Letters: SC legislators, advocates worked together to help farmers

After October’s historic flooding, S.C. farmers were faced with crops ruined in their fields, massive losses of income and a seemingly bleak harvest outlook. We are heartened and grateful that legislators heard the plight of the farms impacted and answered with a solution and assistance by passing the farm aid legislation.

It is obvious our legislators see agribusiness as the essential economic driver that it is to our state, with $41.7 billion in economic contributions and providing more than 200,000 jobs. With total agricultural losses from the flooding approaching $600 million, farmers were left with insurmountable challenges as they tried to recover. We commend our senators and representatives for listening and responding to our farm families as they told their stories of destruction to their livelihood.

We thank and recognize the diligence of the S.C. Farm Bureau and the state Department of Agriculture for their work on this issue, as well as Clemson University for its support. We also appreciate the collaborative efforts of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce and many other organizations that recognized the importance of keeping our farmers in business.

This is an excellent example of how when we come together, we can accomplish significant outcomes — in this case helping preserve the sustainability of S.C. agribusiness.

This story was originally published June 20, 2016 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Letters: SC legislators, advocates worked together to help farmers."