The rural roads in South Carolina's 46 counties are lined with loblolly pines and seemingly ceaseless scenes of farmland.
Established plots paint pathways throughout the Palmetto State, and although South Carolina's sheer quantity of farms has declined in roughly the last decade, patches of people remain persistent in their farm expansion ambition.
Farmers throughout South Carolina have relied on grants, community networks and their own wills, among other forces, to operate. From 2002 to 2022, the state lost 1,908 farms and about 292,000 acres of farmland, according to the latest data that spans until 2022 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For Shalonda Summers, a chicken farmer in Barnwell County, failure in her relocation and expansion plan is a looming possibility. She, without hesitancy, said her upcoming move from half-an-acre of land to about 11 acres could amount to nothing.
"It may fail," she said. "I'm just kind of stepping out on faith."
Summers' team includes her fiancé, Brian Busby; her father, James Summers; and a rotating assortment of teenagers.
It is the group in charge of some 300 chickens and the future of Humpty Dumpty Poultry Farm.
Working with the birds
Summers has spent almost four years with the chickens; tending to the chickens has become an outlet for emotional support.
White Leghorn and ISA Brown chickens lined the latest years of her life with constant responsibilities and eggs. She and Humpty Dumpty Poultry Farm focus on the sale of eggs.
Busby and Summers' father were with her and the birds on a Saturday in late March. And 15-year-old Jamarrion, who will be identified by first name only, joined the trio of adults.
Summers intermittently scouted for students who she hoped, like her, could find solace in working with the chickens. Teenagers with what she called "troubles," whether it be at school or at another capacity, were who she often reached out to.
The invitation involved helping out at the farm, but Summers said the main goal was to occupy time in the kids' days and — to her hope — introduce them to a new interest.
Jamarrion had spent about three weeks working with the farm by the time of his most recent visit.
He said he "got into some trouble" and ended up visiting the farm, which he enjoyed experiencing to an unexpected extent.
"It was a little random, but when I finally got to see what it was about, I loved it, man," he said. "It just really me amazed what really goes on in the world other than just being in the house."
The work was easy to him. His favorite part of the gig was spending time with the birds.
"It's nice being around the chickens. They're peaceful animals," he said. "They each have their own personalities."
His responsibilities that day included lending a hand to sod the land. He ended up inside the numerous chicken coops in the process.
The coops were a main component of Summers' farm. But she had worked to expand to a different location. The group of four departed to the destination.
A long way to go
Summers' planned expansion is about an eight-minute drive from the current operation. Altogether, it was about 11 acres of land that still needed to be tested, built on, opened and succeed; she planned on putting all of her eggs in one plot of land.
The main portion for farming is 8.5 acres of land in total, or about the size of six football fields. It cost Summers about $32,000, according to public property records.
She wanted to expand in both actual farm size and farm offerings. The extra space would provide an opportunity for her chickens to live more comfortably.
The team had dabbled in small quantities of okra and greens, but her new aspirations involved watermelons and peaches, among other fruits. It would be years before she knew the farm's fate and fruit growth success. Although Summers said she was not scared, she did equate her move to a leap of faith.
"We're just getting started. Right now, it's probably at about 10%," she said.
It takes a community
Agribusiness in South Carolina has an annual economic impact of $51.8 billion, according to the South Carolina Department of Agriculture Office of Agribusiness Development.
For new and small farmers, though, breaking into the business can be intimidating.
Summers has met patches of people in her time selling eggs and visiting farmers markets. She said surviving as a small farm takes a community.
The community is woven through South Carolina's roads. At the base level, it looked like relying on a neighbor.
For Summers, this neighbor is a beekeeper from the town of Kline in Barnwell County. Ronald Moore, who co-owns R&C Low Country Bees, met Summers on the planned expansion land.
The pair discussed potential bee colony placement. He said farmers should seek to support each other akin to how bees do through pollination.
"We've got to have each other in order to make things work," he said.
Extensive networks throughout the state, too, provide community resources for farmers.
Organizations like the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and the South Carolina Black Farmers Coalition keep farmers in network with each other.
Alissia Matthews runs Kidogo Farms in Georgetown County, which is across the state from Barnwell. She joined the SCBFC to connect with and learn from people in the state that she would not normally have access to. She said learning from someone at the local level, especially another farmer, can feel more trustworthy than having to rely on federal programs or universities.
Those big-name resources include U.S. Department of Agriculture office locations and assistance, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture and Clemson University Cooperative Extension Offices.
Local Clemson Extension offices provide soil tests, which Summers used, among other resources. The test provided a look at nutrient deficiencies and pH levels at six different locations on the recently acquired land.
Senior Extension Agent Ben Boyles said that while knowing one's community will not be a definitive precursor to success, it will serve as a solid floor.
"Having a peer network is vital," he said.
He also serves as director of the university's South Carolina New and Beginning Farmer Program. Program participants seek help with the business side of owning and operating a farm. Boyles said it is okay for aspiring farmers to sometimes simply wait.
"You start small and you learn, you do a little bit, you test the market and if it works you grow it. If it doesn’t, you pivot to something new.”
Summers has not entirely planned out the specificities of her future expenses, but she said she was ready to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into her goal. Whether it is the birds themselves or the now-barren plot of land, Summers' current investments already follow her around. And surrounded by dirt, the most evident reminder was Busby riding on a red tractor.
