Hugh Weathers: The Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture

MidlandsBiz: 
Commissioner, what is your vision for the Department of Agriculture?

Hugh Weathers:
We want to be on par with the other agencies that promote the economy of South Carolina.  The Department of Commerce is job-oriented, Parks Recreation and Tourism (PRT) tries to bring in tourists to the state, and the SC Research Authority tries to keep us on the cutting edge of industry.  Agriculture is the 2nd largest industry in the state. Our vision is to make sure that people know that agriculture is a viable part of the future of South Carolina. Whether we are talking about urban sprawl, quality of life, taxes agriculture is always part of the answer.

MidlandsBiz:
Tell us about the recent launch of the Certified South Carolina campaign?

Hugh Weathers:
The Department has always had an initiative to promote the quality of South Carolina agriculture.  In the summer of 2005, a group of folks got together to take it a step further and come up with a strategic plan that would utilize a multi-faceted legislative and marketing and promotion approach to elevate the stature of agriculture to the citizens and consumers of South Carolina. 

We were approved in the 2006-2007 budget to go ahead with the plan.  We received our funding from the capital reserve fund (any remaining funds after the state has met all its obligations).  We actually didn’t get our money in hand until December of 2006, so the program that has recently been unveiled has come together in six months.  Our strategic partner on this marketing plan has done a superb job putting this together. They used focus groups and a lot of research to really understand the market.

MidlandsBiz:
What did the research show?

Hugh Weathers:
First the bad news: 85% of consumers in this state can’t identify a South Carolina product next to one from South America.

Here’s the good news.  90% of these consumers told us that if we showed them a South Carolina product next to a South American product, they would buy the South Carolina product.  We knew our market potential was there.

Furthermore, 50% of the people surveyed said that they would be willing to pay a 20% premium for a South Carolina product.  People are willing to support local farmers and are proud to shop at home so to speak.

We merged this information together with the desire of South Carolinians to hear the words local and fresher and came up with our Nothing’s fresher. Nothing’s finer. campaign.  It’s simple, but it’s effective.  Now it’s up to our 14 grocery store partners to get that point of sale material in place so that finding the product is easy.

MidlandsBiz:
What difference will my wife and I see in our local Bi-Lo?

Hugh Weathers:
Sure we are going to run ads on billboards and TV, but when it comes to the point of decision on that aisle, we are going to have to close the deal for the consumer.

You will see our logos, our point of sale material that will clearly indicate This way to South Carolina.  Products from this state will be marked with our logo as early as the middle of June when South Carolina products start coming to market.

MidlandsBiz:
Can branding work in agriculture?

Hugh Weathers:
California raisins, Florida oranges – sure.

We have vine-ripened tomatoes and tasty tree-ripened tasty peaches in this state, but I don’t know if we have one particular crop that compares to Florida citrus.  Our strength comes from our agricultural diversity.  We have to better position the state when it comes to quality and freshness.  If we do that, we will have definitely moved away from the commodity category into a brand that has an emotional tie for the South Carolina shopper.

We love our state flag and we will fly it wherever.  We want South Carolina to have the same reaction to our locally grown produce.

MidlandsBiz:
How has South Carolina agriculture evolved away from the staple drops of tobacco, soybeans and cotton?

Hugh Weathers:
Less than 10% of the South Carolina agricultural income is derived from the government programs associated with the program crops you mentioned.  We have a wide array of fruit and vegetable products that we want to track through the Certified South Carolina Initiative to see how we can impact their market share.  The main point is that for a relatively small state, we have a wide variety of agricultural products.

MidlandsBiz:
What are the monetary goals for the program?

Hugh Weathers:
We are engaged with the AG Econ folks at Clemson University to track the rate of return (ROI) for this program.

As a comparison, a study done on the 20-year-old agricultural program in New Jersey called Jersey Fresh indicated that $63 was generated in related commerce for every $1 they spent in promotion.  If we can come anywhere near that in South Carolina we would be doing very well. 

MidlandsBiz:
What role should government play in agriculture?

Hugh Weathers:
Our role here at the Department of Agriculture is to create opportunities for profitable agricultural ventures either through enhancing something that is already there or by creating new ones. 

The federal government has a safety net role to play to ensure a safe food supply.  When you think about it, food security is not far behind national security in terms of its strategic importance.  We need to make sure that we don’t have our entire food source coming from offshore.

We have it good here in the US. Americans spend right at 10% of their disposable income on food.  The next lowest country in the world is England where they spend around 28% of their income. People have become accustomed to the highest quality of foods at a very reasonable price.  We have a government that supports a steady supply of those program crops that are used in so many of our foods – that helps ensure price stability in the market.

MidlandsBiz:
What book are you reading right now?

Hugh Weathers:
The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum.  I just need to get my mind off of what we are doing here at the Department of Agriculture, my dairy farm, the fact that it didn’t rain for so long.

MidlandsBiz:
You are a business owner and in particular, a farmer?

Hugh Weathers:
People say you came from a farm and I reply, Yeah I came from one this morning.  My brother and I own a dairy farm and we have around 200 acres of peanuts.  We also own a trucking company that delivers milk from farms for bottling.