South Carolina State University: 1890 has big plans for Olar farm

The university purchased the $750,000 farm with U.S. Department of Agriculture funding, which is available to land-grant institutions to help strengthen their capabilities in agriculture and food-related sciences.

“The Midlands Research and Education Center is expected to be complete next year. We have received funding for this facility, and it’s going through the process right now. This will house our Center for Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomes,” Whitesides said.

“It’s a 15,000-square-foot facility. It’s going to have 10 research laboratories, two smart green houses, multipurpose space and a community garden. This is where 15 scientists and research assistants will be working out of,” he said.

Whitesides spoke at a recent Bamberg County Council meeting.

The university has reported that the $5 million project is funded through the federal 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grants Program. It will serve as home to the new Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Agriculture led by the senior research scientist and director, Dr. Joe Mari Maja.

It will be dedicated to harnessing the power of data science and artificial intelligence to tackle the challenges confronting small, limited-resource and minority farmers.

The research and education center will contain residence suites for guest researchers and scientists to accommodate the often-long hours required in research.

Whitesides said he expects that the construction of a Midlands Livestock Learning Center will be complete by 2027.

He said two high tunnels have already been constructed at the farm, with more planned. High tunnels, also called high hoops or hoop houses, are temporary structures that extend the growing season. The covered structures are built in fields to protect crops from the weather and pests.

“What we’ve designed is a plan to construct a high tunnel that’s (able to grow crops) totally off the grid. … It will be solar operated, but it’ll have atmospheric water generation. What that means is we have a machine that’ll pull water vapor from the air (and) that’ll actually power the high tunnel. … We expect to have it perfected pretty soon,” Whitesides said.

“We expect five more high tunnels to be built out there,” he said.

Upcoming research at the farm includes, but is not limited to, exploring the integration of hydroponics within a high tunnel system.

There will also be a silvopasture demonstration at the farm. Silvopasture is the practice of integrating trees, forage and the grazing of domesticated animals in a mutually beneficial way. It uses the principles of managed grazing and is a form of agroforestry.

“We’ve planted the silvopasture. You’ll see those coming up over the years,” Whitesides said.

He touted the 1890 Program’s partnership with Mixon Seed Service.

“Mixon Seed developed our first joint cover crop mix … that’s conducive to the soils that we have. … So we have an 1890 mix and an 1890 salad mix. Our farmers have access to that right now from Mixon Seed that has our brand and Mixon Seed’s brand on it, also,” he said.

Cover crops are plant species planted either alone or in mixes that are used in between cash crop or vegetable crop plantings to benefit the soil and succeeding crops.

“Community partnerships are a big deal and improving the quality of life for all South Carolinians is really what our farm mission is,” Whitesides said.