RALEIGH – Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler announced today that the application period will open Monday, March 30, for three of the four categories that producers can apply for $221 million in USDA block grant disaster assistance for Hurricane Helene losses. The block grant has four program categories, with an application required for each category in each county that a farmer or landowner qualifies for.
The categories are:
- Farm Infrastructure – provides cost-share assistance for farm structure repair or replacement and farm road or bridge repair and replacement
- Future Economic Loss– provides cost-share assistance for economic loss for perennial crops, poultry and aquaculture operations. All approved specialty crops will need to be replanted in 2025 or 2026.
- Market Loss Assistance for Commodities and Value-Added Products – cost-share assistance for harvested or unharvested commodities or select value-added products in which value was reduced or destroyed by power outage.
- Timber Loss Relief Program – private timber landowners with at least 10 acres of timber loss are eligible. (The application period is not open yet for this portion of the program.)
The Timber Loss Relief Program will be administered by the department’s N.C. Forest Service. Details on this program’s requirements, signup period, deadline, etc. is expected to be announced in late April. Information will be posted on the NCDA&CS home page, the N.C. Forest Service website and through local County Ranger offices.
The block grant covers eligible producers in counties declared a disaster by the President or designated as a disaster by the Secretary of Agriculture due to Hurricane Helene. Disaster assistance will only cover losses associated with Hurricane Helene that were not covered under any other USDA programs. In addition, as part of the program, certain producers may have to agree to acquire and maintain USDA Risk Management coverage for two years.
The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is administering the Hurricane Helene-specific block grant that USDA announced in September 2025. Since that time, NCDA&CS has been working with USDA on a distribution plan and timeline that was approved mid-March by federal officials.
“The need remains great for producers who suffered tremendous losses in 2024 and who continue to struggle to rebuild their operations,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “It is important for producers to know that this is a separate program from the state program, so they will need to apply again for assistance in the categories they qualify for. The information needed is similar to what was required for the state program, so we hope the process will be easier and more familiar for producers. In addition, the federal funds will help with timber losses, which was not part of the state program.”
Eligible farmers can access and submit applications at www.ncagr.gov/agdisaster. Local county N.C. Cooperative Extension offices will be able to offer application assistance for producers who do not have internet access.
NCDA&CS is also operating its disaster assistance hotline at 1-866-747-9823 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to help with questions.
“Please be sure to share information on this program with others who may not have access to the internet or who have not heard about it,” Troxler added.
For more information, including a section with frequently asked questions, visit www.ncagr.gov/agdisaster, or call the NCDA&CS disaster assistance hotline at 866-747-9823 or email at agdisaster@ncagr.gov at any time.
-30-