Thomas Garrison, a multi-generation farmer in Anderson County, said he believed the hype around hemp. Garrison, who's farmed in Pendelton since graduating from Clemson in 1980, was among the group who pushed for a 2017 law that allowed farmers in the state to grow hemp, a plant that's the same species as marijuana but lacks the THC that gets people high.
Despite being one of the state's hemp pioneers, he abandoned the crop after just two seasons. He didn't even seek a permit in 2020. Garrison told the SC Daily Gazette his venture into hemp was probably the worst in his 45 years as a farmer.
It's a risk that Garrison estimates cost him more than $100,000 in unused crops, equipment and time spent, said the 67-year-old son of the late state Sen. T. Ed Garrison, namesake of the livestock arena at Clemson. He declined to specify how much he lost.
"It was not a very good experience," he said. Hemp was supposed to be the next moneymaker for South Carolina farmers. And once they were able, the farmhands flocked to the opportunity.
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