Entrepreneurs’ Emphasis: Role of Acre in South Carolina’s Agribusiness – Where does the food come from

When a Kyle player moved back to South Carolina from Washington, Colombia County to help launch the Agribusiness Research and Entrepreneurship Center (Acre), she believes she will work with many start -ups in agriculture.

Instead, Acre turned out to be a lot more.

Function Image: Barrier Island Oyster Co. He was an early participant in the extended ACRE program. Credit: Jared Bramblet.

“We work with more industrial segments than I expected, as well as more age ranges-we have participants from college students until after retirement,” Player says.

The South Carolina Ministry of Agriculture created a hectare in 2017 in order to advance agribusiness in the state. Since then, ACRE has awarded more than $ 1.4 million to $ 131 entrepreneurs, funding 49 industry -led research projects and runs dozens of business seminars throughout the country.

Started with a distribution by the South Carolina General Assembly, ACRE continued its work with the help of grants from the development of rural USDA and the Duke Energy Foundation and the current support of the legislature.

In addition to agricultural technology companies, ACRE has helped entrepreneurs develop enterprises including dairy farming, food distribution, livestock, oyster agriculture, agriculture, AG education, value added products and more.

Some remarkable participants over the years include Cotton, Business Farmers Farmers, Pee Dee, which has developed a local supply chain for their high -end cotton textiles; Gardens to win the project that helps military veterans to start a career after retirement in agriculture; A nationally known hereditary producer of pork production special pigs; Awarded Goat Milk Farm Split Creek; And Sakhar Jams, which makes craft products using fruits in South Carolina, an excellent example of an added value business that maintains local farming.

At the center of the acre are his two business development programs. A song helps to run entrepreneurs by creating a business, including marketing, financial planning, value -added processes, legal requirements, state and federal grants and business plan writing. After completing the program, each participant has the chance to compete for one of the seven $ 5,000 grants.

The other song is about experienced entrepreneurs, those who already have a business plan and proof of concept. South Carolina entrepreneurs have chosen the program to target their judge’s business, competing to earn business mentoring and funding. Awardeds can be provided up to $ 25,000 for their company or product. (Applications for the extended program for 2025 are open until March 7)

More than one -third of those participating in the ACRE initial program eventually applied and accepted in Advanced Track.

Thousands of dollars would certainly be a grace for any beginner agribusiness. But participants tell the player that the support and business training they receive through acre are crucial.

“It’s not just about money,” a player says. “People find many things valuable except funding.”

Some evidence of acre impact comes from a recent study of past participants. He showed that 51 percent of the participating companies have added new jobs after a hectare, an average of 1.95 jobs per company. These are not huge numbers, but they show that acre helps entrepreneurs to succeed and grow.

Acre continues to be up to new land. Four years ago, Acre partnered with Dr. Najmah Thomas to create a career path program that encourages young professionals to research their careers in agribusiness. And last year, the player was working with South Carolina FFA to set up a day on the Acra State School Facing, which recently had his second successful event. The Center also finances agricultural research in South Carolina, working with the business development business that flourished in South Carolina and other key technologies.

To learn more about Acre, visit Acre-Sc.com.