Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers at his office in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Ashford/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — In almost 22 years leading the state Department of Agriculture, Hugh Weathers has worked to help connect South Carolinians to food grown in the state.
The 69-year-old agriculture commissioner decided soon after winning re-election in 2022 that he wouldn’t seek another term. Now one year from retirement, he’s ready to spend more time with his three sons and eight grandchildren on the Orangeburg County farm started by his great-grandfather.
“Completing this term will be 21-plus years, and that should be sufficient time to make a difference,” he recently told the SC Daily Gazette.
The job entails helping farmers survive amid higher costs and increased pressure from developers. For Weathers, that means being farmers’ chief promoter.
One thing he’s proudest of is the Certified South Carolina initiative, a branding and marketing program for South Carolina’s farmers and an online database for shoppers.
It’s expanded significantly since its 2006 start: Over 2,100 farmers participate, according to department spokeswoman Eva Moore.
To join the Certified South Carolina program, farmers must apply through the Department of Agriculture, meet a high-quality standard, and show their food is grown in the state. Members get logos they can put on their packaging and join the department’s “where to buy local” online database.
The expansive list includes local farmers’ markets, grocery stores, gift shops, cafes and convenience stores.
Members’ products also are on the menu of hundreds of restaurants and food trucks statewide that commit to buying at least 25% of their ingredients from Certified South Carolina farmers. The “fresh on the menu” program was created in 2008 as a way to connect chefs and farmers in a way that benefits both.
The Chef Ambassadors program was added in 2014 to feature participating chefs. The 2026 ambassadors, announced last month, include chefs who own restaurants in Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and Greer.
Certified SC expanded again this year with a companion program for school cafeterias.
Earlier this month, the department announced that 874 school cafeterias are participating this spring. Signing up for the program’s inaugural semester are 49 traditional school districts, 15 charter schools, and two Catholic schools, as well as the Department of Juvenile Justice.
They get reimbursed for buying South Carolina-grown produce, grains and/or honey for cafeteria meals. Designated amounts range from $2,000 to $60,000 per semester, based on the number of students in each school or district. Those with the highest percentage of South Carolina-grown food in their student meals earn additional money they can use to upgrade their kitchen equipment, Moore said.
The Legislature approved the incentive program last year with a $1 million recurring designation, meaning that amount will continue indefinitely in future state budgets.
This year, Weathers is seeking an additional $350,000 to further expand Certified South Carolina to increase demand for locally caught seafood. The budget plan advanced last week by the House Ways and Means Committee includes $200,000 toward that marketing effort.
Weathers sees the initiatives as wins for both farmers and residents’ health: Food that comes from nearby is fresher and more nutritious, and more money going to in-state farmers boosts the state’s economy, he said.
He’d like to see more people get to know South Carolina’s farmers: “If you knew a farmer, you would trust farmers better because you had a personal relationship,” he said.
Row crops grown on his family farm include corn and cotton.
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Josh Johnson, a Calhoun County bean farmer, said the program connected him to GrowFood Carolina, a food hub started by the Coastal Conservation League that sells food from small family farms. Since joining the Certified South Carolina program in 2014, Johnson says he’s more than doubled the pounds of food he sells annually.
Other marketing initiatives that have helped, he said, include a state Department of Agriculture video project called “Trace The Roots of Your Food,” which brought him new, loyal customers. Johnson recalls a woman in Union County who drove to his farm in Cameron after seeing the video. Looking for speckled butter beans like her grandmother used to grow, she watched as they were harvested and shelled at his farm, Johnson said.
“Everyone has their own preacher, their own mechanics, their own yoga instructor; why not their personal farmer?” said Johnson.
In 2018, South Carolina residents bought $1.5 billion worth of Certified SC products. The total represented $176 million more bought from local farmers compared to 2010, according to a study commissioned by the Department of Agriculture and released in 2020.
Participating restaurants include Motor Supply Company Bistro in Columbia’s Vista business district. General manager Ariel Brady said the restaurant tries to use as many locally grown, in-season ingredients as possible on its changing menu, and Certified SC’s “what’s in season” database helps them with that.
“It’s a really friendly reminder as to what’s out there and who might have it, and even some of those very narrow windows of items that we might not think about on a day-to-day basis,” she told the SC Daily Gazette.
About 60% of the food sold blocks away at Farmers Market Xchange comes from South Carolina farmers, said Ali Hikmet, who co-runs the store.
Buying from a local farmer, especially someone he knows, helps Hikmet ensure food was prepared without harmful chemicals and is as fresh as possible. He encourages people to buy local, especially “if they want something that tastes like it just came out of the ground,” he told the Gazette.
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One of the biggest challenges Weathers faced over the last two decades was the October 2015 historic flooding that devastated the state.
Days of torrential rain dumped on the state as Hurricane Joaquin spun offshore, coupled with dam failures amid the deluge, washed away hundreds of roads and bridges as well as crops. Farmers also couldn’t plant for the next season, as water-logged farmland became temporarily unfarmable. Nineteen people died and more than 20,000 were displaced, according to the state emergency management department.
After then-Gov. Nikki Haley refused farmers’ pleas to seek help from Congress to offset their losses, Weathers worked with the Legislature to create a state grant program to help keep farmers afloat. The agency distributed more than $35 million in aid to farmers within four months.
“That’s still one of the best memories I have, because it was galvanizing for everybody who works here,” Weathers said.
The crisis reminded him of how important it was to have an agency dedicated to fighting for farmers, he said.
The next agriculture commissioner will have a much bigger agency to run than when Weathers first took office.
Weathers, a fourth-generation farmer on what was a dairy farm in Bowman, was initially appointed to the position in 2004 by then-Gov. Mark Sanford.
He took over after Charles Sharpe, a former Aiken County legislator, was indicted on federal extortion and money laundering charges less than two years after his win. In 2005, the former chairman of the state House agriculture committee pleaded guilty to taking a $10,000 bribe to protect a cockfighting ring and was sentenced to two years in prison.
The Legislature has dramatically added to the agency’s responsibilities since.
In just the last three years, the agency’s workforce has almost doubled to about 250 full-time employees. Duties added in 2024 include overseeing all inspections and permitting of places that sell food, such as restaurants and cafeterias.
With Weathers’ departure, the race for agriculture commissioner is more contested than usual.
At least four Republicans are vying for the job.
Weathers last year endorsed a director in the agency to replace him: Fred West of Batesburg-Leesville. Until last month, West was the only candidate in the race. He joined the agency after 24 years as an executive at the poultry processing company Amick Farm.
“I’ve seen his leadership with people; he’s a good Christian man,” Weathers told the SC Daily Gazette about his endorsement.
Last month, Clarendon County farmer Jeremy Cannon launched his bid for the job. The fourth-generation row farmer told the Gazette he’s best equipped to advocate for rural farmers like himself.
Another generational Clarendon County farmer joined the race last week.
Cody Simpson announced his bid two weeks after his former bosses, Gov. Henry McMaster and President Donald Trump, publicly encouraged him to run and endorsed him ahead of his decision. Simpson left McMaster’s office last May as agriculture adviser and chief executive assistant. The Trump administration appointed Simpson as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency’s executive director for South Carolina.
On Monday, a fourth Republican launched a bid: Danny Ford II, son of Clemson’s first national championship football coach.
No Democrat has announced a bid. A Democrat hasn’t sought the office since 2010, when Weathers defeated 81-year-old former legislator Tom Elliott by over 20 percentage points.
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Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect Monday’s entry of a fourth Republican into the contest to replace Weathers.
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
