DATE:     12/29/98
CONTACT:  Dr. DeWitt Gooden, (843) 662-3526
WRITER:   Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343

S.C. Tobacco Growers Honored

     CHARLESTON -- Three South Carolina tobacco producers have
been recognized for the quality of their crops.
     David DeWitt of Darlington, David Drew of Mullins and Brice
Williamson of Lake City received the Philip Morris Award of
Excellence in Tobacco Production during a recent awards dinner in
Charleston.
     The awards program is sponsored by Philip Morris USA and
conducted by the Clemson University Cooperative Extension
Service, according to DeWitt Gooden, Extension tobacco
specialist. The program recognizes growers between the ages of 21
and 40 for superior crop production and community service.
     The winners were chosen by farmers, agricultural company
representatives and county agents. Each received a check for
$1,000 and a plaque.
     DeWitt, 31, is one of the shareholders in DeWitt Farms Inc.,
a family owned corporation that also includes his father and an
uncle. The farm grows about 100 acres of flue-cured tobacco along
with cotton, soybeans, corn, canola and wheat.
     He and his wife, the former Emery Allen, are the parents of
two children -- Allen, 5, and Kemp, 1. He is active in the Farm
Bureau, the S.C./Darlington Young Farmers organization, the
Sandhills IPTAY Club, the Republican Party and in Pisgah United
Methodist Church.
     DeWitt Farms uses mechanized production practices as much as
possible. They own a farm supply store that helps them to hold
down the cost of crop inputs.
     "Two years ago we built a greenhouse, and I believe that
this has reduced our labor and improved our transplants for a
healthier and more uniform crop," said DeWitt, who earned a B.S.
in agricultural mechanization and business from Clemson
University in 1989. Drew, 33, farms about 2,100 acres in Marion
County with his father, Charles, and his brother, Robert. They
grew 225 acres of tobacco in 1998. They also produce cotton,
soybeans and beef cattle.
     He and his wife Leslie are the parents of two children --
Nancy, 6, and David, 1. He participates in the S.C. Tobacco
Growers Association, the Clemson Extension Agricultural Program
Advisory Committee, the S.C. Farm Bureau and the Backwoods Quail
Club.
     The Drews divide crop responsibilities. David concentrates
on producing the tobacco and his father cures it. David also does
the paperwork and the marketing for soybeans, cotton and tobacco.
     Drew was the Lancaster Sunbelt Farmer of the Year for South
Carolina. The farm uses a greenhouse to produce transplants and
box barns for curing. They rely on a center pivot for irrigation.
     He said tobacco keeps the farm in operation.
     "We are dependent on tobacco because of our soil types and
weather," he said.
     Williamson, 36, farms by himself. His 30 acres of tobacco
are the core of his operation, but he also has soybeans, rye,
oats, hay and pasture to support a 170-head cow/calf herd.
     He and his wife Nancy are parents of one child -- Evan,
almost 1. Williamson is a member of the S.C. Farm Bureau board of
directors, has served the bureau board as secretary/treasurer and
has served on the bureau's State Beef and Young Farmer
committees. The Williamsons are members of First Baptist Church
in Kingstree.
     He earned a B.S. degree in pharmacy from the University of
South Carolina in 1986 and is a member of state and national
pharmaceutical associations. Since 1992 he has worked part time
as a pharmacist so he can concentrate on his tobacco crop.
     "I am still growing in the size of my livestock operation,
mainly for the sake of diversification," he said, "but tobacco is
and always has been the priority."
                               END