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According to a new report from Georgia's Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, the cost of damage to Georgia Agriculture after Hurricane Michael far exceeds one billion dollars.
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Hurricane Michael was the first major hurricane to hit Georgia since the nineteenth century. He crossed southwestern Georgia last week after crashing against the Florida Panhandle.
He destroyed the crops, tearing whole pecans out of places. Some farmers in South Georgia lost all their livelihoods in one day.
Black called these losses unprecedented and said they would impact future generations.
"Unfortunately, our worst thoughts have been realized. We have seen months and sometimes years of work taking place in seconds, "said Black. "These are unprecedented generational losses and will require unprecedented ideas and actions to help our farm families and rural communities recover."
On Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence visited the damage and pledged to help communities rebuild themselves.
"This will not go unnoticed by this administration and we will ensure that the people of this region will have the support they need to rebuild," said Mr. Pence.
Here is the new breakdown of harvest devastation, released Wednesday by the Georgia Ministry of Agriculture:
COTTON: $ 300 million to $ 800 million – Cotton was the second largest contributor to Georgia's Georgia output value, at just over 7%. The final estimate of losses will depend on farmers' ability to harvest what remains on the ground. Georgia had the potential for record returns for this year, so this loss is even more devastating.
PECAN NUTS: $ 560 million – Pecan trees that have been knocked down or broken are a serious generation loss for farmers. It takes about seven years for a tree to start producing nuts. There is 100% crop loss in Seminole County, 85% in Decatur County and 30% in Grady County. Farmers producing pecans will take 10 years to recover from the loss of a mature tree and many of them were still recovering from Irma when Michael arrived.
>> Related: Trumps Visit Georgia and Florida Ravaged by Storm After Hurricane Michael
VEGETABLES: $ 480 million – The vegetables involved include sweet corn, cucumbers, squash, peppers, peas and more. Georgia is home to a wide variety of products, much of which has been affected by the strong winds and heavy rains of Michael. After Hurricane Florence, prices were high, which improved the estimate of losses because Georgia was very well placed to supply the market before Hurricane Michael. It was a blow for producers who had a difficult spring harvest and were counting on the fall.
POULTRY: $ 25 Million – Poultry is Georgia's largest agricultural industry, accounting for nearly 32% of the state's farm value in 2018 in broiler chickens and 5.62% in eggs. Michael will have a lasting impact on this poultry industry with the loss of 97 homes and over 2 million chickens.
PEANUT: $ 10 to $ 20 million – Although groundnuts have behaved better than many other crops, infrastructure losses remain uncertain. The final estimate of losses will be influenced by the ability to extract the remaining peanuts from the field and store them. Sorting and sorting these peanuts will play an important role in determining the final loss. Peanuts accounted for almost 5% of Georgia's farm value for 2018.
FARM: Fall is generally the most important season for many agritourism sites, as it includes activities such as corn mazes and pumpkin plates that bring together many families and farm outings. Several labyrinths were destroyed in addition to other damage to the farm. The estimate of the loss will be difficult to determine even after the end of the season.
>> See also: Photos: Hurricane ravaged Florida Panhandle towers
WOOD: $ 1 BILLION – About 1 million acres were destroyed, most of them owned by small or private landowners.
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