for them could be on the way, though…

Farmers in the Palmetto State would receive an additional $35 million in state funding during the upcoming fiscal year thanks to a budget proviso championed by outgoing state senator Wes Climer. A separate piece of standalone legislation in the S.C. House of Representatives would provide them with an additional $50 million in funding.

Climer, who is the GOP nominee for the Palmetto State’s fifth congressional district, is resigning from the Senate this year as he prepares to campaign for the U.S. congress. His amendment, which was adopted without a recorded vote, would provide per acre assistance to farmers with per farm cap of $135,000.

“The program shall utilize a flat statewide per-acre payment rate across eligible row crop commodities,” Climer’s amendment stated. “The per-acre rate shall reflect approximately fifty percent of documented economic losses, subject to available funding and legislative proration.”

The S.C. Department of Agriculture (SCDA) would disburse the grants and report back to legislative budget writers no later than March 1, 2027 on the “total funds distributed; the number of recipients; distribution by commodity type, including specialty crops; the geographic distribution of funds; and any recommendations for future agricultural risk mitigation programs.”

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Climer’s emergency farm funding amendment is part of a massive $42.4 billion budget – although his proposal does not impose new obligations on taxpayers. That’s because the money to fund it came from a controversial economic development slush fund administered by the scandal-scarred S.C. Department of Commerce (SCDOC) – a fund which has been used to subsidize all manner of failed crony capitalist schemes.

Climer’s amendment compels Commerce to transfer the money from that slush fund to SCDA for the expressed purpose of subsidizing these grants.

“The highest and best use of economic development money is keeping the backbone of South Carolina’s economy intact during this period of unprecedented turbulence in commodity markets,” Climer told FITSNews. “The staggering dislocation between commodity input costs and output prices defies basic economic logic and has put South Carolina’s agricultural economy on the brink of collapse. This would be a catastrophic outcome for hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians who support their families through growing, processing, supplying, and transporting crops.”

Climer singled out S.C. Senate finance chairman Harvey Peeler as helping spearhead the proposal.

“I’m extremely grateful to chairman Peeler and the entire Senate for stepping into the breach to help our farmers through this season of instability,” Climer said.

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RELATED | SECOND SCGOP DEBATE

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Meanwhile, H. 5569 – introduced on Thursday (April 23, 2026) in the S.C. House – would create the “South Carolina Farm Aid and Resiliency Grant Fund” and endow it with $50 million. The House would put this money in the hands of the S.C. Office of Resilience (SCOR), and task it – in consultation with SCDA – with “developing criteria, application procedures, and awarding guidelines for administering the grant program.”

Funding for the grant program would come via the state’s contingency reserve fund.

SCDA and the SC Farm Bureau – working alongside Clemson University – estimate losses on South Carolina row crops over the last two years at more than $700 million.

“Our farmers are in a desperate situation that is out of their control,” Farm Bureau president Harry Ott said. “We were already dealing with low commodity prices and now we have soaring fertilizer and fuel costs in addition to drought conditions across the state. If help doesn’t come soon, the agricultural landscape will look very different in 2027.”

Ott referred to Climer’s “emergency, one-time appropriation” as a “lifeline” – one which would be mirrored by federal funding contained in U.S. president Donald Trump‘s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’

“This funding will help provide necessary support to ensure agriculture and our rural communities survive,” he said.

Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we continue tracking state appropriations and holding lawmakers accountable for how they spend your tax dollars…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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