When you hear that Campbell Coxe of Darlington has re-introduced commercial rice production to South Carolina, you'll likely consider his effort pretty neat. And true, he has the best rice you'll ever taste; just ask Martha Stewart or Al Roker. But you really have to absorb the bigger picture to appreciate just how special Campbell's historical and cultural contribution really is.

An old adage nails Geechees, or Lowcountry natives: "This bunch has an awful lot in common with the Chinese. Both groups eat a lot of rice, worship their ancestors, and speak a language nobody else in the world understands." So when the low-carb diet fad hit our region, we dismissed that attempt to rob us of our rice and grits; we didn't need a doctor to tell us that scheme wasn't a healthy idea.

An anecdote about my own grandfather, Ben Walpole, a Johns Island farmer, truly puts in perspective Carolina's reliance on rice. You've heard of the victory gardens citizens were encouraged to plant in order to help the World War II effort. Well, Dandy, as we called him, knew that his position on the draft board did not exempt him from wartime rations, and he soon discovered that his family allotment of rice simply would not do.

So, amid his commercial vegetable operation, Dandy planted a stand of his own rice, not so much out of patriotism, but rather out of cultural preservation. And one of my father's first memories is of a bulging crocus sack of rice peeking beneath the cast-iron sink's curtain.

We owe our heritage to Dr. Henry Woodward, arguably our state's most important founding father. The circumstances through which Woodward acquired rice seed must be providential. A ship from Madagascar stopped in Charleston for repairs, the captain gave our Renaissance man some seed, and the rest is history, South Carolina history.

Campbell Coxe is Woodward's cultural heir and a model of a contemporary Southern Renaissance Man. Campbell is a fifth-generation farmer, and his family operates several antebellum plantations. In fact, Plumfield, where he grows his famed rice, is our state's oldest colonial plantation still under cultivation.

The Coxe family has just about raised it all. Campbell's grandfather tended cattle before Campbell and his father moved to cotton, soybeans and wheat. They still grow peanuts commercially. All along, the family has cut and sold timber, an operation which continues to thrive. Timber complimented the Roblyn's Neck Hunt Club, which has evolved from a private club to a commercial operation run from the old lumber commissary.

Campbell first tried his (green) hand at rice planting in order to attract waterfowl for hunters. He began giving the rice as Christmas gifts, and when this elect raved over it, he started growing rice commercially in 1997.

Harold Kelly is the company's official comptroller, but that title doesn't portray his true job description. "I do everything from cleaning deer and hogs to digging ditches, to giving rice tastings, to handling office accounts and updating Web-site capabilities." Harold sums up the mission statement of Campbell Coxe: "That man is all about preserving Southern traditions, especially those of South Carolina."

Like all true Carolinians, Campbell also is a historian. He came to realize something ironic about his state, though. "Plenty of people in South Carolina are making a living talking about rice," and while his preservationist attitude appreciates, and indeed depends on tourism, Campbell realized somebody in the state needs to be making a living by actually growing rice. After all, why should the western South grow our rice?

Even the fire-retardant rice husks are recyclable. Some is returned to the fields as organic matter while recent uses include horse stall bedding and insulation. Additional husks have been converted to rice paper, some of which Campbell displays at the office. "My next venture is making wallpaper out of rice husks," he enthusiastically envisions. "Wouldn't they just love rice-wallpaper in Charleston?!"

Campbell muses: "I feel like we're functioning in the true manner of a Southern plantation-by the real definition of the word, which is a self-sufficient way of life for a clan community of people in a remote location." In fact, the Coxe family cemetery is in the plantation churchyard. "There's something comforting about knowing that you'll end up right where you started."

This wasn't always Campbell's plan, though. "I was a geography major at Carolina, and I was off to see the world. Well, I'm still here!"

The plantation operation really is a family affair. Campbell explains his introduction to his bride Meredith. "She came out here for a dove hunt and just about shot every bird in sight. I knew I'd better get to know this little blonde with a ponytail." For their first date, Campbell took Meredith horseback riding. They now have two children, Cam and Hagood. When Cam graduates from college, he plans to return home as a sixth-generation farmer.

Despite this unique plantation lifestyle, Campbell defies stereotypes. While every bit a gentleman, Campbell Coxe is hardly a gentleman planter; he's a country boy farmer without a glimpse of pretense. "I'll tell you one thing: There aren't any hoop skirts or mint juleps around here", he reminds us, still squishing around in wet shoes and socks.

