Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) recently joined U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Alexander Vaden and N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler in Asheville, where the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a historic assistance package to help producers recover from Hurricane Helene. The signed block grant agreement with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) will distribute $221.2 million in recovery assistance to eligible North Carolina farmers.
Following the announcement, Senator Budd said:
“For almost a year now, farmers across Western North Carolina have fought to rebuild their livelihoods given widespread devastation to infrastructure and timber and crop losses caused by Hurricane Helene. On Friday, USDA finalized a $221 million block grant to help our farmers recover from these losses. Thank you to all those involved, particularly President Trump, Secretary Rollins, Commissioner Troxler, and members of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation. While there’s much more to be done to rebuild Western North Carolina, this block grant goes a long way to help restore the foundation of our state’s largest single industry—agriculture.”
Secretary Brooke Rollins said, “America’s farmers and ranchers across the Southeast and in North Carolina have been hit hard and suffered significant economic losses during 2024. USDA has worked closely with the State of North Carolina to ensure those impacted have the relief they need. President Trump has our farmers’ backs, and we are working quickly to get these much-needed relief funds to those who need to rebuild. This is one part of our daily actions to ensure our farmers have the resources they need to continue to produce the safest, most reliable, and most abundant food supply in the world.”
Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden said, “Today’s announcement is about delivering on our promise to stand shoulder to shoulder with America’s farmers in times of need. By signing this block grant with North Carolina, USDA is ensuring that producers have the resources to rebuild stronger after Hurricane Helene and keep producing the food and fuel our nation depends on. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are moving quickly to cut red tape, get relief dollars into the hands of those who need it most, and protect the backbone of our rural economy, our family farms.”
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said, “This $221.2 million federal disaster assistance block grant for agricultural damage due to Hurricane Helene is welcomed news to North Carolina farmers in western North Carolina who have been holding on in the aftermath of massive ag losses in 2024. We are grateful for USDA’s continued efforts on this block grant and appreciate their willingness to partner with us on this much needed assistance. We all have an interest in the success of agriculture because farmers produce the food and fiber we all depend on.”
BACKGROUND:
In this agreement, NCDA&CS will receive $221.2 million in funding to administer a program that will cover eligible infrastructure and timber losses in addition to eligible market losses and eligible future year revenue losses. This funding is part of the $30 billion disaster assistance relief effort authorized by the American Relief Act, 2025.
Visit the 2023/2024 Supplemental Disaster Assistance public landing page to track the status of USDA disaster assistance.
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