Federal officials testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee on how they’re dealing with disasters. Reports say Georgia and North Carolina senators testified about the devastation facing their farmers after Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit those states this Fall. Beyond those disasters, several senators also talked about significant financial losses facing row crop farmers in their states.
“Many farmers across the country are on the verge of going out of business due to hurricanes, wildfires, drought, and other weather-related events that wiped out entire crops,” said Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. “But there are also many farmers across the country on the verge of going out of business due to high input costs and below break-even commodity prices, and they need help too.” She added that for the first time in her career, she’s had lenders and bankers say they weren’t going to be able to help finance farmers in 2025.