Late last week, Hurricane Helene's 140mph wind and deadly floods left a 500 mile path of destruction from Florida to the Southern Appalachians. The storm has caused at least 130 deaths, and many officials fear the death toll may rise as many people remain unaccounted for.
According the the AP, an estimated 20 trillion gallons of water fell in Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Florida from Hurricane Helene. From cotton and pecans to poultry farms, the agriculture industry in the southeast has ben hit at a crucial time as they are approaching harvest for their commodities.
In Georgia, nearly every commodity was impacted, with cotton, pecans, poultry and timber the hardest hit. Georgia produces 88M pounds of pecans per year, more than any other state. The $400 million crop's majority of its production is located in southern Georgia, in the direct path of Hurricane Helene.
According to a statement by Matthew Agvest, communications director for the Georgia Department of Agriculture to Bloomberg, Hurricane Helene's damage is expected "to be more costly than Hurricane Michael in 2018, which caused $2.5 billion in agricultural damage."
"Producers are encouraged to document damage and losses before, during, and after cleanup as well as financial records of cleanup, repair, etc., as assistance and crop insurance may take some time. Industry leadership has been in touch with officials in Washington and Atlanta describing the effects of the storm. We ask that the public continue to keep farmers, farming communities, and the families of those who lost their lives in their thoughts and prayers" said Georgia Cotton Commission (GCC) Executive Director, Taylor R. Sills in a statement.
On Saturday, Georgia governor Brian Kemp said in a press conference that 107 poultry facilities had been “damaged or totally destroyed by the storm” and more than a dozen dairies have been affected.
“The future of hundreds of agricultural operations across Georgia is uncertain,” the state’s Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said in a letter to Georgia’s Congressional Delegation. The storm “could not have come at a worse time for our farmers and producers, who are already faced with record-setting drops in net farm income caused by inflation, high input costs, labor shortages, global competition and low commodity prices.”
In South Carolina, cotton harvest usually begins in late September. But with all the rain from the storms, cotton fiber will be reduced. And harvesting the tangled plants off the saturated soil won’t be an easy task.
“Cotton development varies greatly, with some fields ready to be defoliated while others are still a few weeks away,” said Michael Jones, Clemson Cooperative cotton specialist. “Most fields have open bolls at this time, so the storm will be an issue,” he said.
According to the USDA, farmers planted 225,000 acres of cotton in SOuth Carolina in 2024, up from 210,000 in 2023.
Across the southern U.S., “the crop losses alone could trigger $7 billion in insurance payouts, a US Department of Agriculture official estimated Tuesday,” reported Peng, Freitas Jr, Ari Natter, and Josh Saul to Bloomberg.
