Photo by Lindy Savelle
The agricultural production losses Florida experienced due to Hurricane Helene have an estimated value between $40.3 million and $162.2 million, according to a preliminary report by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Economic Impact Analysis Program (EIAP).
The report is based on a diverse set of baseline data and surveys UF/IFAS economists distributed to producers.
Helene, a Category 4 storm, made landfall Sept. 26 near Perry and brought tropical storm-force winds to 55 of the state’s 67 counties, as well as hurricane conditions to eight others: Dixie, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, Tayor and Wakulla.
Helene affected more than six million acres of agricultural land in Florida, property that collectively produces an estimated $8.7 billion in agricultural products over multiple growing seasons each year; 68% of the affected land is used for animal grazing.
“Debby, despite being a weaker storm in terms of wind, resulted in greater agricultural losses than Helene due to heavier rainfall and more extensive flooding, some of which affected areas that grow or raise higher-value products,” said Xiaohui Qiao, EIAP research assistant professor.
A vast majority of lands affected by Helene – 99.6% – experienced low-intensity weather conditions.
Powerful winds are responsible for a large percentage of agricultural losses caused by Helene. The storm flattened and stripped crops, damaged irrigation systems and fences and caused power outages.
Production Losses
The estimated range of annual production losses for the current growing or marketing season for select commodity groups include:
- Field and row crops: $12.8 million to $48.2 million
- Animals and animal products: $11.8 million to $44.4 million
- Vegetables, melons and potatoes: $10.5 million and $38.2 million
The EIAP economists attribute the significant difference between the low and high estimates in each range to uncertainty as well as to large swaths of agricultural lands where producers experienced weak hurricane conditions and reported minimal or no losses.
Although the EIAP team is committed to providing timely and reliable estimates of production losses, this year’s overly active hurricane season has prolonged the assessment process, said Christa Court, UF/IFAS EIAP director.
“Helene made landfall only eight weeks after Hurricane Debby, in the same region of the state, and we had to modify our methods to ensure that we were not double counting and overestimating production losses,” Court said. “Hurricane Milton, which made landfall just under two weeks after Helene and was associated with an outbreak of tornadic activity, has resulted in additional complications that we are now managing in our assessment of that event.”
Report impacts from Hurricane Helene and access the economists’ preliminary report on the EIAP website.