Rep. Austin Scott Pens Op Ed in Agri Pulse Advocating for Helene Agricultural Disaster Relief

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- U.S. Representative Austin Scott (GA-08) today penned an op-ed in Agri-Pulse emphasizing the importance of disaster relief for our farmers after Hurricane Helene.

"Hurricane Helene caused a devastating blow to Georgia's number-one industry, with over $6.4 billion in agricultural economic loss alone," Scott wrote. "If we fail to provide agriculture-specific appropriations to help our farmers before the end of the year, we will see widespread, lasting economic loss across all of rural Southeast America, especially in Georgia."

The full op-ed can be found here or read below:

Opinion: Southeastern farmers need disaster relief now

The economy in rural America starts and stops with the American farmer.

Amid the deafening noise inside political echo chambers and ceaseless squabbling of Congress is one truth that we cannot ignore- we are a nation united in reliance on our farmers.

Without the American farmer, there is no adequate tax base for our school systems, local municipalities, or any services that rural Americans need to live and prosper in this country.

Everybody eats, and we all need the food and fiber that our farmers produce to live. No one wants to be dependent on foreign sources of food, just like no one wants to be dependent on foreign sources of energy. Right now, our farmers need our help.

Hurricane Helene caused a devastating blow to Georgia's number-one industry, with over $6.4 billion in agricultural economic loss alone.

If we fail to provide agriculture-specific appropriations to help our farmers before the end of the year, we will see widespread, lasting economic loss across all of rural Southeast America, especially in Georgia.

As I traveled across Georgia's Eighth Congressional District in the immediate aftermath of Helene, I saw the devastation to our farms firsthand. From hundreds of demolished poultry houses and cotton fields in Coffee County to decimated pecan orchards in Berrien and Lowndes Counties and vegetable rows and fruit bushes in ruins across Clinch County, it is clear that our farmers need immediate assistance.

Congress cannot stop a hurricane, but we can fix the unnatural disasters that our farmers face to aid their recovery.

House Agriculture Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, Rep. Kat Cammack, Rep. Darren Soto, and Rep. Doug LaMalfa visited Georgia's Eighth District with me recently to survey the damage after Helene across South Georgia and North Florida. Our farmers need help, and I appreciate the Chairman and others taking the time to meet with them firsthand so we can better work together for relief.

Unfortunately, trouble for our nation's farmers began far before Hurricane Helene. Since the last Farm Bill was passed in 2018, our farmers and nation have experienced excessively challenging events that have changed the political landscape in which we need to navigate to properly support the best stewards of our land.

With rising input costs, including the increased cost of labor, diesel, fertilizer, chemicals, and seed, farming is more expensive than it has ever been in our country.

Georgia's farmers were also horribly impacted by Hurricane Michael in 2018, which caused more than $2.5 billion in losses to the state's agriculture industry. It took approximately 24 months for our farmers to get relief after Hurricane Michael, and I can assure you that the majority of producers and rural communities that Helene hit cannot survive another 24 months without something being done.

America's farmers are also suffering from the unnaturally disastrous policies of the Biden-Harris Administration, which have contributed to record inflation and the rising cost of energy and food production.

There has to be a strong safety net to keep good farmers farming through bad years like this one. If you are an American who eats, you should deeply care about the passage of a comprehensive Farm Bill that prioritizes production agriculture.

Earlier this year, the House Agriculture Committee passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 (Farm Bill). This legislation includes critical updates to reference prices and several of my priorities to ensure a strong farm safety net by expanding crop insurance options to specialty crops, all of which would greatly assist producers in times of natural disaster.

However, this bill is stalled in Congress, and the Senate Democrats just released a half-baked last-minute "Farm Bill" just to look like they did something, further fueling the fear of the forgotten farmer as they struggle to feed us.

When the American farmer stops farming, rural communities collapse because their core and main economic driver is gone. We need to give farmers the support they need to keep farming with the confidence to know they are not forgotten.

It is my hope that Congress passes both the Farm, Food, and National Security Act and an agriculture-specific disaster relief appropriations package before the end of the year so that our farmers can continue feeding our nation and supporting our rural communities.