Farmers in western North Carolina are starting a years’ long recovery effort after Helene decimated the area.
For apple farmers in Henderson County, Helene hit during the peak of harvest season. Some commercial farms lost acres of land and crops, while other agritourism farms are now suffering from a loss of visitors.
“This is quite heartbreaking," said Jeff Nix, a third-generation apple farmer in Hendersonville. "I’ve never dreamed of this."
Nix’s family farm, called Flavor Full Farm, spans about 115 acres and provides apples to schools across the state through North Carolina’s Farm to School program.
Helene caused insurmountable damage to Nix’s farm, wiping away 10 acres of land located next to a creek. While the creek provides rich soil for the trees to grow, it also made the area more susceptible to flooding when Helene came barrelling through.
The trees that used to be on this land were planted about 10 years ago. This was supposed to be the year Nix and his family earned back their investment. Instead, Helene swept it all away.
More than a month after the storm, the only trees left in sight are uprooted, lying on top of sand and silt deposited by the water. Off to the side, tractors sit upside down, nestled in the middle of tree debris.
Nix also lost about a week’s worth of harvesting apples and producing apple slices in his facility. He estimates his total losses at well over $1 million.
“We are going to rebuild. I’ve said that probably 10 times now,” Nix said confidently. “I work to pass this on to my son and grandsons and granddaughters. Once a farmer, always a farmer.”
Helene’s destruction remains visible across Henderson County. Power lines are still down in some places, piles of wreckage line the sides of roads, and crews continue to repair sinkholes.
Aside from apples, Henderson County is also home to several other crops, including grapes, berries, tomatoes and peppers. Henderson County is one of the top tomato producing counties in North Carolina.
Similar to Nix’s apple trees, these crops require fertile soil to grow well, which can be found next to water.
“Unfortunately, anyone near water for this storm experienced significant damage,” said Karen Blaedow. She works for N.C. State’s Cooperative Extension as Henderson County’s horticultural agent.
Blaedow estimates a total loss of up to $50 million for the county’s 450 farms.
“It’s not just the crop loss. It’s the land,” Blaedow said. “Repairing the land is going to be the most costly part of the recovery.”
Federal relief programs are available to select farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers initiatives like the Tree Assistance Program or the Emergency Conservation Program to help farmers remove debris, rebuild land and replant crops.
State relief could also possibly come from the General Assembly. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has proposed funding $422 million for agricultural relief from Helene.
In 2022, $10 million was offered to some western North Carolina farms to help mitigate losses after Tropical Storm Fred. Farmers are hopeful a similar program will be available again. Area nonprofits are also providing relief grants, including Asheville-based WNC Communities.
However, Blaedow says these programs can only go so far. She emphasizes full recovery is going to take time.
“Years. This is going to be years for (farmers) to really get the land back,” said Blaedow.
For farms that were less impacted, getting tourists back out to the region is critical for survival.
“This is peak tourist season, and what’s happening to some of these growers now is this second impact of the storm, where, financially, it’s just crippling some of these agritourism businesses,” said Blaedow.
That’s exactly what Danielle McCall is experiencing. Her family’s U-pick apple farm, Stepps’ Hillcrest Orchard, only suffered minimal crop and property damage. But Helene washed out the road to get there.
McCall’s farm finally re-opened on Oct. 26 after being closed for four of the season’s 11 weeks. McCall says those four weeks are the busiest time of year.
“There's just no way to make up for the crowds that these farms typically experience in late September and early October,” said McCall, another third-generation farmer. “It really could not have happened at a worse time.”
She estimates her family has lost about half of their annual income.
As a way to pivot, McCall and her family have been picking apples themselves and selling them off farm at farmers markets or local fairs. McCall hopes those sales will make up for at least 10% of their losses.
The farm is also staying open later this year. The orchard typically closes on Halloween, but instead will now be open through Nov. 10.
She and her husband are considering taking on extra work over the winter to make sure they can afford next year’s crop.
“Without some kind of direct relief from the government, we're going to be in a pretty tight spot,” said McCall. “What we need is something to help with loss of income because folks couldn't come to our farm.”
Despite the situation, McCall and other farmers remain resilient.
“Farmers are very entrepreneurial in spirit and we just tend to be very hard workers,” McCall said. “We've just got to do what we can. That's all we can do.”
