I have worked in Agriculture from the farm to Congress! In High School, I served as an FFA Officer on every level from Chapter President, State Vice President, and National Vice President.
During college, I got my degree in Ag and Environmental Systems with a concentration in Agribusiness. While there, I worked the fields again as a Soil Conservationist Aide at USDA's NRCS. After college, I worked in Congress in the House and Senate on the Ag committees, leading negotiation on multiple pieces of legislation. While working in Congress, I earned my MA in Public Policy from George Washington U. Finally, after leaving Congress, I started my own policy consultancy and have just purchased back my grandfather's land to resume farm operations!
Costs.
As of 2022 data, only 1/3 of Farmers in South Carolina made a profit. At the same time, food costs have skyrocketed for consumers - mostly due to the war in Iran.
So what can the South Carolina Commissioner do? Focus on the supply chain. My plan outlined on the campaign website is called Growing Together. South Carolina has added over 100,000 residents per year since 2022. How do we feed those people? That rise in demand also mandates a rise in supply. The food system is national, but how can the state use its government to impact that?
Finally, with this growth, we must protect the consumer - our citizens. Everyone deserves to know where their food comes from and that it is healthy and safe.
Water use is something I don't get asked about often!
We are fortunate that South Carolina sits atop wells of water and is well-connected to the water system. We have a pretty good watershed, and our soil type: sandy loam, drains quickly, which is what you'd want.
Agricultural water use only counts for between 3-27% of water use in SC per year, but usually falls between 5-15% according to a Clemson study, one of our Land Grant Universities.
SCDA can encourage and invest in extension services from Clemson and SCSU to gain precise reporting of water use by farms. Partnering with hydrologists can make sure that we have the right water use as SC grows in citizens and housing developments. Precision Ag technology helps farms reduce costs.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
As an independent food and restaurant operator, I live on the front lines of the state’s food supply chain every single day. Most South Carolinians do not realize that over half of the Department of Agriculture’s day-to-day oversight involves retail food safety, health inspections, and commercial hospitality regulation across more than 20,000 businesses. I understand food safety, commercial supply chains, and inventory management from real-world practice, not behind a bureaucratic desk. Having navigated aggressive administrative enforcement, I bring the practical experience needed to ensure regulatory police powers are exercised with fairness, common-sense safety standards, and constitutional due process.
My top priority is ending the wasteful 300-mile loop and feeding South Carolina first. Right now, our farmers grow world-class crops only to ship them out to regional distribution hubs in Charlotte and Atlanta, while local restaurants, school cafeterias, and grocery stores buy produce trucked thousands of miles from Florida and Mexico. I will prioritize building value-added processing and packing infrastructure right here in South Carolina. By using modern logistics and technology to connect local growers directly to commercial buyers and public institutions, we keep food dollars circulating in our communities, lower transportation costs, and provide South Carolina families with fresher, cleaner food.
We must protect our agricultural aquifers from being drained by subsidized industrial megaprojects. Massive AI data centers and heavy industrial corridors consume millions of gallons of treated water daily just for cooling, competing directly with local family farms and household wells. As Commissioner, I will advocate for strict priority protections on agricultural water rights and oppose state tax subsidies for industrial facilities that stress our aquifers. We must mandate advanced closed-loop and dry-cooling technology for industrial users while investing in local watershed retention, ensuring that South Carolina’s water remains dedicated to food production and community survival first.
