Western NC farmers worry over Helene’s impact on crops, cattle and produce

Farmers in western North Carolina are dealing with so much devastation.

That’s why the State Farmer’s Market in Raleigh is collecting donations, food and supplies. They’re making sure local farmers are not forgotten.

Donations are rolling in for hard-hit communities as what’s left of some of western North Carolina’s farmlands and crop production is unrecognizable.

“My body is wore out,” said Transylvania County livestock farmer Sarah Clayton. “My body is tired, but my brain and my heart is running 100 miles an hour.”

Clayton shared photos with WRAL News from farmers across the county who have lost the majority of their crucial crops, produce and cattle.

“It’s been a huge devastation,” Clayton said. “Not just for things that we use for our livelihood, but this is people’s businesses that may not ever recover, and that’s a hard pill to swallow.”

On Saturday, Clayton was sitting inside Brevard High School, which has become a central hub for farmers to now gather supplies.

“From yesterday till this morning, we’ve already gone through probably 70% of the supplies that we were delivered in the last few days,” Clayton said. “So the need is there. The supplies are coming from local organizations.”

And some of that support rolling is coming from efforts like this with the State Department of  Agriculture.

“There’s just so many pieces to the puzzle of so many things,” said State Farmers Market Manager Monica Wood. “There’s all the livestock farmers that have really had to come together. There’s a lot of different resources that the North County Department of Agriculture and our Emergency Programs Division are working on, as far as helping getting feed and hay.”

Partnering with the Asheville Farmer’s Market, they’re also working to help farmers sell products that were harvested before the storm hit.

“We’ve got to come together and help each other and do everything that we can,” Wood said.

Salvaging as much as they can, Clayton says it’s just the beginning.

“I don’t think folks are going to necessarily see the impact of what has been lost in western North Carolina until a couple months down the road,” Clayton said. “When they go to the grocery store and they look at the prices and, and they’re asking why are the prices so high.”

Much like their faith, she hopes the generosity will preserve beyond the storm.

“What I’m fearful of is once the hype goes down and people go back to their regular lives,” Clayton said. “The regular lives of our farmers and folks in this community are not going to be the same.”