USDA Block Grant Program

In September, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden signed a $221 million federal block grant agreement today that targets aid to North Carolina farmers who sustained losses and damages from Hurricane Helene in 2024. This Block Grant is for production losses not covered by USDA programs or crop insurance. The program will cover four categories of eligible losses: infrastructure damage, market losses, future economic losses and timber losses. It will apply to the 39 counties that received a Presidential Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Helene. The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has created a work plan and have submitted the plan to USDA for approval.  Once we have approval for the plan, we will work as quickly as possible open applications and begin the process of getting these funds to farmers. As more information about the program is available, it will be posted below.