VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) — More than one year after Hurricane Helene tore through South Georgia, the recovery is taking root—one tree at a time.
- U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the eligible commodity per-acre payment rates for the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA) on Wednesday.
- Former President Joe Biden visited Shiloh Farms in Ray City just days after the hurricane, and farm owner Buck Paulk is replanting and rebuilding with support from state and USDA disaster assistance programs.
- Watch the video below to see how the grants have helped local farmers.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Months after Hurricane Helene tore through South Georgia, recovery is still taking root—one tree at a time.
I'm Malia Thomas, your neighborhood news reporter here in Valdosta, with how federal assistance could help South Georgia farmers moving forward.
Back in October 2024, former President Joe Biden stood right here at Shiloh Pecan Farms in Ray City, surveying the damage left behind by Hurricane Helene.
High winds flattened acres of pecan orchards, snapping trees that took decades to grow.
Farm owner Buck Paulk remembers exactly how it felt when he saw the damage for the first time.
“It hurts. It feels like a gut punch," Paulk said.
Paulk says the loss wasn’t just this season’s crop. It was years of investment gone overnight.
“You lose so much of the immediate crop and then you have the loss of the trees...You’ve lost the production on them, and you’re going to miss that production for years and years. Then you have the cost of cleaning it up," he said.
Even so, the farm hasn’t stopped moving forward.
Paulk is replanting trees, continuing to sell wholesale products, and already preparing for the next season.
State and federal help has played a role in that recovery.
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper says the state is working closely with USDA to fill in gaps left by traditional disaster programs.
“At the state level, we’re working on an agreement with USDA through our block grant program, ensuring that all of our farm families that were impacted by the hurricane get those resources," Harper said.
Paulk says that support doesn’t erase the loss, but it helps farms survive it.
“It doesn’t make you whole, but it is a wonderful aid, and I really appreciate the Department of Ag doing that," he said.
For farms like Shiloh, recovery isn’t fast. But it is happening, with new trees in the ground and another season on the horizon.
In Ray City, I’m Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC 27.
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