Gullah farmers group’s plan to buy Beaufort County facility could plant seeds for growth

A vacant Beaufort County-owned building on St. Helena Island could be the seed that helps grow the local agricultural economy.

The Gullah Farmers Cooperative Association, a group of 17 farmers in northern Beaufort County founded in 2011, is in talks to take over the county’s Old Leroy Browne Service Building on Ball Park Road near the St. Helena Elementary School.

The building — which has been empty since Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Services moved into a new space about five years ago — could be retrofitted to serve as “an outlet for (local farmers) to bring their produce so we can collect it, wash it, pack it and distribute it,” association general manager Steve Richards said earlier this week.

“It’s getting tougher for (individual small farm operators),” he said. “They can’t just walk into Whole Foods … and get a contract (to sell produce).”

But a group like the Gullah Farmers Cooperative Association helps give the farmers strength in numbers and build economies of scale by providing them with “a lot more power to fulfill contracts,” Richards said.

“We have accounts lined up; we just need the facility in place,” he said.

With access to a facility like the one proposed at the Old Leroy Brown building, the association also has an opportunity to attract new members.

“There are 17 farmers now — but there could be 20 or 30 or even 50 if it goes the way it should in the future,” association member Archie McRee said.

The association is working with county leaders to develop a lease-purchase agreement that would allow the farmers to set up shop in the Old Leroy Browne facility as soon as this spring.

Terms of that agreement are still being worked out, deputy county administrator Josh Gruber said earlier this week.

The association has proposed an initial five-year lease with payments of $1,000 per year plus property taxes, utilities and maintenance costs. During that lease term, the association would like the option to buy the building for $225,000.

Clemson University has committed $20,000 to help renovate the space, according to association documents presented recently to county leaders.

Those leaders have spoken in favor of the association’s proposal.

Councilman Mike Covert said agriculture creates jobs and helps preserve rural land from over-development, so supporting local farmers “is a win-win.”

“This is a perfect example of something that could work and benefit the county as a whole,” he said.

County staff will hammer out the details of the agreement with the association in the coming days, and it is expected to be presented to the full County Council for consideration later this month.

This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Gullah farmers group’s plan to buy Beaufort County facility could plant seeds for growth."