Why Yellow Means Green for South Carolina

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Until a few years ago, my husband’s family had a farm near Cameron. They rented the arable land and the rest was planted in pines. Every so often, they’d harvest some of that timber and we’d get a wonderful check for Christmas. Agriculture is the largest industry in South Carolina, with timber being by far the most valuable crop, and pines are the largest component of that. So when we’re all fussing about that yellow pollen that drives us crazy for weeks every spring, take a deep breath (or maybe not – not many, but a few people, are allergic to pine pollen) and have green thoughts rather than yellow. Heart pine timber is extremely durable and rot-resistant and many houses built of it, (one, Middleburg, from 1697) are still sanding.