ATLANTA – State officials in Georgia continue to assess damage caused by Hurricane Helene last week.

Governor Brian Kemp said during a press conference in Lowndes County over the weekend that 107 poultry facilities and houses in the state have been damaged or totally destroyed. He also noted that 15 dairies have been affected, and dozens and dozens of other facilities.

Major poultry plants in the southeast continued to get back online.

Wayne-Sanderson Farms stated on Facebook that its Moultrie, Ga., poultry plant did not operate on Sept. 30 or Oct. 1.

House of Raeford Farms confirmed to MEAT+POULTRY that its Greenville, SC, plant did not operate on Sept. 30 due to the lack of power to the plant.

Operations were halted at its West Columbia, SC, plant, but it expected to resume the night shift on Sept. 30 and operations the next day. Its new Vienna, Ga., was offline for the weekend but plans to resume on Sept. 30.

“We were very fortunate compared to other areas, especially the Asheville area just north of Greenville,” a House of Raeford spokesperson said.

Claxton Poultry confirmed on its Facebook page that it was closed due to a power issue on Sept. 27-28 but was operational again by Sept. 30.

During the press conference, Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said his team would work with the University of Georgia and its extension programs across the state to help agricultural communities impacted by the storm. Harper stressed the importance of farmers and ranchers documenting the damage to their property.

“I know we want to hurry up and clean up, but the more we can document the damage, the better information we have to get the needed resources and the help that we can from our federal partners and others,” he said.

Harper also sent a letter to Georgia’s Congressional Delegation members asking for immediate action to provide federal funds to help Georgia farmers and producers recover. He noted this was the third hurricane in 13 months to hit the state of Georgia.

“Hurricane Helene could not have come at a worse time for our farmers and producers, who are already faced with record setting drops in net farm income caused by inflation, high input costs, labor shortages, global competition, and low commodity prices,” Harper wrote. “Right now, the future of hundreds of agricultural operations across Georgia is uncertain, and without immediate assistance, some will not make it to the next growing season. We stand ready to utilize every state resource at our disposal to assist in the recovery effort.”

The letter was co-signed by House and Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee Chairmen Russ Goodman and Robert Dickey. 

Harper asked for federal aid in block grants for Georgia, which would help it provide greater flexibility than US Department of Agriculture’s pre-existing emergency relief.