Source: NC Newsline
Hurricane Helene’s destruction in western North Carolina will have a lasting impact on communities and industries that call the mountainous region home.
For farmers, the hurricane caused insurmountable damage to land and crops. In Henderson County alone, early estimates have predicted a total loss of up to $50 million for the county’s 450 farms.
“It’s not just the crop loss. It’s the land,” Karen Blaedow, Henderson County’s horticultural agent, told WUNC. “Repairing the land is going to be the most costly part of the recovery.”
According to NC Newsline, North Carolina leaders have stated that acres of crops were swept down flooded rivers, topsoil has been washed away, and equipment and infrastructure are severely damaged.
“We’ve got a real mess on our hands in North Carolina agriculture,” Steve Troxler, Commissioner of Agriculture, told House lawmakers. “But we can fix it.
WUNC reports that federal relief programs such as the Tree Assistance Program or the Emergency Conservation Program, are available to help farmers remove debris, rebuild land, and replant crops.
From the state level, Governor Roy Cooper has proposed funding $422 million for agricultural relief and assistance with farmer recovery.
Despite calls from western North Carolina elected officials, advocates, and residents for further relief funding, Republican lawmakers are focusing on passing a bill that would strip powers away from the governor, attorney general, and other offices that Democrats won during the 2024 election.
“This bill really didn’t provide immediate and direct funding to western North Carolina,” Gov. Cooper told WCNC before vetoing the bill. “It simply moved some money around, saying that they were going to appropriate it later, that leaves small businesses hanging that are really in need of direct grants. It leaves local governments hanging and to bill this as a disaster recovery legislation, it’s really a disaster in and of itself because it’s just a massive power grab.”
