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Response to Feb 13
Editorial on I want to applaud your editorial written February 13, 2007 entitled “When a golf course becomes a farm” about those who take advantage of incentives designed to protect and preserve family farmers in South Carolina. Nothing could be truer than your statement, “Our very lives depend upon [farmers sticking with] it because we are better as a people when family farmers are a part of our society.” Like most anything else, when a few people misuse laws designed for specific purposes it creates turmoil for legitimate users. As you stated in your editorial, SC Act 208 was designed to “protect farmers from having to sell their land, and thus abandon their livelihood and way of life, as the market value outstripped the income generated.” Even with these incentives we are losing farm land at an alarming rate in South Carolina due to urban sprawl. If we are not careful, we will wake up one day and wonder why the rural fabric that makes South Carolina such an attractive state went away. There is a vocal minority in our country that would like to see all American agriculture go out of business and for us to import our food and fiber from foreign sources. One long-range view of gas prices will tell you that would not be a good thing for consumers. What’s more, in addition to the higher prices foreign produced food would bring, consumers would no longer be protected by tight government health and environmental regulations. As it is, we enjoy the safest, most affordable, and most abundant food supply in the world. Those who abuse incentives designed to keep family farmers in business force us one step closer to closing the door on agriculture. There are many legitimate timber farmers in South Carolina who do a tremendous job managing their forests to provide wood for products like this very newspaper. Their livelihood does not need to be threatened by operations solely looking for a tax break. We appreciate The State’s recognition and support of South Carolina’s family farmers.
David Winkles, President (The South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization founded to protect and preserve family farmers and rural lifestyles in the state.)
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