Almost a year after Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina, Tar Heel State farmers have some more financial help coming their way.
Most recently, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden announced $221.2 million in USDA funding to provide recovery assistance to eligible North Carolina farmers.
“Today’s announcement is about delivering on our promise to stand shoulder to shoulder with America’s farmers in times of need. By signing this block grant with North Carolina, USDA is ensuring that producers have the resources to rebuild stronger after Hurricane Helene and keep producing the food and fuel our nation depends on,” Vaden said.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) will get the funding through a block grant from USDA to administer a program covering eligible infrastructure, timber, market, and future-year revenue losses.
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler called the announcement “welcomed news to North Carolina farmers in western North Carolina who have been holding on in the aftermath of massive ag losses in 2024.”
The block grant comes from the $30 billion disaster assistance relief effort authorized by the American Relief Act, 2025.
Funds Will Help Fill Gaps
According to USDA’s statement, the agency and NCDA&CS have finalized an agreement to cover qualifying losses that haven’t been addressed by other USDA disaster programs.
Terry Kelley with North Carolina’s Henderson County Cooperative Extension explained that the funds will also help fill in gaps left by the state’s 2024 Ag Disaster Crop Loss funding, which began to be disbursed at the end of last month.
“I think particularly, it’s going to help some of our agritourism folks who really lost a lot of revenue — that wasn’t part of the state recovery plan,” he said. “It’s going to be beneficial to them for sure.”
“We had a lot of nurseries and a lot of orchards that lost mature trees. It will take anywhere from 2–7 years to get those trees back to the point that they were at,” Kelley said. “This funding will help cover the lost revenue until those growers get back into production.”
Besides the amount of time it’s likely going to take for the block grant money to actually get into the hands of producers, the response in Henderson County has been positive. “I think, in general, people are very happy,” Kelley said.
“It’s a good number,” he said. “We would have always hoped that it might have been a little higher because we know there are just lots of damages out there and lots of losses,” he added.
Kelley said once the application process is launched, local Extension staff will be available if producers need help applying.
“Because we are county-based and we know the producers, we have the capacity to help them out with things like this. It just makes sense for us to be involved in it,” Kelley said.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
In case you don’t recall, western North Carolina was virtually wiped out by Hurricane Helene. Crop damage was both immediate and long-lasting. For instance, fruit production was devastated, and it will take years to re-establish. Similarly, livestock production was also destroyed in several of the affected areas of the state. This money will help people get back on their feet, but unfortunately some will never recover.
Many of the farmers/ranchers impacted by Helene also lost their trucks. That means they will be looking for some reliable used or even new vehicles to take the place of their storm damaged pickups. Be sure, especially if you market in this area, to put your inventory on AgTruckTrader.com® so it is visible when the grants are distributed.
