Dive Brief:
- Farmers in Georgia face billions of dollars in preliminary losses from destructive Hurricane Helene in what could be a catastrophic blow to the state’s agriculture industry.
- Agricultural damages are expected to reach at least $6.46 billion, according to an early estimate from the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences. The total is based on crop losses, plus losses to businesses and workers supporting agriculture and estimated recovery costs.’
- Estimated losses are approximately three times that of Hurricane Michael in 2018, which caused at least $2 billion in damages and was considered one of the most destructive storms to hit the state.
Dive Insight:
Farmers in Georgia and across the Southeast face a long and challenging road to recovery from Helene’s destructive wake.
Close to 100,000 farms were in the direct path of the hurricane, including more than an estimated 17,000 in Georgia, according to models from the American Farm Bureau Federation. Counties in the states affected by the hurricane generate $14.8 billion in crop and livestock production, with Georgia making up more than a third of that total.
While it’s still too early to assess the full extent of losses, Georgia’s agriculture industry appears to be hit hardest by the storm. Helene has left significant damage to some of the state’s top commodities, including poultry, pecans, blueberries, strawberries and cotton.
Andrew Sawyer, who monitors pecan production at the University of Georgia, saw orchards with up to 90% tree loss, with older trees most affected.
“The corridor of damage is very long and wide,” Sawyer said in an update after touring farms across Southeast Georgia.
The destruction of mature trees could take up to a decade to replace, according to the Farm Bureau. Beyond pecans and other specialty crops, Georgia’s poultry operations are also recovering from devastation that could take years.
Georgia and North Carolina together account for more than a quarter of the U.S. broiler supply by value, and more than 80% of poultry production value is concentrated in the most severely affected counties, according to the Farm Bureau. Damage to broiler houses could limit chicken supply for months, if not years, as farms rebuild facilities.
“Right now, the future is uncertain for thousands of Georgia farmers and farm families who were devastated by Hurricane Helene,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said in a statement.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture and more than 40 farm organizations have created a relief fund for the state’s family farms. Donations to the Weathered But Strong: Hurricane Relief Fund will go toward providing direct assistance to Georgia farmers recovering from the storm.