NC Farmers Pull Together After Helene

OMAHA (DTN) -- Sarah Clayton (no relation to the author) was sitting in a pickup Monday afternoon at one of the few hotspots in her county where she and her husband could pick up a few bars of cellular phone service.

"We've been coming here every few days or so to check messages and call family that are out of town just to get information out and get information in," Clayton said.

A cattle producer and agriculture teacher at Brevard High School in Transylvania County, North Carolina -- about 35 miles south of Asheville -- Clayton has spent the last few days just trying to stay connected with other area farmers and help coordinate some relief. The local Tractor Supply has also been one of the few spots in the area where people can gather and get supplies.

Clayton said farmers in her county had not yet started harvesting corn, but most of it is gone at this point.

"It's pretty catastrophic. We've pretty much lost all our crops."

Brevard is just one spot on the map where local farmers and ranchers in the Southeast are trying to cope in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

President Joe Biden on Monday called Hurricane Helene "historic" in its destruction and suggested the need for a supplemental disaster package to help with immediate relief. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., the chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, also on Monday called for emergency assistance for farmers, ranchers and rural communities dealing with the hurricane's destruction.

See "Biden Suggests Congress May Need to Pass Aid Package After 'Historic' Hurricane Helene" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Clayton said she and her husband have been trying to check on other producers in the area, but there are few lines of communication. Just a few small spots have cell service, and that is drawing people.

"So that's what my husband and I have been doing this afternoon is trying to get to different locations where we know folks that have not checked in. The water is still very high in lots of areas, and it's a struggle for us. Trees are down, power lines are down and have cut off access to roads," Clayton said.

Brevard is a rural area, and the farmers are well connected with each other. Producers in the area also are sharing resources with each other. Right now, hay is a big issue for a lot of area farmers with a lot of cattle and horses in the area. One of the bigger hay suppliers in the area also lost a large percentage of his round bales in the French Broad River, one of the dozens of flooded rivers and streams in the region.

"So, it kind of shows you the heart of farmers because a lot is being shared right now as much as we can. Feed is kind of the same way."

Clayton had stocked up on grain last week and was able to take a couple of loads to another producer who lost everything.

Producers also are realizing the lack of power has made it harder to keep livestock in pastures. Clayton put in a request for people in other areas to provide solar-powered fence chargers.

"A lot of cattle and livestock are being kept with electric fencing. We don't have power, so we don't have any electric fencing. Thankfully, my cows haven't figured that out yet, but it won't take long before one of them accidentally touches the fence and realizes it's not on. Then we'll have loose cattle and other livestock everywhere."

The local Tractor Supply has been operating off and on with a small generator, she said. "We checked on four or five farmers just at that Tractor Supply. So, my sister and I were joking, 'You know, if you need to check on your farmer friends, just go stand at the Tractor Supply for an hour,' because it seems like everybody heard that the Tractor Supply was open and rushed there to get what they need."

As of Monday afternoon, it was hard to get any kind of shipments into the area such as extra food and water. "So, we've had no relief come into this area for farmers because getting here has been impossible," Clayton said.

Like some other areas, a local AM radio station, WGCR Radio, operated by the Anchor Baptist Church, has become an emergency hub where the National Guard arrived on Monday.

"We're able to get in our vehicles and turn on the radio station, but as far as knowing news, we can't turn on television or get on social media, anything like that."

Clayton's FFA program operates a farm that includes beef cattle, meat goats and row crops. The local school board met Monday and concluded it would probably take two weeks to reopen the school. Clayton said it will be a challenge for at least some students in the area.

"For some kids, that school is their home, it's their community. They don't have a great home life. They come to school because that's where they are loved, and that's where they get fed two meals a day," Clayton said. "So, as a teacher, that's very hard to swallow."

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

Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN

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