WASHINGTON -- North Carolina farmers lost many crops and lots of livestock during Hurricane Florence, but some North Carolina farm leaders worry they could end up missing out on even more in the storm’s aftermath.

  • A farmer can get assistance based on how much crop they produce
  • If they lost fields of crops during the storm, they miss out on that extra help
  • The tariff fight comes at what is already a difficult time for farmers in the Tar Heel state

Under a Trump administration program aimed at helping farmers through the mounting international tariff fight, farmers who suffered damage to their crops because of the storm could end up not receiving as much aid as they would otherwise.

North Carolina farming officials say the way the $12 billion federal program is set up, a farmer only gets assistance based on how much crop they produce. In other words, if they lost fields of crops during the storm, they miss out on that extra help.

“In many cases you’re not going to have any yield at all, so that’s adding insult to injury,” said Larry Wooten, president of the North Carolina Farm Bureau.

One of those hurting is Lorenda Overman. Her family farm in Wayne County lost hundreds of acres of soybeans as a result of Florence. The rain combined with rising water from a nearby river inundated her fields.

Overall, the damage to her farm could end up cutting her bottom line by more than $200,000.

“That’s $213,000 we can’t use to pay for the fertilizer, the beans, seeds, insecticides, the herbicides, the rent,” she said.

She estimates that, because of the damage to her fields, she will also miss out on tens of thousands of dollars from the tariff assistance program.

“Now that we’ve lost our harvest, we’ve lost that tariff money, which would help us bridge that gap,” she said.

Overman says she so far does not know how much help she will get from crop insurance or federal disaster aid.

The storm and the tariff fight come at what is already a difficult time for farmers in the Tar Heel state. Crop prices have been low, and many farmers are still trying to recover financially after Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

In a statement, North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler wrote, “When [U.S. Agriculture Sec. Sonny] Perdue was in North Carolina recently surveying hurricane damage, we expressed our concerns about this, and we believe USDA understands this problem.”

The USDA did not respond to multiple requests for a response to Troxler’s statement. They also did not respond to questions about whether any special accommodations will be made for Florence victims.

Overman said she hopes Washington is listening.

“Farmers need to make a profit, just like every other businessman,” she said.

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