Hurricane Helene Damages Georgia Cattle

Becky Mills
Contributing Editor

GIBSON, Ga. (DTN) -- When Ben Hadden's 16-year-old son, Byce, called to tell him he'd found a cow killed by a falling tree, Hadden's expression hardly changed. No doubt, the Gibson, Georgia, farmer cared about the lovely, bred Angus-Gelbvieh cow, but after seeing miles and miles of fence destroyed and most of his 1,900 acres of row crops and timber damaged beyond salvaging, one more loss from Hurricane Helene barely registered.

As soon as the hurricane passed during the early morning of Friday, Sept. 27, Warren County, Georgia Extension Coordinator Tammy Cheely and her husband, Robert, had to saw their way through a mile of downed trees to get off their farm, but other than cutting the fence so their cows could get to a pond to drink, there was no time to study on their losses. To use a politically correct term, Warrenton is underserved. The more accurate one is it is poor. When there is no power, there is no school. And when there is no school, there is no food for many of the students.

EVERYONE WORKS TOGETHER

Normally the Cheelys would run to Sam's Club in Augusta, 40 miles away, to stock up on groceries for the kids, but that city, too, was slammed by Helene. Instead, they've had to go to Athens, a 65-mile drive on two-lane roads.

Joe Newton Jr. is having a hard time not taking the hurricane personally. His youngest son, Alex, was living in Atlanta and working in construction to save up money so he could come back to the Thomson operation. With Cheely's help, the 30-year-old had mapped out a business plan for the replacement heifer enterprise and pasture-to-plate finishing venture. On Halloween of 2016, Alex ran back to his apartment during the day and surprised a burglar, who murdered him.

To help try to make some meaning out of their horrific loss, Newton and his wife, Beth, started a charitable foundation named Something for Alex. Many of the fundraisers are held on their scenic farm where Alex is buried. Now, the huge, downed pecan and oak trees not only make working the Braford cattle impossible, but the 5K run in October is a no-go. So is the tower shoot planned for February. The man who supplies the pheasants called to say they had all been killed by the storm.

VICTIMS ARE MAKING A PLAN

Five days after the hurricane, Cheely and the producers are trying to work out a plan. "The fences are first, the fencing damage alone is astronomical. We desperately need T-posts and barbed wire. I'm also urging producers not to sell their cattle if they can help it. I already know of one herd being sold at the stockyard because the cattleman has no way to keep the cattle in."

"I'm also telling them to take pictures and keep receipts of everything until we see if we can get any help." At this point, Cheely can't even get a firm answer from USDA on whether producers can string up a one-strand solar-powered electric fence and turn cows in to graze their ruined cotton.

In Glascock County, population 3,000, Hadden and his right-hand man, Luke Davis, had to tackle another herculean task before they could start on fences. The county only has a three-man road crew and two of the men are social security age. Hadden, Davis and other volunteers with heavy equipment started on the roads first.

"If somebody had a heart attack or fire, there was no way to get an ambulance or fire truck to them," said Davis. "There were places you couldn't even see the asphalt for 100 to 200 yards." To make it even tougher, the volunteers couldn't communicate with each other because there was no cell service.

In two days, every road in the county that had houses on it was cleared. Hadden said, "We worked relentlessly. If there was a driveway blocked by trees, and we knew an elderly person lived there, we cleared it, too."

THE WORK BEGINS

Newton is starting to chip away at the trees with a newly purchased Stihl chainsaw, which took a 100-mile roundtrip drive to even get gas to power it, but other than clearing the road to the farm, he's barely been able to make a dent in the damage. He had a textbook 15 paddock rotational grazing system set up, but said, "I haven't even been able to get to half the place." Instead, he's turned his cows in one paddock where they can get to a pond to drink since the electricity-driven pumps at the concrete water troughs are out of commission until power is restored. "It took me two days to clean up around the pond." He added, "I've got to re-think how to use the paddocks. I had places that had shade that don't now. I'm 68 years old. When I put this fence up, I thought I'd never have to put it up again."

Cheely, in addition to her county agent role, functions as a sister/mother/best friend to her producers and was working impossible hours before the hurricane. Still, she said, "I'm tired and weary, but hopeful. Every day gets a little better."

-- To find out how to help the Georgia producers, contact:

Georgia Cattlemen's Association, 478-474-6560, https://www.georgiacattlemen.org/…

-- To donate directly to the producers in Warren and Glascock Counties, contact:

Tammy Cheely, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent, County Extension Coordinator

P.O. Box 186, 48 Warren Street

Warrenton, GA 30828

706-465-2136 (office)

706-466-0154 (cell)

tcheely@uga.edu

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