Colleton Leads S.C. in 2007 Timber Dollars

The timber harvested in Colleton County in 2007 had a value of just over $41 million dollars according to the Timber Products Output (TPO) report, which is produced jointly by the S.C. Forestry Commission and the U.S. Forest Service. Colleton County has 502,887 acres of forestland or roughly 74% of the county, with only Berkeley County listed as having more forestland with 529,484-acres. Georgetown County was second on the TPO list with 419,907 acres generating $40 million in timber revenue. Rounding out the top ten category were Fairfield County, Newberry County, Hampton County, Horry County, Williamsburg County, Jasper County, Orangeburg County and Edgefield County. With so many of our Lowcountry counties making a prominent showing in the timber dollars category, I am wondering if this is a derivative from the conservation movement that preserves our natural resources. Certainly Colleton County has a chance to remain atop the TPO standings in the future given the thousands of acres preserved in the ACE Basin. Agribusiness is the combination of forestry and agriculture, and together they generate $30 billion in yearly revenue for the state and provide over 200,000 jobs.  S.C. Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers is developing a strategic plan designed to grow the industry to $50 billion by 2020