Inflation threatens Horry County farmer to sell 5th-generation farm
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — As inflation hurts people across the country, farmers are one of the many among those suffering financially, including one in Horry County.
As the heat rises in South Carolina, bugs are making their way into farmers' crop. Allen Aviation's Chief Pilot and current Horry County Councilman, Al Allen, said that the bugs are climbing into farmers' plants to suck out the water to stay alive, which, in turn, is hurting farmers and making crops die.
It hurts them not only by losing some of their hard work, but also hurting their wallets as they try to prevent bugs from destroying them.
In Aynor, Ronald Rabon of Double R Farms, said that although bugs haven't hurt their crop yet this summer, he's aware that they could anytime soon. He said that not only has the cost for fertilizer to keep the bugs away from his field put a financial burden on his family, but just about everything else a farmer needs to run a farm smoothly.
He said the cost of diesel fuel per gallon for his $350,000 tractor cost $1.29. Now, it sits upwards of $4. He said fertilizer tripled in costs, with it costing $350 a couple years ago. Now, it sometimes costs him $1,000.
He said fungicide used to sit at about $5-6 an acre. Now, it costs $18 an acre. Rabon said the amount of money he's making from his crops on the cotton and soy bean farm is simply not enough.
"Crop prices, they're the cheapest they've been in years," he said. "And it's a no-win situation if something doesn't change, because I've been here all my life. I'm an old man."
A devout Christian, Rabon said it's his trust in God that reassures him that everything will be OK. He said he's saddened by the fact that his grandson may not be able to take over as he's the fifth generation to own the farm.
Rabon said with the way the business is going, if it doesn't change in the foreseeable future, he doesn't want to put his grandson through that financial obstacle.
"My daddy was raised here, and his daddy, and his daddy, and his daddy," Rabon said. "That boy right there, he's my grandson. I was hoping one day he might, but if things don't change, he can't, because he can't make a living."
Being a business that relies on the market, which Rabon said is similar to stocks, makes farmers rely on the prices that have been set on their said crop. He said his cotton and soy beans are on the Chicago Board of Trade, where currently, the prices are the lowest he's ever seen them.
He said a couple years ago, his beans were about $15. Now, they're $11. His cotton used to sell for more than a dollar. After looking on Wednesday, he said it now costs 72 cents.
"We're making little money doing it. It just makes you feel bad to come in at night at 10 [p.m.] to look back and see what you've done today and proud of what you've done, but it don't look like you've made a near bit of money," Rabon said.
He said he thinks part of the issue is that the young American population doesn't know where the food on their tables comes from. He said if they knew the amount of labor and love that went into it, maybe they'd better understand the issues farmers face and want to prolong American agriculture.
But with more people selling the land and building houses, Rabon said he hopes his farm will never come to that.
"I've lost, 1,2,3, 4 farms in two years to houses," he said. "I'm going to do it [farming] till the day I die or get sick and can't do it. But I hate to see this farm, I mean, it's a five-generation farm, I hate to see this farm go away."
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Gabby Jonas joined the News13 team as a multimedia journalist in April 2024. She is from Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Kent State University in May 2023. Follow Gabby on X, formerly Twitter , Facebook or Instagram , and read more of her work here .
