‘From the tractor’ is published in the monthly Agricultural Review. This column appears in the June 2026 edition of the paper. The most up-to-date information about the Federal Block Grant Assistance Program can be found here: USDA Block Grant Disaster Relief | NC Agriculture.
The deadline to apply for the $221 million USDA block grant for certain ag losses from Hurricane Helene has been extended to June 12. The block grant applies to producers and landowners in 39 presidential or secretarial declared counties for Hurricane Helene damage. The disaster assistance will only cover losses associated with Hurricane Helene that were not covered under any other USDA programs.
We’ve extended the deadline to make one last big push to notify anyone who may qualify for this disaster assistance block grant.
Along with our partners, we have worked to make sure that everyone that might be eligible to apply for this assistance is aware of the program. If you have neighbors or know of farmers that might benefit from this block grant and might not know about it we encourage you to share this information with them.
The block grant covers four categories of loss, which includes:
- 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 landowners with at least 10 contiguous acres of moderate to catastrophic timber loss are eligible.
If you are reading this in early June, the window is shrinking quickly to apply and I urge you to take action now. Eligible farmers and landowners will find information and instructions at www.ncagr.gov/agdisaster. In addition, local county N.C. Cooperative Extension offices are offering application assistance for non-timber loss applications.
The Timber Loss Relief Program is being managed by the N.C. Forest Service, and more information can be found at https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/nc-forest-service/managing-your-forest/tlrp. To begin the timber loss application process, landowners should contact their local N.C. Forest Service county ranger’s office.
Timber owners will find answers to frequently asked questions, a map of eligible counties, program application forms and links to lists of private consulting foresters who may be able to assist landowners with completion and submission of the required TLRP timber damage assessment report.
It is important that anyone who thinks they qualify for the block grant to go online at one of the two links above and start the application process.
For clarity, this is not the state ag disaster program, this is a federal program. Each program requires its own application process, so if you applied for state disaster assistance, you would still need to apply for the federal block grant as well. Similar information is required on both applications, which we hope will make for a smoother application process.
We are continuing to work on the state disaster assistance program as of press time, and we will continue to evaluate losses for the state program and process payments to eligible farmers while we collect applications for the federal program.
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Finally, I want to thank everyone who participated in our Farmland Preservation Advocacy Day at the N.C. Geneal Assembly in May. We had great turnout and I am hopeful your meetings and conversations with legislators will lead to increased awareness and funding for farmland preservation efforts.
In our most recent grant cycle, we received $59 million in funding requests but only had $3.1 million in new funding to award. Interest in farmland conservation is great, but we need additional funding now to help ensure we have the farmland resources we need going forward to continue to provide for ourselves, the nation and the world.
We asked our legislators to increase recurring funding to $25 million, match $11 million in federal dollars for partnership projects and secure $1 million for the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural Districts program.
North Carolina is the third fastest growing state according to the U.S. Census Bureau. We are experiencing development across the state, making it imperative we take action to protect farms and farmland. Please let your legislators know we need to invest in our future. It is time for North Carolina to be visionary and not reactionary.