By Clint Thompson
Georgia’s blueberry industry suffered a $52 million impact following Hurricane Helene. An additional $150 million impact could also be realized with future quality losses.
Preliminary estimates for the economic impact of Hurricane Helene topped $6 billion, according to totals released last week by the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES).
Russ Goodman, a Georgia blueberry grower and state representative, was in attendance for the press conference in Soperton, Georgia, where the initial assessments were released.
“People ask me how I’m doing all the time, and I just always say, I’m just trying to stay ahead of the repo man. I told (someone recently), he’s gained a lot of ground on me in the last 10 days,” Goodman said. “We’ve suffered a tremendous amount of damage in our blueberries and timber as well. We’re hauling blueberries out by the dump truck load, broken blueberries. We were already suffering from so much rain this year.
“These blueberry bushes have already been through two hurricanes and a tropical storm. I just don’t know how much more they’re going to take.”
Goodman estimates that next year’s production will only net about 40% as a result of Helene’s high winds and excessive rains.
“It’s been tough, but we know we’re not alone. The farm families across this state are in the same position. We’re going to keep pushing our friends on the federal level to get some help down here,” Goodman said. “Tough times never last, but tough people do. Some of the toughest people in the world are the Georgia farmer.”