More help is on the way to farmers who were affected by Hurricane Helene last year.
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden signed the $221 million North Carolina Disaster Block Grant for Helene at the North Carolina Mountain State Fair in Fletcher on Friday.
The grant, which will apply to the 39 counties that received a Presidential Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Helene, is for production losses not covered by USDA programs or crop insurance. The program will cover four categories of eligible losses: infrastructure damage, market losses, future economic losses, and timber losses.
“This $221 million federal disaster assistance block grant for agricultural damage due to Hurricane Helene is welcomed news to North Carolina farmers in Western North Carolina who have been holding on in the aftermath of massive ag losses in 2024,” Troxler said in a press release. “We are grateful for USDA’s continued efforts on this block grant and appreciate their willingness to partner with us on this much needed assistance. We all have an interest in the success of agriculture because farmers produce the food and fiber we all depend on.”
To receive funding, certain producers may have to agree to acquire and maintain USDA Risk Management coverage for two crop years for market loss, future economic loss, plasticulture, and aquaculture claims.
“We are currently creating the program work plan and application in coordination with USDA. Once we have approval for the plan, we will work as quickly as possible to distribute this money to impacted farmers,” Troxler added. “As more information about the program is available, it will be posted on our website at www.ncagr.gov/agdisaster. In the meantime, I encourage those in the eligible counties to gather documentation of losses to assist in the application process.”
The grant is another way of getting much needed funds to farmers who were hit hard in 2024.
On July 9, the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) opened for farmers who were affected by natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.
The $16 billion SDRP provides financial assistance to eligible producers facing losses in revenue, crop quality, or production caused by weather-related events in 2023 and 2024. The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) distributes this aid in two phases. Depending on the nature and timing of their losses, producers may qualify for payments in both phases and for either or both years.
“American farmers are no stranger to natural disasters that cause losses that leave no region or crop unscathed. Under President Trump’s leadership, USDA has worked around the clock to deliver this relief directly to our farmers,” said Brooke Rollins, secretary of the US Department of Agriculture, in a press release. “We are taking swift action to ensure farmers will have the resources they need to continue to produce the safest, most reliable, and most abundant food supply in the world.”