Agriculture in several mountain counties was severely affected by flooding from Hurricane Helene.
In the weeks after Helen, the WNC Regional Livestock Center in Canton, North Carolina, was filled with supplies instead of cattle. Farmers in the area said they lost dozens of cattle and much of their land.
Annie Ager and Addie Lalumondier run Hickory Nut Gap Farms, a nonprofit in Fairview, North Carolina organize.
“We get hay from local people, and then some of them lose it because of bad weather,” Adger said.
The pair said while their barn was not damaged, nothing else was.
“Other areas of the farm were severely damaged and, as Anne said, our access to hay was greatly affected,” La Loumondier said.
As word spread, hay was soon being piled around to help farmers in need recover.
“I was surprised by the number of people who donated,” Ajie said. “This is incredible.”
People come from all over to the animal husbandry center to deliver feed for the animals, and volunteers also bring needed materials.
“We just collect stuff and bring it here,” Billy Farmer said. He and his wife, Janice, made several trips from Georgia to help farmers in western North Carolina. “Now they need a lot of fencing,” Farmer said.
Billy said he and his wife especially wanted to help the animals. “This is livestock and animals – dogs, cats, chickens, horses, goats; they are people who cannot save themselves,” he said.
“Agriculture is pretty big” in Henderson County, said Terry Kelley, a fruit tree agent with the Henderson County Extension Office, who told News 13 the crop damage caused by Helen was “enormous.”
“Crop losses alone could easily exceed $50 million,” Kelly said.
Because Henderson County is also known for its apples and other perennial crops, including peaches and blackberries, Kelly said the damage from the storm went beyond the initial damage.
“These lost trees and plants, when they are replaced, we won't get any benefit from them for two to five years,” he said. “It's a very large loss and there are a lot of multipliers involved.”
Like many, Henderson County will seek assistance at all levels.
“The USDA has several programs that can help some of our farmers, and some of them are insured, so that's a great help as well,” Kelly said. “But that doesn't cover all the costs and all the losses.”
Kelly said he believes recovery will take a long time.
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