ATLANTA – Federal disaster relief for Georgia farmers who suffered losses from Hurricane Helene should begin to flow before the end of this month, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday.
Congress approved $21 billion in assistance last December to help farmers recover from the disastrous impacts of Helene, which rampaged through a large swath of South, Middle, and eastern Georgia last September, as well as other natural disasters across the country. But the money has been slow in coming.
“Time is of the essence,” U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., told Rollins Tuesday during a hearing conducted by a Senate subcommittee.
Rollins said she has visited Georgia peanut farmers since taking office in February.
“I’ve seen the devastation firsthand,” she said. “It is heartbreaking to witness it.”
Rollins said she expects a portal that will process grant applications submitted by farmers will open within the next few weeks.
“When we open that portal, hopefully it moves almost immediately,” she said.
Helene wreaked at least $5.5 billion in damage to Georgia’s agriculture and timber industries alone. Along with the $21 billion in federal disaster assistance put up by Congress, Georgia lawmakers set aside $867 million in the fiscal 2025 midyear state budget for response and recovery efforts.