Alabama, Florida and Georgia will receive a combined $800 million in block grants from USDA to help their agriculture industries recover from 2018 hurricanes, USDA announced Friday.
Florida will get $380.7 million, Georgia $347 million and Alabama $24.9 million.
Florida officials said the funds will compensate timber producers for lost value of their crop damaged by Hurricane Michael, helping them clear downed trees and replant. Block grant funding will also help producers repair and replace irrigation infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Michael. Officials say an estimated 550 million trees, weighing 72 million tons, were damaged or destroyed by the massive Category 5 hurricane.
The funding in Georgia is expected to reach pecan growers, timberland owners and poultry and cattle farmers who suffered heavy damage but had some operations that weren't covered by an earlier federal disaster aid program.
USDA is aiming to wrap everything up and disburse the funds by Thanksgiving. But that is not likely the timeframe for when the money will reach farmers.
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