I hear South Carolina now leads the nation in collard green acreage. Tell me more, Commissioner.

Commissioner:

In the 2017 Census of Agriculture, we only topped the list for one crop: turnip greens.

South Carolina now leads the nation in collard green, turnip green, and Southern pea acreage, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

That’s 2,568 acres of collards, 1,980 acres of turnip greens, and 3,617 acres of Southern peas.

The USDA category “Southern peas” is also called cowpeas, and includes blackeyed peas, crowder peas, and various field peas.

This is part of a larger trend: South Carolina’s vegetable acreage overall rose 25 percent in those 5 years.

Some of our competitor states are not seeing the same growth: Florida is up 12 percent, California is up 2 percent, and NC and Georgia are down.

Farmers are diversifying, and we’re working hard to make it worth their while to farm.

SC is also home to some major producers of collards in particular: WP Rawl and McCall Farms.

Here are some of South Carolina’s other top fruit and vegetable rankings:

SC’s Rank by Commodity:

1  Collard Greens
1  Southern Peas              
1  Turnip Greens               
2  Kale                                  
2  Peaches                          
5  Asparagus                      
5  Honeydew Melon       
5  Okra                                 
6  Plums                              
7  Non-Bell Peppers        
7  Sweet Potatoes            
8  Cantaloupe                   
8  Watermelon                  
8  Nectarines   
9  Cabbage Mustard 
9  Cucumbers 
10 Broccoli   
10 Tomatoes
10 Figs           
10 Strawberries