The North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services has started distributing the first checks to farmers who applied for disaster assistance through the 2024 Ag Disaster Crop Loss program. According to Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, these initial payments have been sent to farmers in Western North Carolina, with additional payments scheduled in the coming weeks.
The funding comes from a total of $478 million appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly earlier this year. The money is intended to help farmers across the state recover from nearly $5 billion in agricultural losses caused by Hurricane Helene, a drought, Tropical Storm Debby, and Potential Cyclone 8 in 2024. An extra $25 million was also approved for infrastructure losses through a separate bill. A new application period will be announced for those seeking infrastructure funding.
“Getting disaster relief out to our devastated ag community has been a priority for the department, and I appreciate farmers’ patience as we have worked through the process of verifying damage and losses and processing the over 8,500 applications we received,” Troxler said. “I want to thank members of the General Assembly for recognizing the urgency behind these funds and for continuing to support our ag community in the aftermath of the worst ag disaster this state has experienced.”
Payments are being distributed based on loss categories. Farmers may receive multiple checks if their losses fall into more than one category or if they have farm operations in different counties within North Carolina.
The payment categories include aquaculture, program crops, specialty crops, nurseries (including fruit trees, Christmas trees, and turf), and infrastructure. Work is ongoing to determine cost-share payments for infrastructure losses.
“Nursery crop payments will be made in two installments, with farmers receiving a partial payment in the first check,” Troxler explained. “Farmers should look for information on the check stub, which details what category the check covers.”
Disaster payment calculations take into account several factors such as county location of farms, average county yield, state average price, county loss percentage, reported acreage, and other known federal payments made to farmers during 2024.
Farmers with questions about their payments can contact the department at 866-747-9823 or email agdisaster@ncagr.gov. Additional information is available under the Ag Disaster Crop Loss Program block on www.ncagr.gov.
