Hurricane Helene Hit on Florida Agriculture More Than $40 Million
November 19, 2024 When a major hurricane strikes, it takes time to add up all the damage. Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend area as a Category 4 storm in late September, bringing high winds, widespread floods, and devastating coastal surge. The storm would go on to wreak havoc as it moved north. Numerous farm operations felt the effects of Helene and have been recovering since. After nearly two months of gathering data and poring over numbers, University of Florida ag economists have their initial tallies. According to a preliminary assessment from the UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program (EIAP), ag production losses in Florida from Hurricane Helene have an estimated value between $40.3 million and $162.2 million.
EIAP assessments are based on producer surveys. The estimated range of annual production losses for the current growing or marketing season are broken out as follows:
- Vegetables, melons, and potatoes: $10.5 million and $38.2 million
- Field and row crops: $12.8 million to $48.2 million
- Animals and animal products: $11.8 million to $44.4 million
Why the big range of estimates? EIAP economists attribute that to uncertainty as well as to large tracts of agricultural lands where producers experienced weak hurricane conditions and reported minimal or no losses. Helene affected more than 6 million acres of ag land in Florida, property that collectively produces an estimated $8.7 billion in agricultural products over multiple growing seasons each year, according to UF/IFAS. The majority of that land (68%) is used for cattle grazing.
Storm vs. Storm
Despite Helene being a major Category 4 storm, the ag production loss estimates are actually less than those of Hurricane Debby, a Category 1 system that made landfall in early August around the same area. Agricultural losses for Debby were estimated between $93.7 million and $263.2 million.
“Debby resulted in greater agricultural losses than Helene due to heavier rainfall and more extensive flooding, some of which affected areas that grow or raise higher-value products,” says Xiaohui Qiao, EIAP Research Assistant Professor.
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No sooner than damage assessments began for Helene, another major hurricane (Milton) took aim at the Sunshine State. Three landfalling hurricanes have kept EIAP team members very busy this season. Understandably, damage assessments for Hurricane Milton will likely take extra time to compile.
“Helene made landfall only eight weeks after Hurricane Debby, in the same region of the state, and we had to modify our methods to ensure that we were not double counting and overestimating production losses,” says Christa Court, UF/IFAS EIAP Director. “Hurricane Milton, which made landfall just under two weeks after Helene and was associated with an outbreak of tornadic activity, has resulted in additional complications that we are now managing in our assessment of that event.”
The final EIAP report on Hurricane Helene is expected to be complete sometime in early 2025.
Hurricane Recovery Assistance
As recovery continues in the wake of hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, Meister Media Worldwide strives to provide important grower information and resources for assistance. Click here to explore resources now.
By the way: The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on Nov. 30. The 2024 season has been one to remember.
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