GFB News Magazine

Hurricane Helene Block Grants: April 27 deadline to apply

Posted on March 4, 2026 8:54 AM

Hurricane Helene destroyed about 1.47 million acres of Georgia timber, including this tract in Treutlen County. The storm caused about $1.28 billion in losses to Georgia's timber sector according to a report issued by the Georgia Forestry Commission and the UGA Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources. /Photo by Jennifer Whittaker

From Georgia Department of Agriculture 

Georgia farmers, ranchers and foresters in eligible counties, who suffered losses of timber, infrastructure, poultry, beef or dairy cattle, milk loss, dairy feed loss, pecans, blueberries, citrus, nursery, plasticulture or bare ground practices due to Hurricane Helene may apply for assistance until midnight April 27. Visit www.farmrecovery.com for the application, eligibility requirements and more information.

The six-week application period opened on March 16. Approved applications will receive payments after the block grant signup period ends.

The USDA has allocated Georgia $531,236,000 million to provide relief for commodities and losses not covered under pre-existing USDA programs. Georgia is covering more commodities and loss types than any other state, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA), which is administering the program, says.

Producers in the following counties are eligible for loss repayment from the Hurricane Helene Block Grant Program: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Chattahoochee, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Glynn, Grady, Hancock, Houston, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lanier, Laurens, Lee, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, Marion, McDuffie, McIntosh, Miller, Mitchell, Montgomery, Oglethorpe, Pierce, Pulaski, Quitman, Rabun, Randolph, Richmond, Screven, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson, and Worth.

Questions about the block grant program may be asked via phone at 404-656-3630 or by email at hbg@agr.georgia.gov.

 “While this relief will not make impacted producers 100% whole, it will go a long way to help farm families get back on their feet after the devastation of Hurricane Helene. We invested thousands of hours into this process to ensure we brought the maximum amount of funding to Georgia while covering as many commodities and loss types as possible, and I want to thank the Trump Administration and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins for understanding the critical need for financial relief following the devastation of Hurricane Helene,” said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper. 

Timber payments will be based on pre-hurricane values of damaged timber stands; infrastructure losses will cover on-farm physical structures needed for ag production; poultry losses will be based on lost production cycles; beef and dairy cattle losses cover drops in conception rates; milk losses are for lower milk production; pecan, blueberry and citrus losses are for future production losses due to destroyed bushes and trees; nursery losses cover future production losses due to destruction of nursery crops. Compensation will be provided to reestablish plasticulture and bare-ground practices damaged by Helene. Minimum loss requirements for all above categories will apply.

The GDA block grant application will ask:

 1. Are you applying as an: Individual, General Partnership, Joint Venture, Sole Proprietorship, Corporation, Limited Partnership, Limited Liability Company, Revocable/Living Trust, Irrevocable Trust, Estate, Charitable/Tax Exempt Organization? Entities must list member names and shares.

2. What is your name or name of your operation?

3. What is your Tax Identification Number?

4. What is your GATE Card Number?

5. What is the physical location of the farm(s)?

6. What is your USDA Farm Number?

7. Are you an owner or do you lease the property?

8. How can you prove your interest in the farm?

Records that may support a producer’s loss claims:

Deeds; 2024 tax assessments; lease contracts; documentation verifying timber losses; acreage reports; crop insurance records; veterinarian records; poultry lost production cycles; tree, bush and/or nursery damage; damage to buildings; receipts for animal medications, records of milk production; animal numbers pre and post Hurricane Helene; expense invoices; sales receipts; trucking receipts; repair bills; demolition bills; reconstruction invoices; photographs, aerial photos; replacement invoices; other documentation that helps substantiate losses.

Farmers, ranchers & foresters who suffered eligible losses in the pink counties in map below may apply for relief from the Hurricane Helene Block Grant Program. /Map courtesy of GDA

Farmers and ranchers who suffered infrastructure loss not covered by other USDA programs, may apply for assistance through the Georgia Hurricane Helene Block Grant Program. / Photo by Jay Stone 

Georgia farmers who suffered losses in blueberries, citrus, nursery, plasticulture and bare ground practices due to Hurricane Helene, not covered by other USDA programs, may apply for assistance through the Georgia Hurricane Helene Block Grant Program. / Photo by Jennifer Whittaker