Perdue Announces Hurricane Relief Update
16 views · Published 29 November 2018 · 2:37 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: RFD-TV · 2018 · Entertainment
October 22, 2018 Washington Weeks have passed since two deadly hurricanes raged across the Southern United States. USDA resources are on the ground, helping rural communities recover. RFD-TV’s Sarah Mock has more. USDA Chief Sonny Perdue’s Georgian farm escaped the devastation of two hurricanes by miles. “We were fortunately spared in middle Georgia. Just the county south of us is the major cotton producing county in Georgia, and thus Georgia is number one in Cotton. They were hurt. We had farmers with extraordinary crops in cotton, bumper crops and many said a career type crop.” He says in recent trips to the region, including with the president, that farmers could be recovering from the losses for generations. “The antidote we here most often is I was only able to pick a portion of the field and after that 6 hours of hurricane, I couldn’t tell where I’d picked and where I had not. That’s heartbreaking for a farmer that’s right before harvest. We had Pecan trees that were just ready to be harvested, mature trees 30, 40, 50 foot trees toppled over. You can’t get to pick up the pecans for running over the nuts.” But Perdue says USDA is fully mobilizing to assist in the recovery effort—not only to determine agricultural losses, but to help rural communities get back on their feet. “USDA has a primary responsibility. Our US Forest Service team was pre-positioned down there. Trees across roads and access availability even for lineman trying to repair power lines is critical. That’s where the forest comes in. Our nutrition people are down there with meals, with D-SNAP, with people whose jobs and homes and business have been gone. We’re there with food for them. We’re there with food for animals, power generators, those are the kinds of things that USDA participates full on with FEMA and local authorities there and first responders.” But in the wake of this devastation, Perdue predicts that the federal crop insurance programs will need to be supplemented to ensure that farms recover. “The current safety net that we have for farm programs in the farm bill is not going to be adequate for this kind of event. It doesn’t contemplate utter devastation from the loses we saw in pecans and cotton and peanuts and timber even. So we’re going to need a supplemental appropriation similar to what we had last year, and we’ll have to design a program again, just to keep them in business.” Perdue says that he wouldn’t expect a disaster assistance program to make farm businesses in the south whole, particularly given that crop insurance covers a portion of average yield, not exceptional yields, as were expected in many southern crops this year. For RFDTV, I’m Sarah Mock in Washington. With both the house and senate currently on recess in their districts until after the elections, there is no reports currently of lawmakers planning to propose emergency hurricane relief. USDA Chief Sonny Perdue Sarah Mock Washington Bureau Chief, RFD-TV @Sarah_K_Mock