Rice is packaged in recycled boxes from Bennettsville. The decorative bag is made of cotton, because "we're cotton people," Campbell reminds us. His concern for the environment is evidenced in the farm's receipt of the state's first Green-e certification awarded by the EPA to "compan[ies] that purchase at least 50% of [their] total electric energy with renewable energy," according to the PeeDee Electric Cooperative.

next column =>

Once you see Campbell's ruddy complexion and experience his down-to-earth demeanor, you are convinced that Campbell Coxe is not merely performing a job or even living a way of life; you are witnessing a Southern soul who has embraced a spiritual calling.

When I toured Plumfield, Campbell exuberantly jumped in the wet rice field to exhibit his product. With muddy shoes and socks, he spoke with pride about the rice. "I just about bored myself to death when I was growing cotton and soybeans," he recalls.

"Back then, I never got to see the end consumer. What I love about this is getting to do the marketing and have customers see where the rice comes from. We grow it, harvest it, mill it, process it, market it and distribute it. The paper trail is all on this farm, and my name's on that bag. Now that's what I call from farm gate to dinner plate!"

Besides ordering directly, you can find Carolina Plantation Rice in Whole Foods Markets throughout the Southeast, in 60+ Fresh Markets as far off as Chicago, a number of Viking Culinary stores, Charleston Cooks, and other gourmet shops. If you want your rice prepared, dine at such establishments as Slightly North of Broad and Magnolia's in Charleston, Elizabeth's in Savannah, and Rosewood Market and Deli in Columbia.

Campbell grows two primary varieties of rice: 200 acres of Basmati aromatic and 30 acres of Carolina Gold. Aromatic has an enticing aroma while cooking, and as Harold says, "you only need rice, water, salt and pepper." Carolina Gold is the heirloom rice which made our colony, and later state, so wealthy. Prior to harvest, the grain has a deep yellow hue, and the rice was said to be worth its weight in gold, hence the name.

When we head towards the Great Pee Dee River, a steady hum catches our attention. Campbell points to the big diesel pump, which keeps river water in the fields. "That's genuine Darlington Tide," he jokes as he gestures towards the pump. Ironically, commercial rice was never grown here, but rather in coastal areas where tide influenced the fresh water rivers. One of his contract growers plants on the coast, and Campbell yearns for the day when rice makes its tidal comeback.

Carolina Plantation Rice is planted in mid-April and harvested around Labor Day. Like cotton, rice doesn't like cold weather, so Campbell welcomes a warm spring. Once rice is planted, water levels must be regulated daily, and diseases and insects are constant concerns. Therefore, he employs a crop rotation of corn to soybeans to rice. This rotation helps control weeds, and soybeans are a legume, which fix nitrogen into the soil. This practice allows Campbell to reduce his nitrogen (fertilizer) application.

A combine with tracks works the soggy field to harvest the rice, and the bottom of the plant is left several months, or double-cropped as a wildlife feast. Rice is harvested while wet to prevent the grain from cracking, air-dried to 13 percent moisture, and milled in early October.

But rice production and hunting aren't the only activities going on here. Campbell plants corn, which he mills for grits; peanuts; and no-till cowpeas that are seeded in cotton stubble.

No-till practices minimize labor and energy costs, prevent erosion, and allow soil to retain moisture. And, "the more you till the soil, the more you spread fire ants," Campbell indicates. "No-till is ugly farming, but it's better for the environment," he continues. Campbell explains that cover, not food, is essential for bringing back wildlife such as quail. Thus, he allows filter strips 120' wide for sanctuary and brood-rearing.

"Cowpeas are the true hoppin' john pea, not black-eyed peas," Campbell teaches. Harold points out that besides possessing superior taste, cowpeas have a better structure and don't turn to mush as do black-eyed peas.

Cowpeas were brought from Africa to protect the health of slaves by preserving their natural diet. And on the plantation, slaves cultivated personal parcels of rice. Campbell grows ironclad peas, a great source of organic matter for the soil. Or, after harvest, the pea vines can be windrowed and baled for hay. Leftover peas are packaged and sold to deer hunters.

"One of our biggest challenges is figuring out ways to utilize by-product," Campbell continues. Cracked rice is used to make rice flour, run through the plantation's grits mill. Campbell considers rice flour superior, as it is not "cakey," but rather has a light, thin crust. Rice bran is high in protein, fiber, oil, and vitamins. Once extracted for the production of white rice, the bran is off to the hunting lodge, where it's used to bake pie crusts and cookies.