Cody Simpson is the Commissioner South Carolina’s Agriculture Needs for our Future
Authored by the Family of Former South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Les Tindal
For generations, our family has been blessed to call South Carolina agriculture our life's work.
Our father, and grandfather, Commissioner Les Tindal, dedicated decades of service to South Carolina farmers and rural communities as South Carolina’s Commissioner of Agriculture from 1982 to 2002. Long after his time in office, our family remains actively involved in agriculture because farming is not simply an occupation. It is a way of life. It is a calling built on faith, hard work, stewardship, and a commitment to leave the land better than we found it.
Today, agriculture faces challenges unlike anything previous generations could have imagined.
South Carolina continues to lose farmland every year. Productive agricultural land is increasingly under pressure from development, industrial-scale solar projects, and other competing land uses. Foreign interests, including Chinese-owned entities, continue efforts to acquire agricultural assets across America. Large-scale data centers are consuming tremendous amounts of land, power, and water resources. At the same time, farmers are battling rising costs, labor shortages, burdensome regulations, and market uncertainty.
The future of South Carolina agriculture cannot be taken for granted.
That is why our family is supporting Cody Simpson for Commissioner of Agriculture.
Over the course of this campaign, we have watched Cody travel every corner of South Carolina listening to farmers, foresters, livestock producers, agribusiness owners, and rural families. He understands that the Commissioner's job is not merely to manage an agency. The Commissioner's job is to be agriculture's chief advocate. It is to fight every day for the people who feed and clothe our state and nation.
Most importantly, Cody understands what is at stake. He’s a fifth-generation farmer himself; it’s in his DNA. We’ve seen Cody and his care for farming from a young age. Commissioner Tindal served as Cody’s mentor and helped send him to the Commissioner’s School of Agriculture in 2008, and the Young America’s Foundation Conference in 2012.
Cody understands that food security is national security. He understands that South Carolina should never become dependent on foreign adversaries for the resources necessary to feed our families. He understands that once farmland is paved over or permanently converted to other uses, it is often lost forever.
He also understands something Commissioner Tindal always believed. Agriculture is not just about farmers.
Agriculture touches every South Carolinian.
It supports our tourism economy. It supplies our restaurants and grocery stores. It sustains thousands of jobs. It preserves the rural landscapes and traditions that make South Carolina unique. Our family has farmed in a small rural town for years, Cody too has farmed in a small rural town of Home Branch, South Carolina. And he knows that when the farm goes, there too goes the community in far too many instances.
The decisions we make today will determine whether future generations inherit thriving farms and rural communities or simply read about them in history books.
Our family believes Cody Simpson has the vision, energy, and commitment necessary to meet that challenge. And he has earned the full and complete endorsement of President Donald Trump.
South Carolina agriculture deserves a leader who will stand up for farmers, defend our farmland, protect our agricultural heritage, and ensure that agriculture remains a cornerstone of our state's future.
That is why we are proud to support Cody Simpson for Commissioner of Agriculture and respectfully ask for your vote.
The future of South Carolina agriculture is worth fighting for.
And we believe Cody Simpson is ready to lead that fight.
The Tindal Family
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