Florence The Last Straw For Some South Carolina Farmers

Ronald Rabon’s family has been farming their Aynor property for four generations, but Mother Nature is getting in the way of the only job Rabon has ever known. Rabon, the 63-year-old owner and operator of Double R Farms off Valley Forge Road, is facing a devastated crop yield for the third time in four years after Hurricane Florence brought copious rain and salt air onto his roughly 1,300-acre farm. Early estimates suggest about $125 million in agricultural losses across South Carolina as a result of Florence, according to the governor’s office. Cotton, peanuts and soybeans are among the most impacted crops, and continued losses for farmers could mean the need for federal help to keep them operational.