SC launches 'Farm and Forest Recovery Resource Days' after storms and drought

AIKEN, S.C. (WCSC) – State leaders call agriculture the lifeblood of South Carolina, and 2024 has been a challenging year for farmers in the Palmetto State.

Between Helene, Debby and the summer drought, the state estimates that South Carolina farmers took a hit of more than $600 million this year.

Officials said it will take a combination of federal, state and local resources, plus help from nonprofits and the private sector, for South Carolinians to recover.

They want to bring them together in front of people in the farming sector for a series of events that started on Friday called ‘Farm and Forest Recovery Resource Days’.

“If you’re looking for help and don’t know where to go, then you don’t know where to go. But often you have to go to this side of town, then to another city and then somewhere completely different, if you already know where to go,” Gov. Henry McMaster said Friday.

It’s a difficult situation that the governor said he doesn’t want South Carolina farmers to be in, especially right now.

The state’s agriculture commissioner has said no farmer has been spared from losses in the Palmetto State this year, between the drought and two devastating storms.

In response, the state launched Farm and Forest Recovery Resource Days, the first of which McMaster attended in Aiken.

“It answers their questions, and a human person who knows the answers gives them the answers,” McMaster said.

Among the approximately two dozen organizations with representatives on site Friday at USC Aiken, where the event was held, was FEMA.

The federal agency said there is still time for South Carolina residents harmed by Helene — both farmers and non-farmers — to apply for assistance if they live in one of the 28 approved counties, along with the Catawba Nation .

“This assistance could potentially be used for simple repairs to the house, a temporary residence. If you are a farmer and your equipment is damaged, you may be able to get help that way, including for possible fuel,” said FEMA media relations specialist Nikki Gaskins Campbell.

On Thursday, FEMA said it had approved more than $221 million in post-Helene assistance to more than 216,000 households in South Carolina.

“FEMA assistance was never intended to return someone to their pre-disaster condition or to make them healthy again,” Gaskins Campbell said. “But we can help them get back on their feet.”

McMaster is optimistic that more help will arrive soon.

Last week, he wrote a letter to South Carolina’s congressional delegation asking for additional assistance specifically for the crucial agricultural sector.

“I think I’m asking for $631 million to do the same thing for the farmers and the forest, done by FEMA on the private and business side of the equation,” McMaster said.

Two more of these information days will be held in Greenville and Myrtle Beach in the coming weeks:

Greenville: Thursday, November 21, 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM Greenville Technical College, Student Success Center, 506 S. Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, SC
Myrtle Beach: Friday, December 6, 9am to 4pm SC Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting at Embassy Suites at Kingston Plantation, 9800 Queensway Boulevard, Myrtle Beach, SC

The following agencies and organizations have representatives available to explain assistance options during the events:

• AgSouth – Providing information on loans, crop insurance and leases for farms, equipment, timber industries and agribusiness.

• Clemson University Extension – Helping people find resources to support business-related business decisions during storm recovery.

• Farmer Veteran Coalition of SC – Connecting veteran farmers with technical resources, grants and educational opportunities.

• Federal Emergency Management Agency – Provides information on registering for storm-related financial assistance.

• Internal Revenue Service – Providing information about the relief provisions available in the federal tax code.

• Small Business Administration – Provide assistance with business start-ups, SBA loans and federal contracts.

• SC Conservation Bank – Providing information on agricultural land subsidies.

• SC Department of Agriculture – Will be on site for support and discussion.

• SC Department of Commerce – Providing businesses with information on services such as small business resources, innovation, trade, recycling, industry support and emergency management.

• SC Department of Employment and Workforce – Providing information on housing inspections of storm-damaged employer-owned housing prior to Foreign Labor Application Gateway applications and on unemployment benefits, including disaster assistance and employer services.

• SC Department of Environmental Service – Assisting farms and tree producers with options for storm debris management, well water sampling and regulated dam issues.

• SC Department of Insurance – Providing information about insurance claims, coverage and fraud prevention.

• SC Department of Mental Health – Providing information on available mental health services.

• SC Department of Natural Resources – Supports local soil and water conservation districts that provide technical assistance to South Carolina farmers and tree producers and help identify financing opportunities.

• SC Department of Veterans’ Affairs – Providing referrals for identified veterans and their families available through the South Carolina Veteran Coalition.

• SC Emergency Management Division – Providing information on state-level recovery planning and the availability and eligibility of grant and assistance programs.

• SC Forestry Commission – Provides management support to forest landowners, including timber damage assessment, salvage harvesting, replanting guidance, information on financial assistance for repairs, and fee-based services such as firebreak plowing and prescribed burning.

• SC Office of Resilience – Providing case managers to assist eligible citizens with unmet needs caused by disasters.

• SC Small Business Development Centers – Provides free private consultation to assist small and medium-sized farms affected by disasters with recovery planning, financing, damage assessment and other recovery needs.

• SC State University – Providing technical services, support and recovery guidance in areas such as agriculture, forestry, health care, families, natural resources, youth development and more.

• USDA Farm Services Agency – Provides information about disaster programs that provide cost-sharing assistance and emergency loans to help farmers and producers recover from land, crop and livestock loss due to a natural disaster.

• USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service – Providing financial and technical assistance information to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.

• Other federal, state, and local nonprofits.