MARION—After the mighty wind and rain from Hurricane Helene caused over $126 million in damages to Southwest Virginia farmland, residents are taking stock and starting a long journey of recovery.
The overall U.S. death toll is currently estimated at 227, with two killed in Virginia. Virginia Cooperative Extension has so far assessed over $126 million in agricultural damages in Giles, Grayson, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington and Wythe counties. More than 100 homes and businesses also were destroyed.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently visited hard-hit areas like Damascus and announced that the state’s request for an expedited Federal Major Disaster Declaration was approved by the White House. This declaration will provide additional support.
“As bad as it was, I haven’t lost a thing that can’t be put back,” said Smyth County farmer Justin McClellan. “We lost an alfalfa field, about 1,000 feet of fence, almost a mile of roadway and several crossings. But other folks lost a whole lot more. We got a tremendous flood, but when you look at East Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina, we’re fortunate.”
Rain saturated the ground in the days preceding Helene. Winds knocked trees into fences, structures and roadways.
“When this deluge hit, the creeks started jumping out of their banks and running through the fields,” McClellan continued. “I just about lost my helper in the middle of the field trying to open the gate so I could get through with a bulldozer.”
Several of his farm structures and cattle-working facilities also flooded.
“And I thought I was on high ground,” McClellan lamented.
In nearby Chilhowie, hay and cattle farmer Carly Crutchfield considered moving 220 round bales of this season’s hay supply to higher ground as she and her husband, Troy, watched the nearby Middle Fork Holston River rising.
“No, the water won’t reach it,” she recalled saying. “But by 4:30 p.m., all the hay was scattered down the river, and our pens were destroyed. The hard work we’ve done all summer is gone.”
Meade Tractor of Abingdon offered free clean-up assistance with a skid steer. Now the couple is rebuilding fences and attempting to restock hay for winter. A trailer load of hay was donated.
“I don’t feel right taking donations, because others need it worse,” Crutchfield said. “But the number of people reaching out has been amazing!”
On Richard Sutherland’s Grayson County farm, he watched his trickling creek become an expansive river.
“I’ve been here all my life, 76 years, and it’s the highest I’ve ever seen the water,” said Sutherland, who serves on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors. “Water was up to the fences and way out in the meadow. Fortunately, I did not have any cattle in the bottom, but I lost a lot of fences.”
Though Helene’s deluge forged new creek channels and widened waterways, the heavy rain revived dry pastures following months of drought.
But time is ticking for Tazewell County farmer Hayden Lyons, who is seeking a new market for his 50 acres of pumpkins. Two of this season’s 12 loads were en route to his longtime pumpkin distributor on the outskirts of Asheville.
“They got close, but the road was washed away, so they turned around and came back,” he said. Those pumpkins now sit on pallets at Lyons’ farm.
“I’ve got up to 12 loads without a home, which has me in a pretty bad pinch,” he said. “That’s my cash crop for the year and a huge chunk of my income.”
VFBF board member Emily Edmondson of Tazewell County is working to find an outlet for his pumpkins.
Farmers in her southwestern district lost livestock to drowning. Wind destroyed timber and crops. Power outages impacted well pumps and watering lines for livestock. Campers along the New River in Giles County were submerged. And numerous roads were wiped out or rendered impassable, she shared.
According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, approximately 75 roads were impacted, including two primary highways. Two bridges closed, and three were washed away.
By Oct. 8, almost 1,300 Helene-related claims were reported to Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co., which projects such claims will likely approach $9 million.
The catastrophe generated a public sense of generosity and willingness to help, said Andy Overbay, a Virginia Cooperative Extension agent in Smyth County. But manpower is needed to sort through donations and supplies.
Fencing supplies, extra hay, money, or gift cards for food or cash are all needed.
The Virginia Farm Relief Fund, housed within VFBF’s Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Innovation & Rural Sustainability, is accepting online donations and applications for assistance. Visit vafairs.com/virginia-farm-relief-fund to donate or request financial help.
Virginia Cooperative Extension also launched an online collection of recovery and relief resources and has included links to make donations through the Virginia Cattlemen’s Foundation and the Virginia Farm Relief Fund. Visit ext.vt.edu/hurricane-relief for resources.
Media: Contact McClellan at 276-685-6014; Crutchfield at 276-685-2589; Sutherland at 276-768-7041; or Lyons at 276-701-7889.