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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
In the early hours September 27th, Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on south, southeast, east and parts of central Georgia and made an exceptionally damaging impact on farms. Affected producers are reporting yield losses ranging from 35% to a total loss, depending on location in the state. Producers are also reporting significant losses in farm structures, equipment, and infrastructure. Official reports …
Although I was raised in rural Middle Georgia, I was not very familiar with agriculture, nor was I familiar with the fashion and textile industries. The closest Target or any major retail store was an hour away. We would occasionally make a Saturday girl’s trip to the nearest mall to shop for school clothes. Like many of us, I was …
Nematodes cost cotton growers in Georgia millions and millions of dollars each year. The costs come from loss of yield and in the purchase of nematicides. Used judiciously, the value of increased yield more than offsets the cost of the nematicide. Growers next year have a single best chance to protect their crop from nematodes; this chance comes before the …
Guy D. Collins Keith L. Edmisten Michael Phillips Jeremy Hendricks and Evan Sayani North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC Abstract Due to its geographical location, North Carolina is subject to encounter tropical weather during August through October annually, similarly to other southeastern coastal states. Furthermore, the large majority of cotton is produced in the coastal plains region of NC, …