DUPLIN COUNTY, N.C. -- The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture is in the Tar Heel state surveying damage from Hurricane Florence.

• Secretary Sonny Perdue met with state lawmakers and agriculture leaders
• Perdue was driven to a chicken farm in Duplin County to survey some of the damage there
• During the briefing, it was revealed that 57 farms have been affected by Florece in one way or another

Secretary Sonny Perdue met with state lawmakers and agriculture leaders this morning in Duplin County.

There, the message was clear -- farmers need help. State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said farmers are wounded but not defeated, they just need some help getting back on their feet following the Florence Flooding.

A helicopter tour was originally scheduled to show the secretary some of the hardest hit areas. However, the weather caused plans to change.

Instead, Perdue was driven to a chicken farm in Duplin to survey some of the damage there.

During the briefing, it was revealed that 57 farms have been affected by Florece in one way or another.

Officials say it is too soon to tell the loss from Florence in terms of dollars, but they expect it to be higher than Hurricane Matthew, which left the state with around $400 million in crop loss.