Hurricane Helene: 'Backbone of America' helping farmers across Southeast who lost billions in crops, land
Hurricane Helene has devastated farmland and killed livestock across the Southeast. Experts estimate agricultural damages from the hurricane could be billions of dollars.
Farmers across multiple southeastern states have taken a multibillion-dollar financial hit to their land, produce and animals after Hurricane Helene struck in late September.
From pecans to tomatoes to livestock, various farms in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida were devastated by rapidly moving floodwaters, mudslides and powerful winds that blew over the region unexpectedly.
"There's a guy in Unicoi County that probably had half a million in equipment — tractors and hay harvesting and high-rolling equipment — just totally destroyed by the flood, and a barn that had a thousand rolls of hay just totally wiped away," Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation Field Services Director Steven Huff told Fox News Digital. "And it was hay that he was going to feed his cattle through the winter."
Green tomatoes are scattered "all over the countryside along those rivers" that flooded when heavy rains and wind came through during the hurricane, Huff said.
Some land is still too wet to even begin the cleanup process.
"The way the landscape is and how the rivers flow from North Carolina over to Tennessee, just over the mountain … water's got to run downhill. It's just unfortunate that we're downhill from that, and it had to go somewhere," Huff explained. "A lot of the pictures that you're seeing on social media and on the news are real."
Virginia farmer Justin McClellan told the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, "As bad as it was, I haven’t lost a thing that can’t be put back."
"We lost an alfalfa field, about 1,000 feet of fence, almost a mile of roadway and several crossings," he said. "But other folks lost a whole lot more. We got a tremendous flood, but when you look at East Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina, we’re fortunate."
But farmers in hard-hit states have not lost hope, and they are receiving help from good Samaritans and other farmers all over the country.
"We've got a great supply of hay coming in from all across the country. … The backbone of America — what America was built on — are the same folks in 2024 that are helping us get through this time, and it really shows you the heart of humankind and that there's still good folks out there who can come together when they need to," Huff said.
In a recent example, an Ohio butcher shop called Keller’s Meats delivered "well over $150,000" worth of donations to North Carolina farmers on Tuesday.
Local law enforcement and the National Guard have also been helping deliver hay via helicopter to remote farm locations impacted by severe flooding so that farmers can continue to feed their animals.
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In seven counties in eastern Tennessee alone, Huff estimates "several hundred million dollars and devastation to agricultural land" due to Helene damage.
The financial devastation from Helene is likely in the billions nationally.
More than $14.8 billion worth of crop and livestock production comes out of the various counties impacted by Helene, including $5.66 billion in production value out of Georgia, $3.06 billion out of Florida, $2.64 billion out of North Carolina and $2.54 billion out of South Carolina, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the largest farm group in the United States.
"If just one-third of this output were lost, agricultural damages could reach nearly $5 billion," American Farm Bureau Federation economist Daniel Munch wrote in an Oct. 8 post-hurricane analysis.
In Georgia alone, a preliminary estimate from the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences suggests about $6.46 billion in agricultural damage across the Peach State after Helene.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering financial assistance to producers impacted by Helene, including $5 million for Alabama, $12.8 million for Florida, $207.7 million for Georgia, $41 million for North Carolina, $4.1 million for South Carolina and $61,000 for Virginia.
"Several states across the southeast experienced devastating damages from Hurricane Helene, which caused significant destruction right before the fall harvest season," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in an Oct. 15 statement. "The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA will support farmers through the recovery process for the long haul, and this includes today’s step of making innovative types of coverage available and getting funds into the hands of producers quickly."
The American Farm Bureau Federation has a list of state-specific relief programs for farmers in the aftermath of Helene.
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