The American Farm Bureau has released new estimates showing Hurricane Helene’s unique impact on rural America and agriculture.
While these numbers are not exact, they take into account the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture and power outage data after the storm. The Farm Bureau says that poultry was most likely the hardest hit industry, with an estimated $6.3 billion in poultry products impacted.
The storm’s path also hit counties heavily involved in fruit and tree nut production, with a value of nearly $2 billion annually.
More than $800 million of that is berry production. Georgia is the second-largest blueberry-producing state in the nation while Florida accounts for 13% of the country’s strawberry production.
Georgia also plays a key role in pecan production. Preliminary data from the University of Georgia suggests up to 70% of the state’s older pecan trees were lost, with affected counties making up about 23% of Georgia’s pecan acreage.
The counties affected by Hurricane Helen account for $14.8 billion worth of agricultural production with nearly 97,000 farms most likely impacted. The Farm Bureau says that federal disaster relief programs will be critical in the long recovery process ahead.
