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State agriculture commissioner outlines budget requests including $2M school-food incentive and contingency for food-bank audit dispute
Summary
Commissioner Weathers outlined the South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s budget priorities before the Senate Finance Committee Natural Resources Subcommittee, including $1 million for laboratory and customer-service enhancements, $2 million more for statewide Certified South Carolina marketing, an $8 million federal-funds authority increase, and a contingency funding request tied to an audit dispute with a Columbia food bank.
Commissioner Weathers told the Senate Finance Committee Natural Resources Subcommittee that the South Carolina Department of Agriculture seeks recurring and one-time funding to expand laboratory, marketing and distribution services for farmers and to cover contingent obligations related to a pending audit dispute with a Columbia food bank.
Weathers told the committee the department’s recurring priorities include a $1 million request for customer-service enhancements to strengthen laboratory capacity and farmers-market operations and a $2 million increase for statewide marketing of the Certified South Carolina brand. The department also seeks funding to incentivize local school districts to purchase more South Carolina-grown products; Weathers described the idea as an add-on “incentive” on top…
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