‘From the tractor’ is published in the monthly Agricultural Review. This column appears in the April 2026 edition of the paper. The most up-to-date information about the Federal Block Grant Assistance Program can be found here: Ag Disaster Programs | NC Agriculture.
I am writing this column as we are finalizing the details about the $221 million USDA Hurricane Helene disaster assistance block grant we secured in 2025. By the time you receive the newspaper, we anticipate the application period for most of the block grant program will be open for producers in the 39 counties declared a disaster by the President or designated a disaster by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
This block grant only applies to producers and landowners in those counties, with a focus on four specific categories of loss. Please note that an application is required for each category and county a producer or landowner qualifies for.
The categories cover the following areas: timber loss for private timber landowners with 10 acres of timber loss or more; farm infrastructure to include cost-share assistance for farm structure repair or replacement and bridge repair or replacement; future economic loss which includes cost-share assistance for economic loss of perennial crops, poultry and aquaculture operations; and market loss for commodities and value-added products for harvested or unharvested commodities or select value-added products where the value was reduced or destroyed by a power outage.
The Timber Loss Relief Program component will be administered by the department’s N.C. Forest Service. Details on this program’s requirements, signup period, etc. will be available in the coming weeks with information posted on the NCDA&CS home page, the N.C. Forest Service website and through local County Ranger offices. The federal block grant program is completely separate from the state program, which is why there is a new application period. I would encourage producers and landowners who had losses in these categories to go online at www.ncagr.gov/agdisaster and click on the link to the Federal Block Grant Assistance Program to access the application and look for more details on the program.
It is important that we reach as many farmers and landowners with ag and forestry losses as possible, so please share this information with anyone who may not have access to the internet or who may not have heard about the new application period. Local Cooperative Extension offices are ready to assist producers or landowners who need help with the applications.
We will also be operating a disaster assistance hotline Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to answer questions about the program. That number is 1-866-747-9823.
I am proud of the work the department has already done with the state disaster assistance program, but we know as we launch this federal block grant program that we still have a lot more to do.
We have been working with USDA since the grant was announced in September to put together a plan for what would be covered and how we would distribute funds. We received final approval of that plan, which was required before we could move forward, in mid-March.
I continue to hear from many farmers, and I know how important these disaster funds are to them as they work to recover from this disaster amid a very challenging production time with low prices and increasing input costs. Distributing the remaining state funds and now processing applications for these federal funds will remain a top priority for the department.
To provide a brief update on the state crop disaster program as of press time on March 18, we have distributed $285.48 million with another $547,950 obligated. Over $280 million through 7,745 payments have cleared. We are continuing to work on applications for infrastructure losses and have sent out 6,977 crop payments, 660 nursery payments, 221 infrastructure payments and seven aquaculture payments.
We have a Crop Loss Disbursements Tracker for the state crop disaster program on the Ag Disaster website that highlights what has been distributed. You can search by counties also if you are interested.
I hope to share more details and updates in the future. Please follow the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) or Got to Be NC on Instagram for the latest updates. We will also post updated information on our website at www.ncagr.gov. We have an Agricultural Disaster Crop Loss Program link on the home page where you can search for the latest information.