SC may not be the Peach State, but it does produce more peaches than Georgia, what to know

Did you know that The Palmetto State produces the most peaches in the South?

Georgia may be famously nicknamed “The Peach State,” but it falls behind South Carolina when it comes to producing the summery stone fruit. South Carolina produces the second-highest number of peaches in the United States , trailing only behind California , where growers supply nearly 76% of the country’s peaches.

According to the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture Data, South Carolina produced about 11% of the country’s peaches, followed by Georgia peaches, which made up nearly 4%.

Many locals have dubbed South Carolina “ The Tastier Peach State ,” playing on Georgia’s famous nickname.

Read more: When is peach season in South Carolina? Test your knowledge of peaches with our quiz

While Georgia has secured its reputation as the Peach State, South Carolina declared the peach its state fruit nearly a decade before Georgia. South Carolina recognized the peach as the state fruit in 1984 , while Georgia did not declare it the state fruit until 1995 .

Peaches have long been part of South Carolina's agricultural history, beginning with the Cherokee Indian tribes, who cultivated them in the region in the 1700s. After South Carolina’s colonization, peaches remained essential to the state’s agriculture.

In the late 1850s, botanist Henry William Ravenel of Aiken was the first to ship South Carolina peaches out of the state. Ravenel, who was born and grew up on Pooshee Plantation, enslaved people on his plantation and supported the Confederacy. According to his diaries, formerly enslaved people continued to work on his crops following the Emancipation Proclamation.

Georgia peaches were shipped out of the state in the early 1850s, but their peach production was growing, too. After the abolition of slavery, farmers searched for productive alternatives to labor-intensive cotton crops; among those were peaches, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia .

Similarly, peach trees also began to fill former cotton fields in South Carolina .

Today, peaches aren’t South Carolina’s largest crop, but they are an $80 million industry in the state, according to the South Carolina Peach Council.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture in 2022 , South Carolina had 273 peach farms spanning 20,500 acres across the state.

Many of those farms are still concentrated in the Upstate . While Saluda County has the largest number of peach acres in the state, more than 5,600, Spartanburg County leads the state in peach farms, 37. Aiken is second with 27, followed by Anderson with 24 and Greenville with 22.

Since 2004, South Carolina has produced more than 63,000 tons of peaches yearly, bringing about $1.3 billion in income to state growers.

Each year, South Carolina celebrates the state fruit with a festival held in Gaffney. In 2024, the festival took place in mid-July . Peach farmers, vendors and locals celebrated the festival’s 47 ^th year.

Farmers and locals celebrated healthy peach crops this year following a devastating dip in peach production last year. In 2023, South Carolina produced about 38,000 tons of peaches – only about 61% of the annual average after a late frost killed many budding fruits.

The Greenville News is presenting Peach Passion Week, featuring peach facts, history, and recipes. Follow along as we release articles each day.

Sarah Swetlik covers climate change and environmental issues in South Carolina's Upstate for The Greenville News. Reach her at sswetlik@gannett.com or on X at @sarahgswetlik .

Have a question for Sustainability with Sarah? Ask here or email sswetlik@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SC may not be the Peach State, but it does produce more peaches than Georgia, what to know