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(Washington, D.C., September 5, 2025) – Today, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Alexander Vaden in North Carolina met with agricultural leaders and producers and announced additional U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) assistance to help producers recover from Hurricane Helene. Deputy Secretary Vaden signed a block grant agreement with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) that provides recovery assistance to eligible North Carolina farmers. In July, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced additional disaster assistance for farmers and producers for Virginia and Florida.
In this agreement, NCDA&CS will receive $221.2 million in funding to administer a program that will cover eligible infrastructure and timber losses in addition to eligible market losses and eligible future year revenue losses. This funding is part of the $30 billion disaster assistance relief effort authorized by the American Relief Act, 2025. USDA is working with 14 different states, including North Carolina, to develop and implement block grants to address the unique disaster recovery needs for each state.
“America’s farmers and ranchers across the Southeast and in North Carolina have been hit hard and suffered significant economic losses during 2024. USDA has worked closely with the State of North Carolina to ensure those impacted have the relief they need,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “President Trump has our farmers' backs, and we are working quickly to get these much-needed relief funds to those who need to rebuild. This is one part of our daily actions to ensure our farmers have the resources they need to continue to produce the safest, most reliable, and most abundant food supply in the world.”
“Today’s announcement is about delivering on our promise to stand shoulder to shoulder with America’s farmers in times of need. By signing this block grant with North Carolina, USDA is ensuring that producers have the resources to rebuild stronger after Hurricane Helene and keep producing the food and fuel our nation depends on, said Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are moving quickly to cut red tape, get relief dollars into the hands of those who need it most, and protect the backbone of our rural economy, our family farms.”
“This $221.2 million federal disaster assistance block grant for agricultural damage due to Hurricane Helene is welcomed news to North Carolina farmers in western North Carolina who have been holding on in the aftermath of massive ag losses in 2024. We are grateful for USDA’s continued efforts on this block grant and appreciate their willingness to partner with us on this much needed assistance,” said North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “We all have an interest in the success of agriculture because farmers produce the food and fiber we all depend on.”
USDA and NCDA&CS have finalized a grant agreement that will cover qualifying losses not addressed by other USDA disaster programs. Producers should look for additional program information available through the NCDA&CS.
Additional USDA Supplemental Disaster Assistance
USDA remains committed to implementing the remaining disaster assistance provided by the American Relief Act, 2025 (The Act). On Jul 10, Secretary Rollins launched Stage 1 of the two-stage Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) to assist producers who incurred losses of revenue, quality, or production of crops due to weather related events in 2023 and 2024. To date, more than $1 billion in Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) assistance has been delivered to livestock producers impacted by drought and wildfire in 2023 and 2024. USDA has also provided over $8 billion so far in direct payments through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) to help agricultural producers mitigate the impacts of increased input costs and falling commodity prices. Visit the 2023/2024 Supplemental Disaster Assistance public landing page to track the status of USDA disaster assistance. The page is updated regularly and accessible through fsa.usda.gov.
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