This week marked six months since Hurricane Helene devastated rural communities in western North Carolina. The storm ravaged apple orchards in an area known as Apple Alley, in the southern hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Farmers fear that their greatest hurdles are yet to come, with the storm threatening their future. Growers are still waiting on federal and state aid to help them in the recovery process. One local Extension official says that farmers are growing frustrated, and he worries without direct payments arriving soon, many will give up.
Last week, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein signed a fourth spending package to help Helene survivors. That brings state relief to $1.4 billion.
Federal funding is even higher, with FEMA pledging $9 billion. State officials say damage from Helene could top $60 billion.
A congressional hearing on FEMA’s efforts was scheduled for this week but has been postponed with no new date set.
Dr. Mark Svoboda with the National Drought Mitigation Center discusses a new global drought report and resources to help operations increase drought resilience.
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Mexico’s tougher, two-step treatment and added checkpoints are catching cases before they can spread—good news for producers near the border.
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Jack Daniel’s will end its Cow Feeder Program, which served around 100 livestock operations near the distillery, and redirect spent grains to its anaerobic digester.
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