Rebuild or sell to developers? WNC farmers face uncertain future after Helene

HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — April is a busy month for many local farmers as they plant their crops for the year. But that looks much different this season after thousands of acres of fields were washed away by Hurricane Helene.

The storm caused much more damage as fences and barns were torn down, expensive equipment floated away and crops were lost.

Now, many farmers are facing a desperate deadline of whether to risk it all again or sell.

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In Mills River, farmer Harrison Davis showed News 13 how different nearby fields look now.

"It would take thousands and thousands of loads of dirt to fix this field," Davis said.

He says fields that were full of tomatoes just one year ago are now covered by cracks and craters.

"[It'll] be a year or two until we are back to normal," he said.

He tells News 13 that Helene covered fields with river rock and stripped the topsoil away, leaving a massive amount of work to get them ready for another planting season. Davis admits that his family had hard talks after the storm about whether to continue.

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"We had to make some hard decisions," he said. "We met around dinner time as we were eating supper right after the storm and decided to go out on a limb of faith and do what we had to do to rebuild and open in the spring."

That meant working seven days a week from daylight to dark for the past six months.

"We had to load up and haul trees and wood and debris in fields. It's been a mess," he said.

With planting time almost here, Davis is hopeful they will be ready.

In Fairview, there is also uncertainty among farmers.

"We've got two riding horses here and they've just become one happy family," said farmer Carol Peterson.

Peterson tells News 13 that Lower Brush Creek Farm lost fencing, fields and equipment in the storm.

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"Well, we lived on a lakefront property when Helene hit. Cane Creek actually came over to our barn and about five feet into our barn," she said. "I have quite an emotional attachment to this farm, so I was devastated."

Six months later, work continues to get the fields cleared for the upcoming season. The family farm has been through seven generations and Steven Sizemore hopes it will live on past Helene.

"A lot of farmers including us have sent soil samples away to see what the samples and what the soil looks like in order to know how best to treat it and how to move forward for our crops," said Sizemore.

Sizemore tells News 13 that since they've received a lot of help and are a small operation, they should be okay. But, he knows others are facing a much tougher future.

"A lot of the farmers have lost virtually everything that allows them to sustain their farms," said Sizemore.

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In March, $200 million was passed to help farmers statewide rebuild from Helene. But that money isn't here yet.

"Right now, my concern is that these growers are already to the point that they need to be planting and they haven't gotten a dime yet," said Dr. Terry Kelley.

Kelley is the Henderson County extension director and estimates that agriculture throughout the county lost about $150 million in the storm. Now, planting season is back and many farms are still struggling to recover. Kelley fears that farms will be forced to close and will sell to developers hungry for the land.

"I've had a couple that have said 'I'm done, I'm not going to do this anymore. This is too big of a mountain to overcome,' and you can't blame them," said Kelley.

He also worries the money that's been promised won't be nearly enough. He guessed it will only cover about thirty percent of what most farmers' lost.

"It's all about timing and money. And right now, the timing is very slow and it looks like the money is very short," Kelley said.

In Haywood County, agriculture leaders have an idea about how to help farmers bring back their fields while also getting rid of storm debris. News 13 is investigating the possibility.