DARLA MOORE
CLOSING REMARKS

AGRICULTURAL SUMMIT

Charleston, South Carolina
October 26, 2006

This has been a great day and an eye opening event, but now the burden falls on us to leave here with a strategy to grow and sustain South Carolina agribusiness as a real engine in the global economy.  As a start to our efforts, I would like to briefly go over 10 sustaining points that we believe are critical to our long-term strategy.  Before I do, let me make a few personal comments about today’s events and our speakers.

First, I want to sincerely thank you for coming today.  I am particularly delighted to see so many farmers in the audience.  You know I now live on a farm in Lake City.  I know what you are thinking – Darla Moore may live on a farm but she is not a farmer.  Well, you are wrong.  It is a working farm.  We are not only building world-class gardens but we are growing our own plants.  We are conducting research on a variety of horticultural issues.  We are working with Clemson on growing grapes.  Who knows, one day we may have a Moore Farm Cabernet for sale.  We probably now have one of the biggest payrolls in the Lake City area.  And, let me tell you – I love it!  There is nothing more rewarding than being close to the earth and seeing something you have planted, fed, and protected develop into a beautiful flower or a successful crop.  That is what makes farming so worthwhile.  It makes you understand why, even under the most difficult of circumstances, you remain true to your calling.   So, I thank you for being here.

I also want to once again thank our partners and sponsors for so generously supporting this event.  Without you, it would not have happened.

I particularly want to thank our speakers for such outstanding presentations.  If nothing else, they have made us understand that when we address agricultural issues, we cannot just limit ourselves to what is happening in our own backyard.  We must take a holistic, global view not just from an economic standpoint but from an environmental and sustainability point of view. 

Lester, thank you for coming.  Your remarks bring clear focus to a dramatically changing world.  For any of you who have not read it, I highly recommend his book Plan B 2.0.  In fact, before you leave Lester will be autographing free copies of his book for your reading pleasure.

Hugh, thank you for helping us understand where we are statewide and what agriculture means to South Carolina today.  If anyone did not understand the importance of agriculture to South Carolina as an economic engine, I believe they do now.

And, of course, my favorite speaker, Richard Rainwater.  Not only is Richard one of the most respected investors in the country, he is also a reluctant speaker.  So, to have him share his thoughts with us today has been a rare occurrence.  Richard, in my opinion, was one of the first investors who truly understood how this new global economy directly affected business and as an extension, our investments.  I assure you, when he reaches a conclusion it is not without a tremendous amount of research and thought.  He not only knows the investment better than anyone, he also understands how an investment will be affected by world events.  The only problem with Richard is that he comes to his conclusion well before most other investors and we have to wait for them to catch up before our investment will become profitable.  Thank you Richard.

At the beginning of the day, I asked you to listen to our speakers both for what they said and for how we could use what we have learned to better support our agricultural industry in South Carolina.  Two things are quite evident:  First, agribusiness is an economic engine in South Carolina but one that faces many challenges to grow and prosper.  Second, we are in a global economy with a dramatically changing world that directly affects the decisions in South Carolina, particularly when they involve energy and food.  But, just knowing that information without a plan of action is like Tommy Bowden knowing Carolina is going to blitz his quarterback and not doing anything to protect him.  Just knowing the challenges won’t help if you don’t have a plan to meet them. 

Well, today, I hope you will leave with not only a better knowledge of what we face globally but also with a commitment to find new ways to sustain our agricultural industry in South Carolina.  We need to add value to our products, to market them better, to protect our farmland, and to sustain this economic engine in order to help our state be more prosperous.  Since I am not a shy person, let me recommend 10 points that might help us protect our quarterback:

#1   The Palmetto Institute will establish an advisory board to meet once a quarter to review projects and discuss action the various stakeholders can take to support the agricultural industry in South Carolina.  Please understand, we are not trying to just create one more group to compete with the other groups already established to help the agricultural community.  We have great organizations such as the Agribusiness Council under Cathy Novinger, the Farm Bureau under David Winkles and many others representing their sectors like the Poultry Federation and the Forestry Commission.  And, we are not trying to take the place of the U.S. and South Carolina Departments of Agriculture or our land-grant universities, Clemson and SC State.  We simply are trying to improve the private/public collaborative by serving as a clearing house and provide a forum to get everyone working in the same direction.  It is that simple.  Jim Fields will be talking with many of you in the next couple of weeks about putting this advisory board together.

#2   I strongly recommend you review the links we have listed on your program as a beginning point to become more knowledgeable about ideas and approaches that can help us compete in the global economy.  I also recommend, if you have not already done so, that you visit the USDA and Clemson exhibits downstairs before you leave.  It’s a wonderful representation of the resident wealth of knowledge and experience.  We need to stay acutely aware of their work and provide the input necessary to make sure such research is targeted to our needs and not just the academic world.

