Farmers are still reeling months after Hurricane Helene ravaged crops across the South 2025

After Hurricane Helene destroyed crops across the South, farmers are still in shock.

AP/LYONS, GA — Chris Hopkins’ farm in Georgia is still covered in broken tree branches and twisted machinery almost two months after Hurricane Helene’s destructive march over the South.

About 300 feet (92 meters) of an irrigation sprinkler system was lying in a field, its steel pipes twisted and its welded joints shattered. Crumpled beside a road was the twisted remnant of a grain bin. The tractor-like equipment that harvests Hopkins’ cotton crop six rows at a time tugged stout limbs out of its way on a Friday in early December.

In rural Toombs County, around 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Savannah, Hopkins, who also farms maize and peanuts, said, “I have wrestled with lots of emotions the past two months.” Should we simply finish this one and call it a day? Do we rebuild? It’s emotionally taxing.

Farmers in the South, like Hopkins, are still in shock at Helene’s destruction. After making landfall in Florida on September 26 as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, the storm swiftly moved northward into Georgia and nearby states.

Experts predict that more than $10 billion will be spent by farmers, timber producers, and other agribusinesses from Florida to Virginia. In addition to direct expenditures like delayed output at cotton gins and poultry processing facilities, the toll also includes damaged crops, uprooted wood, damaged agricultural equipment, and mangled chicken homes.

Helene struck Hopkins and other cotton farmers just as the autumn harvest was beginning. In an attempt to save what was left of their crops, many postponed the majority of cleaning. “Staggering” losses in autumn vegetables, pecans, and cotton

Georgia farmers suffered storm losses of at least $5.5 billion, according to an analysis by the University of Georgia. In North Carolina, a state agency calculated farmers suffered $3.1 billion in crop losses and recovery costs after Helene brought record rainfall and flooding. Separate economic analyses of farm damage tallied losses of up to $630 million in Virginia, $452 million in South Carolina and $162 million in Florida.

Hopkins figures he lost half the cotton on his 1,400 acres (560 hectares).

“We were at the most vulnerable stage we could be,” he said. “The lint was open and fluffy and hanging there, waiting to be defoliated or picked. About 50% of the harvestable lint ended up on the ground.”

Hopkins said that he would not recover an estimated $430,000 in damages from his cotton crop alone, even with insurance. The expense of clearing away the debris, fixing or replacing broken equipment, and losing two small pecan orchards that were uprooted by the storm are not included in that.

Pecan orchards full of pecans, acres of blossoming cotton, and fields where autumn produce like squash and cucumbers awaited harvest were all torn apart by the storm. Thousands of hens were raised at a time in hundreds of big poultry buildings that were destroyed.

Tropical storm force winds extended out to 310 miles (499 kilometers) from Helene’s core, threatening farmers even further offshore.

Timothy Coolong, a professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia, described it as “stumbling.” “Some people may simply find this to be too much.”

With almost 200 fatalities, Helene was one of the worst storms to hit the United States in over 20 years. In the South, it caused damage or destruction to almost 100,000 dwellings. Will farmers get assistance soon enough?

In order to finance emergency loans to farmers and cleaning efforts after Helene, the Georgia government in November reallocated $100 million that had been allocated for building projects or debt repayment. For the next legislative session, Republican Governor Brian Kemp has prioritized more hurricane assistance.

However, Georgia’s constitution forbids providing direct disaster assistance to private citizens and companies using public monies.

Farmers will get billions in disaster assistance as part of a new agreement in Congress late Friday that would temporarily finance government operations.

Jeffrey Pridgen, a fifth-generation poultry farmer in Coffee County, south Georgia, said, “We need help, but we need it quick.”

Up to 20,000 hens might be raised at a time in each of Pridgen’s twelve poultry barns. Together with thousands of hens, Helene killed four of them. Only one of Pridgen’s homes is still functional; the rest have sustained significant damage.

According to Pridgen, each new chicken coop will cost around $450,000. He anticipates insurance to pay just half the cost since the majority of his were decades old.

Pridgen, 62, said, “I was considering retirement, but I lost both my retirement and my income in a single day.” “It will take two years for us to resume full operations. I’m essentially beginning again. “Everything was lost.”

Farmers in Georgia had to rebuild over 300 chicken houses and repair hundreds more, costing the state’s poultry sector an estimated $683 million.

According to him, the poultry processing facility that depends on Pridgen and other farms affected by the storm for hens is now only open four days a week.

“We’re in rebuilding mode for at least a year, maybe a little bit longer,” Georgia Poultry Federation President Mike Giles said. “That has a long-term impact on production in a region.”

According to Michael Adjemian, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Georgia, Helene’s destruction shouldn’t have a significant effect on consumer prices since most shortages can be compensated for by commodities produced elsewhere. One potential exception is pecans. Approximately one-third of U.S. output comes from Georgia.

Even a horrible storm like this would often have a little effect, Adjemian said. “And depending on the product, it might not even be noticeable.”

Georgia cotton producers lost around one-third of their harvest due to Helene, with $560 million in direct and indirect damages. Several were still recuperating from 2018’s Hurricane Michael.

According to Taylor Sills, executive director of the Georgia Cotton Commission, cotton producers were also dealing with poor prices this harvest season, which were around 70 cents per pound (0.45 kg). This meant that in order to make any money, they required a large yield.

“They were hit by a hurricane after terrible times,” Sills recalled. “Some individuals lost everything, while others did not.” However, everyone suffered a loss.