Macon, Ga – Today, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper and Georgia Development Authority Executive Director Thomas G. Carter announced the opening of the application period for the SAFETY 24 Hurricane Helene Relief Loan Program. This low-interest, emergency loan program will provide Georgia farmers impacted by Hurricane Helene essential funds to recover from damage, replace lost income, and continue farm operations until …
2024 King Cotton Awards
County UGA Cooperative Extension Service agents are an important resource for Georgia cotton farmers. Agents are known for delivering timely and accurate information, which is instrumental for the success of Georgia’s farmers. They also perform community specific research, education and outreach programs designed to help farmers maximize yields and efficiency. The Georgia Cotton Commission sponsored the King Cotton Awards to …
Can Yield Upside Risk Eclipse Price Downside Risk Protection in ECO Crop Insurance?
Producers can keep track of their price risk protection through revenue insurance in a given growing season by comparing the Harvest (Fall) Price to the Projected (Spring) Price determined by USDA-RMA. In the broader picture of a marketing plan, revenue crop insurances provide a form of price guarantee at a premium expense similar to locking in a price guarantee using …
Census of Agriculture Production Expenses for Southern States
The most recent agriculture Census defines total farm production expenses as “expenses provided by producers, partners, landlords (excluding property taxes), and production contractors for the farm business” (USDA/NASS, 2024). Based on Census data from 2017 to 2022, all southern states experienced higher overall production expenses (Table 1 in descending order based on change from 2017 to 2022). For 2017 to …
Cotton Losses from Hurricane Helene in Georgia
Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend of Florida on September 26, 2024 as a Category 4 Hurricane. It was one of the largest and fastest storms to ever make landfall in the continental United States, measuring around 350 to 420 miles wide, and moving up to 30 miles per hour over land. These factors are part of what …
Economic Assistance for the 2024 Crop Year Starting to Take Shape
As we have noted over the past few months (see here and here), there is growing pressure to complete a farm bill in advance of the 2025 crop year and to provide economic assistance for 2024 losses given the low levels of support being provided by the current farm bill extension. Hurricanes Helene and Milton have also resulted in renewed calls for natural disaster …
The Long Term Economic Struggles of Southern Cotton Farmers
Southern agriculture faces unique challenges, with limited crops that are both suitable and competitive in the region. Cotton, one of the major row crops in the Southern United States, has historically been favored for its drought resistance, making it well-suited to the region’s soil and weather conditions. Cotton is grown from Virginia to California across the southern U.S. In 2024, …
Knox – Why Hurricane Insurance is not Paying for many Producers’ Claims
Over the past couple of months I have received many questions about weather-related crop insurance and why the counties designated by the RMA do not match what they have experienced in their area. Producers are frustrated when they experience weather that they think clearly meets the requirements for the insurance and yet they are not considered as affected counties by …
Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index (HIP-WI) endorsement due to Hurricane Helene
Yesterday, USDA-RMA published a preliminary list of counties that triggered payments for the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index (HIP-WI) endorsement due to Hurricane Helene. Soon after that, we received calls from concerned producers, crop insurance agents, and others invested in the cotton industry regarding certain counties that had not triggered a payment. Commission staff reached out to the folks at RMA, …
Hurricane Helene Devastates Rural Southeast
With over 225 lives lost and many others still missing, Hurricane Helene’s devastation will cast a long shadow over affected communities. As the most powerful hurricane ever to strike Florida’s Big Bend region and the deadliest Atlantic storm since Hurricane Maria in 2017, Helene has left these communities not only grieving for lost loved ones but also grappling with the …
Considerations following Hurricane Helene
By: Camp Hand and Wade Parker In the days following Hurricane Helene, we have begun assessing damage and determining yield and quality losses associated with the storm. Unfortunately, this will take some time but myself, our county agents, and my team of graduate students and student workers are diligently working to get this data out. While we are waiting on …
The Losses are Mounting…and are Projected to get Worse
Over the last two weeks, row crop producers descended on the nation’s capital, lobbying for passage of a new farm bill and highlighting the need for ad hoc disaster assistance. If you do not personally live with the constant barrage of challenges facing our nation’s farmers and ranchers – ranging from droughts, wildfires, and hurricanes to inflation and market collapses …