Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden signed a $221 million federal block grant agreement that targets aid to North Carolina farmers who sustained losses and damages from Hurricane Helene in 2024.
The North Carolina Disaster Block Grant for Helene is for production losses not covered by USDA programs or crop insurance. The program will cover four categories of eligible losses: infrastructure damage, market losses, future economic losses and timber losses. It will apply to the 39 counties that received a Presidential Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Helene.
To receive funding, certain producers may have to agree to acquire and maintain USDA Risk Management coverage for a period of two crop years for market loss, future economic loss, plasticulture and aquaculture claims.
“We are currently creating the program work plan and application in coordination with USDA. Once we have approval for the plan, we will work as quickly as possible to distribute this money to impacted farmers,” Troxler said. “As more information about the program is available, it will be posted on our website at ncagr.gov/agdisaster. In the meantime, I encourage those in the eligible counties to gather documentation of losses to assist in the application process.”