South Carolina farmers face months-long recovery after Tropical Storm Helene devastates crops and equipment

SOUTH CAROLINA, USA — South Carolina farmers are looking to recover after Tropical Storm Helene took its toll on local crops and equipment.

“Recovery could take months,” said John Long of Overbridge Farm. “We’ve got lots of buildings, that’s got the tent blown off. Some of them have gotten the whole roof, got blown away.”

According to South Carolina Department of Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers, smaller farms in the northwest region were severely impacted, leading to losses of poultry, cotton fields, vegetable farms, and farming equipment.

“Its greatest impact was in the area where we had our smaller farmer in that northwest corner of the state, smaller as opposed to down towards the coast where the larger acres farmers are.” Weathers said.

Weathers said that, based on conversations with several farmers, some pecan fields are decimated. Other losses include poultry, cotton fields, fall vegetables, and building damage from high winds.

“Our biggest situation right now is we have a building that was a storage building, and we had a good bit of farm equipment inside the building, and it blew over, and the roof completely collapsed on quite a bit of farm machinery,” Long said.

Other challenges Long says he is facing include a disruption in cotton crops and damage to pasture fences and farming equipment, which he says is insured.

The SC Agriculture Commissioner plans to host a farmers’ recovery center event next week for those impacted in our area. Details of the event have not yet been finalized.