St. Helena farmer gains statewide accolades for ag leadership

Ben Johnson's life has come full circle.

He farms family land on St. Helena Island that he left as a young man -- kicking the sand off his shoes and vowing to never again drink milk, much less tend cows.

This week, that same man was honored by a roomful of dignitaries for being named South Carolina's Small Farmer of the Year by Minority Landowner magazine.

During the ceremony Wednesday at the Penn Center, Johnson was cited as an example of how the U.S. Department of Agriculture, through its Natural Resources Conservation Service, helps small farmers sustain a way of life. The USDA's state conservationist said Johnson shows how the agency helps people help the land in South Carolina. And the Rev. Horace Williams Jr. of Faith Memorial Baptist Church celebrated Johnson as a community leader.

The man of the hour did indeed leave the Lowcounty for a career in New York City. But he found happiness after returning to his roots and working the land.

That can be healthy for the Lowcountry, said Penn Center executive director Walter R. Mack.

Before tourism, the Lowcountry was filled with the small, sustainable, subsistence farms that the state and federal agencies are anxious to help rekindle. The agencies offer expertise and standards. And they have grant money for fences and wells and other capital costs that deter potential farmers.

"I really believe, especially on St. Helena Island, which is almost the only green space left in this county, that 'agri-business' can be an important part of economic development," said Mack.

Mack tries to prove it. He raises goats, blueberries and muscadine grapes.

He sees an explosion in interest in locally grown food. Twenty years ago, there was one local farmers market; now there are seven, he said.

"The bottom line to me is money, and that's what people see," Mack said. "If we can get more people -- especially young people -- to do more farming, I believe it will help save the community. I'm talking about the Gullah-Geechie community. It can give us cash flow, and you can pay taxes with that."

The Gullah have for generations practiced sustainable farming. They have the knowledge and the land. The missing ingredient is capital, Mack said, and the government can help with that.

Penn Center is acting as a trusted liaison between local landowners and the government they often distrust.

And Johnson -- who does drink milk these days -- is showing how the Lowcountry can come full circle.