NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Farmers in Western North Carolina are expressing concern about their crops following Hurricane Helene.
The flood waters washed away roads and destroyed homes. Farmer Michael Raymour said he saw water flood fields of crops.
He is a Urban Agriculture Agent with the Buncombe County Center NC A&T Extensions.
"I live in the community of Barnesville and we were physically hit really hard," Raymour shared, "We have seen fields covered with feet of sediment."
He is choosing not to harvest his crop out of precaution.
"I'm a ginger farmer and in my ginger crop I have some areas that got a tiny amount of water in it," Raymour shared, "I'm not taking any risk."
North Carolina A&T's Corporative Extension said crops this season were hit back to back. It first started with a drought a few months ago, then heavy rains saturated the soil. Experts say devastation from Hurricane Helene took a toll of crops in the area.
"They had built local food there that small growers and producers were growing and producing. It was going into the local restaurant industry. It became a thriving business and entrepreneurial system for small farmers." Associate Dean Administrator for NC A&T Cooperative Extension Dr. M. Ray McKinnie said.
He said the murky flood waters could hold toxins and impact present and future crops.
"Even as we begin to harvest some of these crops, we have to be cognizant and conscious of if they have suffered any type of contamination. So individuals who have crops or gardens or things that they have planted. Even though it may be ripe or at a mature age, we have to inform them to be cognizant of contamination."
The State Department of Agriculture said taking pictures of the damage, and removing any debris is just one of the first steps to assessing soil and crop management.