‘I’m very disappointed’: Farmers shocked by low reimbursement checks for Helene crop loss
By Kimberly King
Click here for updates on this story
HENDERSON & RUTHERFORD COUNTIES, North Carolina (WLOS) — Farmers in western North Carolina are speaking out, shocked at what they describe as tiny state Agriculture Department reimbursement checks to cover massive Hurricane Helene crop damage.
The checks are from the legislature’s Helene recovery appropriation of $478 million in Ag Disaster Crop Loss funds appropriated by the General Assembly.
“This is a check for disaster relief from the state,” said Randy Edmundson, a farmer in Henderson County. “The check is for $5,151. I’m very disappointed.”
Edmundson showed News 13 the application he sent in for coverage of his losses. He estimates his loss on bean crops alone was $125,000.
“I just want some clarity,” he added.
Edmundson said in a 2018 hurricane reimbursement, he received a much larger amount for crop loss that was exponentially smaller than the losses he had with Helene.
Stuart Beam, a farmer in Rutherford County, said he suffered around $240,000 in Helene crop losses with flooded acres, including land he leases and farms.
“The check was a little over $3,000,” Beam said.
Beam said he called the state’s hotline for the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (866-747-9823), and learned that more crop checks would come. But, Beam said, he expects them to total pennies on the dollar.
“For a program that was sold to the farmers and sold to the legislature as being a meaningful difference, it’s a pretty tough blow,” he added.
“If someone gets a check they don’t feel is accurate, they can call their toll-free number,” said Dr. Terry Kelley, director for Henderson County’s Ag Extension office. “This round of payment is coming from money allocated by the North Carolina legislature.”
Farmers believe a different $221 million federal program just announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture won’t cover crops.
North Carolina’s Department of Agriculture estimated almost $5 billion in losses from Helene and other severe weather events in 2024.
“We have been hearing from farmers, so we know the initial group of checks that have been sent are getting out to them. Overwhelmingly, we have been hearing positive reports back from farmers, plus genuine relief that this money will help them pay last year’s bills and help with recovery expenses,” wrote Andrea Ashby, spokesperson for the state’s Agriculture Department.
“The disaster relief money is being sent out in categories, so depending on what a farmer applied for and if he farms in multiple counties, he may receive a number of checks. Checks will be sent for each category, so if a farmer had verified crop and infrastructure losses, for example, he would expect to receive two checks. If he farmed in two counties and applied for losses in both, he would receive a check for losses in each county, which also would be category-based,” Ashby continued.
Approximately 800 checks have gone out, according to Ashby, with more going out every week.
“These funds can never cover everything farmers have lost from this devastating storm, but we hope it will be a bridge to help with recovery. We are grateful to the North Carolina General Assembly for their continued support of our farmers and for funding this state’s [agriculture] disaster relief program. To our knowledge, North Carolina is the only state doing direct ag loss payments to farmers separate from federal funds,” she continued.
Any farmer with questions about checks can reach out to agdisaster@ncagr.gov.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.