Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J. Harper announced on Friday a new emergency loan program meant to provide state farmers with recovery funds following damages caused by Hurricane Helene in September.
The SAFETY 24 Hurricane Helene Relief Loan Program will contribute towards providing lost income and continuing the operations of agriculture workers until more federal aid is approved.
Eligible uses of funds include income replacement, operating capital, repairing or replacing damaged farm structures and the repairing or replacement of damaged equipment, according a recent press release from the department.
“Our team at the Georgia Department of Agriculture has been working around the clock, in coordination with the Georgia Development Authority, to get the SAFETY 24 Hurricane Relief Loan Program online as quickly as possible so we can deliver these much-need funds to impacted farmers,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J. Harper said in the release.
“Georgia’s farmers have experienced unprecedented losses as a result of Hurricane Helene and the storms that followed it, and we’re taking decisive action on the state level to provide relief for them as quickly as possible,” added Governor Brian Kemp. “While we continue to call on Congress to take quick action in providing block grants that will further provide relief … we will continue fighting for the hardworking men and women of our No. 1 industry and all Georgians impacted by Helene.”
The SAFETY 24 program is one of several initiatives aiming to provide relief for Georgia farmers still feeling the financial effects of the natural disasters nearly three months later.
A preliminary report from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) in October noted that the estimated cost of lost crops, farm recovery, and losses for workers and agricultural support businesses would amount to a $6.46 billion hit to the state economy.
In response to the economic destruction Helene caused to farms, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced later in September a relief assistance plan that provided an estimated $207.7 million in indemnities for Georgia.
“This is a large amount of money, but it is relatively a small amount of money if you look at the totality of the loss that these farmers have suffered,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told WABE at the time of the announcement. “This is a first payment, if you will, on [crop insurance] payments that they have.”
Those interested in applying for the SAFETY 24 Hurricane Relief Loan Program can apply online, with applications available for submission via email or regular mail. Those who choose the latter option can send their envelope to the Georgia Development Authority, 1890 Highway 130, Monroe, Ga. 39655.
In addition to the application form, potential recipients must also include a SAFETY 24 Product Loss Verification form and an Operating Credit Continuity Agreement. The Product Loss Verification form must be completed by a crop insurance agent, UGA Extension Service, Farm Service Agency or a loan specialist. The agreement must be obtained from the applicant’s primary operating credit provider stating that the primary operating credit provider will continue financing operating capital for the applicant after the SAFETY 24 loan closes for the next year of operation.
The loan program will be administered on a first-come-first-serve basis.
