Wells Fargo Foundation Awards $600,000 To Fund Tech Grants for South Carolina Farmers

The Wells Fargo Foundation will distribute $600,000 through grants. Fourteen South Carolina farmers or startup companies will each receive $30,000 for tech projects. The Cultivating Innovation in SC Agribusiness Program exists to sustain the state's $52 billion agriculture sector.

Applications open Dec. 1. They close just before midnight Feb. 2, 2026. An information webinar is scheduled at 4 p.m. on Dec. 4.

"Our funding reflects a clear belief that supporting small farmers and agribusiness is essential to South Carolina's economy and our future," said Pam Bryant, a vice president of philanthropy at the foundation, according to South Carolina Daily Gazette.

The South Carolina Research Authority will run the program with the state Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Small Business Administration-supported Small Business Development Center. This initiative works like seed money or an angel investment to get projects started.

The donation also pays for training sessions. Topics include intellectual property and fundraising for next steps after grants end.

Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers said tech and farming have become synonymous. He pointed to optics that grade peaches. Drones with infrared tech now monitor crop health and spray for weeds.

"Because of the challenges for agriculture, we have to think smarter going forward than we have up until today," said Weathers.

Iris Barham runs Milky Way Farm in Anderson County with her father and brother. Robots milk their 120 dairy cows. Barham plans to apply for a grant to buy a robot that feeds calves.

"Each step is to improve the welfare of the animals on our farm, but also to improve the quality of life of the people that are working our farm," said Barham.

Her family received a $25,000 grant in 2021 from the state's Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship. That money helped buy a $200,000 robotic milker.

The state agriculture agency has given out similar grants since 2018 through ACRE. In the most recent round announced in May, a dozen farms received $200,000 in state funding. Recipients included Kindlewood Farms in Walterboro for a greenhouse, Harvest Moon Farm and Flower in Pelzer for a farm store, and Old McCaskill's Farm in Rembert for freeze-dried meals.