Local farmers navigate assistance for flood damage, USDA offering low-interest emergency loans

Oct. 29--Several years ago, Aiken County farmer Keith Evringham found what became his dream property nestled in a scenic wooded area of Salley.

Evringham, a retired equine practitioner from Ohio, spent the last years of his career practicing at racetracks and farms in New Jersey but when it was time to retire, found his way to South Carolina.

A horse trainer familiar with Aiken suggested Evringham stop in the area and after visiting his future property near Bailey Road, he knew it was home.

"We love the country. We love the people," Evringham said. "It's great footing and training for horses -- (there's) nothing here not to like as far as I'm concerned."

Around 2005, he and his friend, New Jersey resident Dennis Heard, purchased the 165-acre property that also included a 10-acre pond.

"The pond was the deciding factor," Evringham said. "There was a lot of land for sale but this was unique. It had everything we were looking for."

Today, the property -- now Most Times Farm -- is a timber farm with rows of pulp and lumber wood. However, Evringham's future goals that included cattle and horses have to be put on hold.

The farm's once beautiful pond has become a stream after this month's historic flooding breached a dam located under county-owned Hoover Road. Evringham lives 10 miles south of Aiken and remembers heading to the property during the weekend of the heavy rain.

"It sounded like Niagara Falls," he said.

The dam eventually broke, which damaged the road and left property owners wondering how, where and when funding will come from for repair.

"Right now, we're between a rock and a hard place -- literally," Heard said. "The road is gone and in some perfect world, an agency will hopefully tell our county: 'Here's money to fix the road and put the dam back.'"

Several government agencies are now offering aid to those affected by the state's flood. No county in the state has been approved for individual assistance from FEMA, but Aiken County has been approved for public assistance, according to its website.

Additionally, the United States Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday qualified Aiken County farmers and ranchers, or cattle owners, affected by the flooding are eligible for emergency loans. Farm operators can apply for low-interest emergency loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency.

Farmers must have at least 30 percent loss to qualify and should speak with loan officer Bud Farvis, according to Farm Service Agency county director Gibson Solomons.

The amount of the loan will depend on the operation, Solomons said, but loans go up to a 20-year term, with an interest rate around 3.75 percent that could change periodically. Farmers have eight months from the date of declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of the actual losses.

Officials advise county farmers to visit their office in the agricultural building located on 1555 Richland Avenue East, Suite 600 for more information on how to qualify for the loans.

Most Times Farm's loss is a bit unique and the recovery will be as well.

With a county road over the dam, Evringham thought the dam was also owned by the county but has discovered the county is responsible for one foot of the surface of the road and the rest belongs the property owners -- leaving them in an uninsured loss.

Though he insists he and his family in no way compare their loss to those who have lost lives and homes, it is one that is taking some time to navigate.

"It's a loss that we weren't prepared for," Evringham said. "How do you insure yourself for a flood when you're in the high grounds of South Carolina? You don't think of that, and I don't even know if it was an option."

He said he's been in contact with "almost every organization" from FEMA to USDA and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, but hasn't found how he fits in receiving assistance from the agencies.

As for USDA, the pond would have to be used for irrigation, crops or watering livestock, he said.

Evringham currently doesn't have an estimate for the damage but the pond has drained itself, resulting in a stream and a marsh. He said he has been in contact with a specialist and local engineers and has been told that it will take a major building project would be required to repair it.

"The problem is, if it's up to us, we're not rich, rich guys," Evringham said. "We're ordinary people, so it may be that we can't afford to put it back."

He's hoping if he can receive federal money, the property owners and the county can work together to restore the road and the dam.

While other farmers seeking direction on what to do next can attend a "Crop Damage Session" Friday morning at Clinton United Methodist Church, where they can meet with South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers.

S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, said he invited the commissioner to hear local farmers' stories first hand after the county lost three private dams that sent water over farm lands. The large amount of damage is in the part of the county located near the Orangeburg and Lexington County lines.

"Once the roads were blocked off -- some are being repaired -- it's important that the farmers who suffered the most damage have an opportunity to learn how to be assisted or what assistant programs there are," Taylor said. "Farming has huge risks based on the weather. The difference between not having a crop and a profit and having crop and profit is the difference in having a weekend and heavy rains."

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