The Certified South Carolina Grown program is an important initiative by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, as it marries farmers, processors, wholesalers and retailers with the Columbia, SC-based organization in an effort to better brand and promote products from the state.

The program started a dozen years ago and this past year it helped bring out an 80-percent brand recognition within South Carolina, it’s highest number to date. That means that when people see the logo, they recognize it and know what it means. Only four years ago that number was at 60 percent.

“This year, we focused a lot on our Fresh on the Menu program, a branch of the program aimed more at restaurants, and they are great ambassadors of local produce and local food,” said Ansley Turnblad, marketing specialist with the SCDA. “They are promoting the great things about South Carolina Grown.”

In 2018, the program surpassed 2,000 members and it continues to grow in numbers and do what it was designed to do — identify and promote the South Carolina product.

All farm producers, food manufacturers, specialty food producers, packing facilities and others engaged in the production or manufacture of agricultural products in South Carolina are eligible to apply for membership. It’s free to join, and it’s as simple as heading to the website and emailing the information needed.

“Ten years ago, we would go to a lot of grower meetings and anywhere that farmers would congregate, we would have a booth to let them know about the program and how it was evolving,” Turnblad said. “Now, they see the logo and contact us regularly, so we don’t need to go out and recruit farmers the way we used to.”

Not that the organization doesn’t do its part to get the word out. Turnblad said there’s a multi-media campaign, billboards and TV, magazine and radio ads aimed at promoting it more. After all, many of these farmers don’t think about doing something like this or don’t have the time to do their own marketing.

“My father would spend thousands of dollars on a piece of equipment but wouldn’t spend hardly anything on marketing, so this program helps people like him and other producers to market their products and identify them as South Carolina grown,” she said. “We provide them this tool to market their products.”

All members are listed on the Certified South Carolina Grown website, can take advantage of the advertising campaign, and are introduced to others who are in the industry and might be able to utilize their services.

The Certified South Carolina Grown program has a relatively new consumer-friendly website and is adding new promotions every few months.

A new campaign by Certified South Carolina is the “Root Campaign,” which is all about knowing the roots of the food people eat.

The organization interviewed 10 farmers and created a promotional ad out of it, helping to bring some faces to the food.

“Everything you touch comes from agriculture and South Carolina has a historical background in this and thinking local is good for the environment, the community and the economy,” Turnblad said. “It’s important that we are able to sustain ourselves and our community and state.”