North Carolina's agriculture commissioner says the first round of relief checks are going to farmers affected by tropical weather.Commissioner Steve Troxler says in a news release that more than $15.2 million in payments were mailed Wednesday, and a second batch will go out Friday.
Nearly 7,000 applications for assistance were submitted to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The applications are being processed randomly, and completed applications are being processed first.
The federal government shutdown created some delays in getting applications processed, but work is continuing to verify and approve the remaining forms.
The N.C. General Assembly unanimously approved funding in response to more than $1.2 billion in estimated agricultural losses from Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Michael. Gov. Roy Cooper signed the legislation into law.