Farm Progress America, October 1, 2024

Mike Pearson takes a look at the devastation to the Gulf Coast and the problems left behind in agriculture during harvest by Hurricane Helene.

September 30, 2024

Mike Pearson takes a look at the damage and destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene last weekend. The storm damaged pecans, soybeans and cotton still in the fields ready for harvest.

The storm left 47 people dead and will go down as one of the costliest storms at $90-110 billion.

In South Carolina, the cotton plants had open bolls. The lint was blown to the ground even with delayed defoliation, causing significant damage to the crops.

In Georgia, about 80 percent of the cotton bolls was battered and opened just has harvest about to begin. Damage is set at $1.3 billion to the crop.

In South Carolina, most of the corn crop had been harvested, only 5 percent was left in the field. However, what was left is susceptible to lodging and ear rot.

The soybean crop was also damaged. The storm relieved the drought in many areas but not before yields were hit. And in other areas, the green plants are lodged in fields as harvest begins.

The pecans in Georgia were also heavily damaged. Both the nuts which were ready for harvest and the trees suffered. The timing couldn't have been worse for pecan farmers. And the damage for the trees could be felt for years since it takes 25 years for Pecan trees to mature.

Many farmers in south scurried to harvest as much as possible but it wasn't enough. The high winds also damaged many grain bins along the path.

Related:Will election results deliver a farm bill this year?

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness.

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