#3   Demand more from our leaders.  Agribusiness is an integral part of South Carolina’s economy and, as our speakers pointed out, it is going to be even more important in the future.  And, just like any other major industry in our state, we need help with policies that encourage rather than limit, incentives that equal rather than trail other industries, and a commitment to the development of rural areas of our state.  If our leaders do not respond, we need new leaders.  It is just that simple.  Critical issues as water use and allocation policy and tax policy and how it affects farmers who want to leave their farms to their children.  But, to have a strong voice with our leaders, we need to put aside our parochial differences and turf battles and speak as one for agriculture.

#4   And, just as we need to collaborate to influence our leaders, we need to work together to build strong rural communities.  Farming, agribusiness, and strong, vibrant communities go hand-in-hand.  Think about it.  One of our critical needs is to get young people with bright ideas and entrepreneurial spirits involved in agriculture.  Listen, I see too many balding and graying heads in the audience, and to lure the young people back, we must have communities where they want to live and raise their families.  We need rural communities with excellent educational opportunities, good healthcare, and broadband access to connect them to the world.  This requires collaboration across political boundaries and across the divisions between the private and public sectors to build regions with competitive advantages.  It is the same approach the Council on Competitiveness is taking to build economic clusters for agriculture and to help with distressed and disadvantaged regions in our state.   They will be our partners in this effort.  But, to build a competitive advantage, we have to find ways to encourage investment and support in our rural communities as well as in agriculture itself.

#5   We must seek innovative advantages.  That means, we must have research that is relevant to the growth and sustainability of agriculture.  Just as there are public/private efforts with research universities and businesses relating to such issues as automotive engineering, hydrogen and fuel cells, and biomedicine, there must be similar efforts with agribusiness.  And, simply having a research component is not enough.  We have to find ways to commercialize our research into new, profitable products and processes for our farmers.  This means we have to have researchers working with our farmers and the agribusiness community. We have got to find ways to sell not just more commodities but to sell value-added products, and to find more efficient ways to get products to expanding markets.  This requires more investments in our research and land-grant universities.  It requires the support of young entrepreneurs through venture capital and the support of the South Carolina Research Authority’s Innovation Center Program.  Again, we have to demand more.

#6   We have to adapt to and protect our environment.  We have to conserve our farm and timber lands.  If we have heard anything today, it is our failure to protect the environment and the elements that provide us with food and energy will lead to an economic disaster.  I, for one, believe farming and protecting the environment go hand-in-hand with our economic success.  It just requires a thoughtful, reasonable approach to both.  That means our collaborative efforts must include conservationists and environmentalists.  It also demonstrates how important it is to seek alternative means of energy through such programs as the 25/25 initiative in Washington.

#7   Another thing that is quite clear from our speakers today  is that our competition is global.  We are in a global economy.  Again, that means we must seek competitive advantages for our goods and services.  To me, an opportunity we must take advantage of is our ports and other international means of trading in South Carolina.  Port expansion should not be done without the consideration of agricultural products and what can be done to encourage and expand our exports. 

#8   We must not put our heads in the sand and not have a policy that fairly deals with our immigration laws.   For many of you, it is an issue of survival.  That means you should have a seat at any table talking about immigration.  This is another situation where we must demand more from our leaders.

#9   Market, Market, Market – I know South Carolina peaches are the best.  I know the vegetables I eat are the best.  I know we have some of the best horticulture nurseries in the country.  But, here is the problem – not enough people beyond us know it.  I am like the Colbert Report we saw this morning.  I am tired of people in other states taking credit for products that we produce better.  How do we build a marketing plan that really works.  It is a question we must address.  Officials in New Jersey say they get a $68 return on every $1 they invest in marketing for their agricultural products.  In my mind, that is a pretty good return.  I am sure every one of you would be willing to participate in a marketing program based on return on investment.  Once again, it is a question of demanding a better program. 

#10  The last item on our list of 10 points is the need to make sure our “niche” farmers, both large and small, are included  in our efforts.  Today, because of health, freshness, and quality issues, we all gravitate to “locally grown” products if we have a choice.  We want products with added values of organically-grown and high quality.  We trust our farmers much more than ones in California or Peru.  But, to develop and sustain our locally-grown products, we need markets, we need local processing operations, we need new and innovative technologies, and we need young entrepreneurs having the support to get in the business.  That is our task.

There you have it -- 10 points to consider as we must address the challenge to sustain agriculture in South Carolina as an economic engine today and into the future.  We know there are other issues but this is a beginning.  Now, all we have to do is to roll up our sleeves and go to work.  In hundreds of rural communities across this state, at the end of nearly every dirt road, there is a global entrepreneur, whether they know it or not.  We need to make sure that each one has the opportunity to succeed.  It is a long and arduous road, but this goal is clearly achievable.  The only question is, “Do we have the will?” 

Thank you.  If there are any questions, I would be glad to respond.