NC Farmers Struggle To Overcome Hurricane Florence Losses

Jul. 1--While most of the physical repairs have been made, many Craven County farmers are still struggling to recover ground lost to Hurricane Florence.

According to Mike Carroll, Craven County Extension Agent, large-scale family farms producing grains, cotton, peanuts, sweet potatoes and tobacco have repaired most farm buildings and equipment from wind or flooding from Hurricane Florence. Carroll said a few farms are still working to fix homes, buildings or clean debris from fields.

From a financial perspective, however, local farmers are still struggling, said Carroll. While commodity prices have been depressed over the past five years, production expenses have been on the rise. During the same time period, multiple storms and other adverse weather conditions have greatly reduced or destroyed some field crops.

"Crop insurance payments provide assistance but are limited in coverage to only shallow losses. Also, potential insurance payments have been reduced over the years since payments are based upon a relatively short-term actual production history and this area has had multiple claims where the actual crop harvested was 50 percent or less than anticipated," explained Carroll.

Craven County field crop losses from Hurricane Florence have been estimated at between $10-$11 million, or approximately 35 percent of the county's annual sales for field crop production. Corn, soybeans, cotton, and peanuts all suffered losses exceeding 50 percent.

Statewide, crop losses amounted to approximately $1.1 billion.

Payments from the Hurricane Florence Agricultural Disaster Program of 2018 administered by the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Sciences have helped many farmers bridge the gap between actual loss and insurance payments, said Carroll, yet many farmers have struggled to obtain financing to continue their operations. In order to continue farming, some growers have been forced to refinance or sell their farms, many of which have been in their families for generations, noted Carroll.

Carroll said a small portion of local farmers were unable to qualify for low-interest loans available from the federal government. Adding even more stress and uncertainty are the recent tariffs and retaliatory actions taken by other countries that are driving down commodity prices, Carroll noted.

"Many of our larger family farms rely upon tobacco as primary income," he added. "Tobacco production declined from 15 percent to 80 percent depending upon the company offering contracts."

In contrast to large scale farming operations, only minimal insurance assistance is available for agritourism, smaller-scale farms, and producers of specialty crops such as vegetables, fruits, hemp, hay or turf, said Carroll.

"Insurance coverage for these types of operations are limited or non-existent due to the greater diversity and lack of adequate production history to qualify for traditional crop insurance," he commented. "Also, some of these operations, while a business, are treated as agricultural production and are not provided assistance through FEMA. With limited or no financial assistance available to aid in recovery, some may struggle to regain financial stability."

Blueberry production took a particularly heavy hit from Hurricane Florence. Carroll said the intrusion of saltwater from the storm contaminated equipment and destroyed some crops due to the elevated salt content of the soil.

"Since blueberry plants must be allowed three to five years of growth before first commercial harvest, this damage is still being evaluated," said Carroll. "Additional stress to these producers was added from freezing temperatures that destroyed early blooms. As with other agricultural producers facing slim profit, the added loss of income simply makes recovery from storm disasters more improbable."

One silver lining said Carroll, is that thanks to recent hurricane experience, Craven County farmers have become better prepared for future disasters. In addition to coordinating delivery of supplies and feed in advance of storms, farmers also have the option, when possible, of harvesting crops early for minor loss rather than severe losses. Local growers have also added storage for grains and can evacuate animals from flood zones prior to storm arrival.

"As for crop losses, well, there simply isn't much we can do to prepare or prevent damage," said Carroll.

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