After Hurricane Helen struck in late September, farmers across several Southeastern states suffered a multibillion-dollar economic hit to their land, crops, and livestock.
From pecans to tomatoes to livestock, farms across Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida have been destroyed by fast-moving floodwaters, mudslides and strong winds that hit unexpected areas. suffered damage.
“There's a guy in Unicoi County who had probably 500,000 pieces of equipment, tractors, hay harvesters, high-speed machinery, and we just had a barn that was completely destroyed in the flood that had 1,000 rolls of hay in it. We just got completely blown away,” Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation Field Services Director Stephen Huff told FOX News Digital. “And what he was going to feed the cows over the winter was hay.”
Hough said green tomatoes are scattered “all over the riverside countryside” that was flooded by heavy rain and wind during the hurricane.
Former North Carolina police officer delivers thousands of dollars in supplies and food to Helen survivors
Farms in the Southeast were devastated by Hurricane Helen. (Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation)
Some land is still too wet to even begin the purification process.
“It's absolutely devastating.”
“If you think about the landscape and how the rivers flow over the mountains from North Carolina to Tennessee, the water has to flow downhill. It's unfortunate that he's gone and he had to go somewhere else,” Huff explained. . “Many of the photos you see on social media and in the news are real.”
In eastern Tennessee, some land is still too wet for farmers to begin cleaning. (Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation)
said Virginia farmer Justin McClellan. virginia farm federation“It was unfortunate, but I didn't lose anything irreparable.”
“We lost an alfalfa field, about 1,000 feet of fence, almost a mile of roadway and several intersections,” he said. “But other people lost a lot more. We had tremendous flooding, but if you look at East Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina, we were lucky. ”
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Helen destroyed crop rows and farmland and killed livestock throughout the Southeast. (Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation)
But farmers in the hard-hit state have not lost hope and are receiving support from good Samaritans and other farmers across the country.
“The backbone of America, what America was built on, are the same people who are helping us get through this in 2024.”
“We're getting tons of hay from all over the country. …The backbone of America, the foundation of America, are the same people in 2024 who are helping us get through this period. “It really shows that there are still good people at the heart of humanity who can come together in times of need,” Hough said.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office is helping deliver hay by helicopter to Tennessee farmers in need. (Tennessee Department of Agriculture)
In a recent example, Ohio butcher Keller's Meats delivered donations valued at “well over $150,000” to North Carolina farmers on Tuesday.
Local law enforcement and the National Guard are also helping to deliver hay by helicopter to remote farms affected by severe flooding so farmers can continue to feed their animals.
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Local law enforcement and the National Guard are helping to deliver hay by helicopter to remote farms affected by severe flooding so farmers can continue to feed their animals. (Tennessee Department of Agriculture)
Huff estimates that in seven eastern Tennessee counties alone, Helen damage is costing “hundreds of millions of dollars and farmland destruction.”
The economic damage caused by Helen will likely be in the billions of dollars nationwide.
More than $14.8 billion worth of agricultural and livestock production was generated from the various counties affected by Helen, including $5.66 billion in Georgia and $3.06 billion in Florida. $2.64 billion in North Carolina and $2.54 billion in South Carolina. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the nation's largest agricultural organization.
This view shows the damage from Hurricane Helen in Irwin, Tennessee. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
“If just one-third of this production is lost, agricultural damage could approach $5 billion,” Daniel Munk, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said in an Oct. 8 analysis after the hurricane. “There is,” he said.
In Georgia alone, preliminary estimates from the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences put the total agricultural damage in the Peach State since Helen at about $6.46 billion.
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Floodwaters from Helen culminated in downtown Marshall, North Carolina, rising 87 feet above normal height. (Logan Clark)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide $5 million to Alabama, $12.8 million to Florida, $207.7 million to Georgia, $41 million to North Carolina, and $41 million to South Carolina to growers affected by Herren's disease. $4.1 million, with $61,000 in financial aid provided to the state of Virginia.
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“Several states in the Southeast experienced the devastating effects of Hurricane Helen, which caused significant damage just before the fall harvest season,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in an Oct. 15 statement. said. “The Biden-Harris Administration and the Department of Agriculture plan to support farmers through the long recovery process, including today's steps to make innovative types of coverage available and get funds into farmers' hands faster. Included.”
The American Farm Bureau Federation has List of state-specific remedies program For the peasants in the aftermath of Helen.
Please help those affected by Hurricanes Helen and Milton. Your donation allows the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to, and help people recover from these disasters. go to redcross.org/foxforward.
