When you’re buying feed from your neighbor who owns the feed-and-seed store, or selling produce to a wholesaler located a few towns over, or delivering a load of grain to the local elevator, it’s sometimes easy to think of agriculture as a local concern.
But farmers seldom lose sight of the fact that agriculture is a global industry. From armed conflicts to animal diseases, events across the world affect farmers here in South Carolina.
Take fertilizer prices. As the 2022 growing season gets going, the cost of fertilizer is up more than 200% over last year in some areas.
In February, the South Carolina General Assembly announced a resolution calling on leaders in Washington to address the high cost of fertilizer. I thank Sen. Wes Climer, chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Davey Hiott, chairman of the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee, for their support. I also thank South Carolina Farm Bureau for bringing attention to the issue.
In the resolution, South Carolina asks the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission to avoid anti-dumping measures and any actions that could create additional tariffs. We also want the Biden administration to address supply-chain issues and remove import duties, and to take a look at the consolidation and lack of competition in the fertilizer market.
American consumers have access to food at the lowest prices on the planet. That privilege brings with it an obligation of our leadership in Washington to enact policy that ensures farmers can continue to produce food and fiber at such affordable prices — and cover their costs while doing so.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also causing waves in agriculture.
Together, Ukraine and Russia account for nearly a third of the world’s wheat exports and almost a fifth of corn exports. With those supplies disrupted, American farmers could see high demand and good prices.
Being a smaller-sized state, South Carolina doesn’t produce as much wheat as some Midwestern states, but 120,000 acres seeded this year is a significant crop.
I hope that by the time this column is published, the Ukraine situation will have eased because of international pressure on Russia, but I expect grain markets to be disrupted for some time.
Of course, the Russia-Ukraine situation could also drive fertilizer prices higher, as well as fuel and other agricultural inputs. Everything in the food supply chain is connected — and always has some connection to energy. With oil over $100/barrel, the results on our food production costs are significant.
Now, South Carolina’s top agricultural product is poultry, and we export plenty of it. So the state’s poultry industry is keeping a careful eye on the cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) reported in wild migratory birds here and in states up and down the East Coast over the past few months.
The South Carolina cases were detected through routine monitoring. It’s not uncommon to find avian influenza in wild birds. Nor is the disease considered a serious threat to human health – but it is a concern for our commercial poultry growers.
As of this writing, South Carolina has not had any HPAI cases in commercial flocks, and we’re all aiming to keep it that way.
I’ve been staying in touch with Clemson’s Livestock Poultry Health team and State Veterinarian Dr. Michael Neault, and their advice to producers remains the same: Review your biosecurity practices. This includes keeping wild birds away from your flock, reporting any unusual sickness or deaths in your flock, and taking steps to minimize potential spread from farm to farm. Non-commercial poultry owners should do their part, too.
If you have more questions, Clemson’s Livestock Poultry Health program has an HPAI website packed with information; find it at clemson.edu/public/lph/avianinfluenza.
Now for some positive news on the international front: American agricultural exports are booming. Exports of U.S. farm and food products to the world totaled $177 billion in 2021, topping the 2020 total by 18% and breaking the previous record, set in 2014, by 14.6%.
China remains the No. 1 export destination for U.S. farm and food products, followed by Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Colombia and Indonesia.
Closer to home, let me mention a change that’s making things easier for South Carolina farmers: the South Carolina Agricultural Tax Exemption, or SCATE card.
For years, farmers have had to fill out a paper form, the ST-8F, to receive sales-tax exemptions for items used in agricultural production. But the South Carolina Department of Agriculture is now working with the S.C. Department of Revenue to issue plastic SCATE cards to farmers who make exempt purchases. No longer do you have to keep that paper form on file everywhere you buy ag products.
There are no changes to state law. Farmers can still receive the same exemptions as before.
The card is similar to Georgia’s GATE card. But unlike Georgia, where cards cost $50 per year and are available only to those with more than $5,000 in farm income each year, the SCATE card costs $24 for three years and is available to anyone who makes exempt purchases for farming purposes.
Visit scatecard.com to apply for a card, verify a card number, or read the FAQ, including the full list of tax exemptions. You can also email [email protected] or call our office at 803-734-2210.
We’ve extended the phase-in period to July 1, 2022, to give you all more time to apply and get your cards. It took me just 10 minutes to fill out my application online.
Thanks to the T&D for supporting our farmers and letting me take a stab at explaining its complexities Now, let’s hope those fertilizer prices come down a bit.
