Federal Response to Hurricane Helene

OMAHA (DTN) -- A group of 34 lawmakers from both parties and chambers in Congress representing Southeastern states wrote a letter Tuesday to congressional leaders to work with the Biden administration to provide disaster aid to agricultural producers following Hurricane Helene.

The letter comes after President Joe Biden indicated Monday that Congress will likely need to pass a supplemental disaster package to deal with the response to the historic hurricane.

Georgia lawmakers -- Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, and Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican -- led the letter. They cited the destruction of the Category 4 hurricane from Florida through the Carolinas, Kentucky and Tennessee and the damage to a range of agricultural sectors.

"To prevent deep and lasting economic damage to the agricultural industry in the southeastern United States, it is imperative that Congress make appropriations as soon as possible upon the completion of damage assessments to fully fund unmet agricultural disaster relief needs in our states and across the nation," the lawmakers wrote. "Farmers and growers nationwide, not only those damaged by Helene, have now faced multiple growing seasons without sufficient federal support. Our constituents are counting on us to act swiftly."

FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS GIVE UPDATE ON HURRICANE RESPONSE

On a call Tuesday, officials from multiple federal departments highlighted some of the response to the hurricane. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials said there are about 3,500 federal employees on the ground in the storm-damaged areas, providing everything from rescue assistance to helping deal with food and housing needs. FEMA officials encouraged people to "get the word out" that FEMA is available to provide assistance, said Daniel Llargues, FEMA's press secretary. He pushed back on suggestions that FEMA might not have enough resources to handle the demand for aid.

"We don't want anyone to think in any way, shape or form that FEMA is not well positioned to help with assistance and ready for our state partners," Llargues said.

Robert Bonnie, USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation, said farmers and livestock producers will face both short-term impacts and the longer-term impacts on their livelihoods that will last for potentially years.

In gauging the losses, Bonnie said, "We are still assessing the size and impacts to agriculture and forestry. We know they are significant."

Talking about agricultural impacts, Bonnie said farmers in states hit hardest by Hurricane Helene have roughly 20,000 crop insurance policies with about $7 billion in total liability. Some of the crops hit by the storm include corn, soybeans, cotton, peanuts and orchards, Bonnie said. Those policies will help producers recapture a percentage of lost income from their crops.

"That's only a portion of the impacts that we think agriculture will be hit by," he said.

USDA will streamline some documentation for its disaster and recovery programs, removing some of the environmental requirements and paperwork "so that we can help farmers with livestock, orchards, uninsured crops and other things," Bonnie said.

Along with crops, Bonnie pointed to the destruction facing poultry producers in the region as well. "There are dozens and dozens of poultry houses that have been knocked down."

Bonnie also referenced "significant losses in timber," noting USDA does not offer any kind of insurance to cover those losses. "There's a lot of timber on the ground."

Right now, USDA is working to open some of its conservation programs, such as funding under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

"Over the longer term, we'll work with communities through the Emergency Watershed Program to deal with the impacts of flooding," Bonnie said.

FSA local offices also are dealing with lost power and staff who also were affected by the storms. Bonnie said the department will provide "surge staff" from Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.

For producers in counties designated as disaster areas, USDA offers emergency loans. The department's emergency loan programs, however, drew criticism over the summer from officials in Iowa because the terms for farmers are not as good as zero-interest disaster loans offered by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

USDA also has a suite of permanent disaster programs for livestock producers. Bonnie encouraged livestock producers to apply for aid at their local offices -- once they are back up and running. Those payments then will take some time to process. "We will surge staff because of significant demand there."

Bonnie added USDA would be prepared to handle supplemental aid if Congress does choose to pass a package.

"We'll be prepared to do that as well. Those dollars can move relatively quickly depending on how Congress designs the type of assistance," he said.

USDA has members of the Forest Service and other agencies deployed in the region to help deal with problems such as tree removal and opening roads. Bonnie said the department also is working with FEMA to help with food assistance in affected states.

Producers affected by the storms also can reach out to the FSA call center at 877-508-8364.

DISASTER RESOURCES

-- USDA Farm Service Agency disaster programs. See, https://www.fsa.usda.gov/…

-- The American Red Cross is mobilizing disaster aid for the region. https://www.redcross.org/…

-- North Carolina Department of Agriculture: https://www.ncagr.gov/…

North Carolina Farm Bureau links to resources: https://www.ncfb.org/…

-- University of Florida Extension Assessment Survey https://ufl.qualtrics.com/…

-- University of Georgia Extension: Dealing with Pasture, Hay, Feed and Livestock Losses, https://extension.uga.edu/…

-- University of Tennessee Extension Resources for Disaster Recovery: https://utianews.tennessee.edu/…

Also see "North Carolina Farmer, Teacher Talks About Staying Connected and Sharing in Wake of Devastating Floods" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN

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