Ossoff Urges Colleagues to Approve Helen’s Help for Georgian Farmers

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff spoke to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday about the pain Hurricane Helen brought to the state’s farmers and ranchers.

During the same hearing, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that recurring hurricanes have depleted the agency’s funds to help disaster-stricken places like Augusta.

Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, has pushed for both parties to urgently provide agricultural disaster aid to Georgia by the end of the year.

“The numbers are staggering, but it’s not about the numbers. This is about families and rural communities, and without our help, many of these family farms will close, and they may close soon,” he said. “They are looking at devastated farmland and gardens, they are deeply in the red and under enormous stress. If they die, our rural communities will die. The local tax base that funds schools and infrastructure has been destroyed. And the rural way of life in Georgia risks disappearing altogether.”

“We must resist the temptation to delay or get drawn into politics. We must move disaster relief quickly by the end of the year. My constituents and Americans in every state affected by this terrible storm and natural disasters over the past few years are counting on all of us,” Ossoff said.

Biden Administration asked Congress for nearly $100 billion in disaster relief funding. The largest portion of that money, about $40 billion, will go to FEMA’s disaster relief fund.

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Here is a transcript of Ossoff’s testimony:

“Chairman Murray, Vice Chairman Collins, thank you for this opportunity to brief the Committee on the difficult conditions facing Georgia farmers following Hurricane Helen.”

“Georgia farmers and farmers in neighboring states are hurting deeply, and Congress must urgently pass disaster relief by the end of the year.

“Georgia agriculture has been devastated by this hurricane, and I respectfully urge this committee to quickly forward to the full Senate a disaster relief bill that includes vital assistance to Georgia’s desperately struggling farmers who are the backbone of rural communities. Georgia and our state. economy.

“Hurricane winds and heavy rains destroyed fall crops still in the fields, swept away pecan orchards that farmers had grown for decades, and damaged one and a half million acres of forested land—one and a half million acres of forested land.

“In addition to agricultural destruction, Georgia suffered severe damage to power grids, businesses, housing, roads and other critical infrastructure.

“Virtually all crops and commodities produced in Georgia were severely impacted, including poultry, cotton, timber, beef cattle, blueberries, pecans, peanuts, tobacco, vegetables, citrus fruits, soybeans, nurseries and dairy products.

“The Georgia Pecan Growers Association reports that 48,000 acres of pecan orchards were damaged, resulting in the death of nearly 400,000 trees.

Pecan growers like Scott Hudson, a fifth-generation family farmer whose family also owns a peeling and processing plant, are facing 60 to 70 percent crop loss and 20 to 30 percent loss of older trees that will take 10 to 20 years to recover. . replace.

“Taylor and Arren Moses of Uvalda estimate they lost 85 percent of their 800 acres of trees. They will not be able to save a single tree from the first orchard planted in 2007.

“The Georgia Poultry Federation reports that 495 poultry houses suffered significant damage, including 295 total losses.

“Vann Wooten, Jeff Davis County Commissioner, who raised chickens for 31 years, saw all 10 of his chicken houses destroyed, many with birds still in them. Without our help, he is now unsure whether he will be able to return to raising chickens.

“The University of Georgia estimates that Georgia vegetable growers lost 25 to 30 percent of their fall harvest. TJ Moore’s grandfather began farming in 1964. Now he, his brother and their parents grow green beans, eggplants, bell peppers, cucumbers and more, and because of the storm, they expect less than 30 percent of their produce to be sold this fall. normal harvest.

“In Clinch County, blueberries make up 35 percent of the local bank’s loan portfolio. In some of State Senator Russ Goodman’s fields, as much as a quarter of the plants are broken and blown away, which will also damage next year’s crop.

“I reiterate that one and a half million acres of Georgia forestland have been damaged and we are projected to lose 500,000 to 600,000 bales of cotton, or nearly a third of our cotton crop.

“Colleagues, the numbers are staggering, but it’s not about the numbers. This is about families and rural communities, and without our help, many of these family farms will close, and they may close soon.

“They are looking at devastated farmland and gardens, they are deeply in the red and under enormous stress.

“If they die, our rural communities will die. The local tax base that funds schools and infrastructure has been destroyed, and Georgia’s rural way of life is at risk of disappearing entirely.

“We know what we need to do, and the fact that my colleague Senator Tillis and I are here before you, Democrat and Republican, calling for an acceleration of this important goal is, I hope, a testament to the urgency of bipartisan action. until the end of the year.

“We must resist the temptation to delay or get drawn into politics.

“We must move disaster relief quickly before the end of the year.

“My constituents and Americans in every state affected by this terrible storm and natural disasters over the past few years are counting on all of us.

“And that is why I am once again so grateful to Chairman Murray, Vice Chairman Collins and the members of the Committee for the honor of appearing before you today.”

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