WNC farms face the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene

Along with the countless homes and businesses washed away and damaged by Tropical Storm Helene, Western North Carolina’s farms took a brutal beating in the disaster. Confronted with the catastrophic loss of crops, infrastructure, markets — and even a resource as fundamental as topsoil — the local agriculture industry is doing its best to stay afloat after the floods.

Though it’s too early for a full assessment of the 13,500 farms in WNC’s storm-affected regions, a bird’s-eye view tells a story of vast devastation, says Andrea Ashby, director of public affairs for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 

“[N.C.] Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler has flown over a number of areas that have been damaged, and he does anticipate there will be very major agricultural damage and losses,” says Ashby. “He said it is the worst hurricane damage he has ever seen as a lifelong North Carolinian.”

Ashby’s office is aware that farm fields near rivers were flooded and, in at least one area, the topsoil was eroded all the way to bedrock. She has received reports of nurseries, orchards, dairy farms and other operations either destroyed or with significant losses of products, equipment, fencing and other infrastructure.

The region’s supply of livestock feed and hay has also been decimated. “We anticipate there will be the need for hay and feed into the springtime,” says Ashby.

Water, wind and mud

Asheville-based nonprofit Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) is still compiling data about Helene’s impact on its network of about 850 Appalachian Grown-certified farms across Southern Appalachia, including 23 WNC counties. But David Smiley, ASAP Local Food campaign program director, quickly ticks off a list of ways Helene’s flood waters, wind and landslides have disabled local farm businesses.

Farms tend to be located near rivers, streams and lakes for irrigation purposes and to allow access to prime river-bottom soil, he points out. “Many of those water bodies reached historic flood levels, so many farms have just been completely wiped out or were severely, severely impacted,” he says. 

As far as products go, there was the immediate loss of crops in flooded fields plus stored dairy, meat and other foods that went bad in refrigerators and freezers disconnected from power. But even growers whose harvests were spared are challenged to find markets for their items. 

“We’re seeing a lot of parallels with the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Smiley. “So many Western North Carolina restaurants have closed down due to a lack of power and water, and that’s a huge market outlet for many farm businesses.”

Looking to the coming months, the destruction of certain common farm infrastructure items, such as “high tunnels” — long, plastic-covered greenhouses — will severely hobble farmers who rely on income from winter production. 

“High tunnels were just obliterated pretty much across Western North Carolina,” says Smiley. “We’re creeping into that season where you need high tunnels to increase the temperature for crops so they can survive frost and grow through the winter, and that can be a big percentage of a farm’s business.”

The loss of fall leaf-season tourism also has long-term implications for the agriculture sector, he continues. “So many of our farms, especially in Henderson County, do massive u-pick operations, and it’s a really critical part of their business.” 

Ground-level losses

Most farms in Henderson County — North Carolina’s largest apple-producing county — have been affected in some way by the disaster, says Rex McCall, president of the Blue Ridge Apple Growers Association. 

Several local apple farms are starting to reopen to visitors, he says, especially along U.S. Route 64. But McCall’s family farm, Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard, has been unable to resume its usual fall u-pick activities, despite minimal crop losses, because its road is obstructed. 

The family has pivoted to doing some off-site sales outside WNC and may extend its season into November and December to focus on holiday sales.

“In our part of the state, people are usually here this time of year looking at leaves, picking apples and visiting restaurants and hotels,” he says. “The economic impact for our area is just huge.” 

Black Mountain farmer Mary Carroll Dodd shares McCall’s outlook on the loss of October agritourism. Dodd’s Red Scout Farm, a certified organic, no-till vegetable and fruit operation, saw about 30% of its fields lost to flooding and had its greenhouse, fences, chicken coop and barn smashed by fallen trees.

Despite the overwhelming scale of destruction to WNC farms, she sees a glimmer of economic hope in the gradual reopening of local tailgate markets and restaurants. But Dodd remains deeply concerned about another issue her farm and others are facing: contamination or complete loss of topsoil.

“That’s one of the hardest things to lose because it’s something that people cultivate over such a long period of time to build up the soil biology and soil structure,” says Dodd, her voice breaking with emotion. 

“When it washes away, you just can’t just replace it,” she continues. “You can rebuild a building, but you can’t just put out new soil like that.”

ASAP’s Smiley agrees that topsoil is possibly the biggest worry for farms that were flooded. “Healthy and productive topsoil is perhaps one of the greatest time and money investments for a farm,” he says. “For many farms, that was completely washed away, or with the toxins that were in some of the flood waters, it’s been replaced by soil you don’t know the health of.”

Helpful resources

On Oct. 8, Dodd attended the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action advocacy event at the U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters in Washington, D.C., to present White House and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials with stories she’d gathered from 10 storm-impacted WNC farmers.

“It was very emotional sharing all of the losses in our region,” she says. “However, I also feel like it was really important to share those stories so we can think creatively about solutions to provide safety nets for microfarms, both in urban and rural areas.”

In the short term, resources are becoming available to WNC farms through federal and state agencies and local organizations. North Carolina has activated its agriculture emergency response hotline for farmers with immediate needs, says Ashby. The state has also set up a nonemergency online disaster hay and livestock assistance portal to introduce farmers with emerging needs to donors with items to contribute.

The Buncombe County N.C. Cooperative Extension office has been providing hay, livestock feed, fencing materials and more to local growers and is encouraging impacted farmers to contact the 24-hour NC Farm Help Line at 844-325-3276. The WNC Regional Livestock Center in Canton has been serving as a donation drop-off and distribution hub for farm needs such as feed, hay, fencing — even beekeeping supplies. 

ASAP is accepting donations to support farmers and is curating documents on its website to connect growers with resources in three areas: production and recovery resources and technical assistance; grants, loans and services; and pivot market outlets.  

Services listed range from cold storage to free mental health care for farmers. Among the many disaster recovery grants on ASAP’s list is its own $500 immediate needs grant.

A similar opportunity from Asheville-based WNC Communities awards up to $10,000 to storm-damaged farm operations within the organization’s 20-county footprint, says WNC Communities Executive Director Jennifer Ferre. “I want farmers to just let us know what they need,” says Ferre. “We’ve raised nearly a million dollars in support.”

To assist farmers in completing their grant applications, WNC Communities is hosting support stations 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday through Friday, Oct. 25, at its office at 594 Brevard Road as well as at the Buncombe, Henderson and Madison County Cooperative Extension offices.

Smiley says community members who want to help local farms beyond just buying WNC-grown products can do so directly through farm-specific GoFundMe campaigns and by donating to grower-support organizations like ASAP and WNC Communities. Donating to food-distribution nonprofits that source from local farmers, he notes, does double duty in providing income to farmers while also addressing hunger issues that will likely increase in the wake of the disaster.

Dodd says she believes WNC will continue to come together to develop creative solutions for its struggling farmers. “My hope is that we can see this precious farmland that’s left as the most valuable asset we have because if we don’t have farms, we are not able to feed our local communities,” she says.

North Carolina’s Agriculture Emergency Response hotline is 866-645-9403. Post needs or donate via the N.C. Disaster hay and livestock assistance portal at avl.mx/e81. 

To donate to ASAP and view its lists of resources, visit avl.mx/b0y. To donate to WNC Communities and learn more about its disaster grants, visit avl.mx/e82. Resources for apple growers and a list of Henderson County apple farms can be found at avl.mx/e84.