SC Media Getting A Tour of New Prison Dairy

4:44 AM, Jul 26, 2010   |    comments
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REMBERT, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina prisons officials say their farms cut down on inmate food costs, and now members of the media are getting a chance to see some of those facilities up close.

The state Department of Corrections is holding a media tour Monday at its Wateree River Correctional Institution in Rembert.

Reporters can tour the 7,000-acre farm's sweet potato fields, cattle pastures and a gristmill that grinds corn into grits. There's also a sneak peek at the agency's new dairy.

The 27-acre, $7 million complex of barns and milking parlors is set to open in January and will increase prison milk production to more than 2 million gallons a year.

Officials say sales of extra milk will help defray the dairy's construction costs and make money to run the state's prisons.