SC State senior relishes interaction with US Secretary of Agriculture on campus

‘This is an amazing HBCU that’s doing remarkable work’ –Secretary Tom Vilsack.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – As a senior agribusiness major at South Carolina State University, Kailyn B. Wrighten knows a good career opportunity when it comes knocking.

On Thursday, she had the privilege of introducing U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at an on-campus summit with government, agriculture industry and university leaders, as well as growers, farmers and ranchers. That privilege meant her hard work as one of SC State 1890 Research & Extension’s USDA National Ag Innovation Scholars had not gone unnoticed.

“I’m just a girl from a small town,” Wrighten said. “So, to be making great strides as a senior at South Carolina State shows me that my work ethic is strong and that I’ve had a great village to help me with my upbringing.”

That small town is St. Stephens, South Carolina, where Wrighten’s family connection to agriculture led to her interest in agribusiness. At Thursday’s summit in a panel discussion, she heard growers, farmers and ranchers tell Vilsack about the challenges they face in the realm of agriculture.

“It was relatable,” Wrighten said. “My grandfather was a small-operation, row-crop farmer, so to hear this diverse panel -- it shows that agriculture is an ever-growing and diverse industry despite that there also are real issues.

“For farmers -- large farmers and small farmers -- in the state of South Carolina to get those issues addressed by the head of our United States Department of Agriculture was really important,” she said. “I’m grateful those farmers had the opportunity. I’m grateful to see that that platform was elevated here in Orangeburg at South Carolina State University.”

Joining Vilsack in the summit were two federal officials: Stephen Benjamin, senior advisor and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and former mayor of Columbia, and Dr. Dewayne Goldmon, the secretary’s senior advisor for racial equity. The state of South Carolina was represented by Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers.

“I thank Secretary Vilsack, Mayor Benjamin, Dr. Goldman and Commissioner Weathers for taking the time to meet with our stakeholders, especially our students, here on our campus,” SC State President Alexander Conyers said. “The gathering’s focus was on ensuring that South Carolina’s growers, farmers and ranchers have access to federal and state resources that help them build success, while giving our students insight into the complexities of the industry.

“SC State is a pipeline for small and midsize agriculture operations to find sustainable solutions to their needs, and our Public Service & Agriculture division under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Louis Whitesides is working diligently to bring the proper resources, expertise and training to the table,” Conyers said.

Before the panel discussion in the SC State Fine Arts Building’s Barbara A. Vaughan Recital Hall, Vilsack met with Conyers, Whitesides and other university leaders to learn about the various projects and programs SC State 1890 Public Service & Agriculture has either established or hopes to establish with the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Those included USDA grant-funded Climate Smart initiatives with current and future agriculture professionals.

“This is an amazing HBCU that’s doing remarkable work,” Vilsack told the crowd ahead of the panel discussion. “I have been so impressed with the level of partnerships the university has been able to establish, not just with USDA, but with a number of other entities to expand opportunity.”

Vilsack’s presentation outlined both the challenges and the opportunities in the agriculture industry, specifically addressing Biden Administration initiatives to aid small and minority growers, farmers and ranchers via the Inflation Reduction Act and other federal programs. He said President Joe Biden gave him specific instructions about what the USDA should accomplish, the first of which was to make sure the department worked for “all people regardless of zip code or circumstance.”

He noted that since 1981, the U.S. has lost about 437,300 farms – one out of every six farms in the country – and 141.1 million acres once devoted to agricultural purposes.

“Are we OK with that? Do we think that’s a good direction for the country?” he asked. “Well, if we’re not, then the question is well, what do we do about it?”

He also noted that while 2022 was the best year on record for agriculture-related revenue, 89% of that income went to just 7.5 percent of farmers – large operations with sales over $500,000. The remaining 92.5% -- roughly 2 million farms had to split the rest, which he said explains why nearly half of all farms did not make money.

Using a whiteboard, he outlined several initiatives underway to address those inequities – a new framework for small and midsize farms – including climate-smart projects. He noted that SC State is the only university in the country with two projects focused on that effort:

The first of those is a $70M USDA investment into a partnership between Clemson and SC State to provide incentives to farmers in South Carolina to implement selected climate-smart production practices.
The second is a $4.5 million USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service grant that will facilitate a partnership between SC State 1890 Research & Extension, Mixon Seed and the South Carolina Black Farmer Coalition for climate-smart initiatives. The funding will be used to educate and train South Carolina’s small and minority farmers and producers in climate-smart practices. 

Following Vilsack’s presentation and panel discussion, the secretary met with Wrighten and other members of SC State’s USDA National Ag Innovation Scholars cohort at the I.P. Stanback Museum & Planetarium.