Georgia has revised its estimates of agriculture losses from Hurricane Michael.
State agencies say losses of timberland and the state’s cotton crop were not as bad as feared in early estimates.
Early estimates of timber damage by the Georgia Department of Agriculture were $1 billion — a big part of the total agriculture damage estimate last week of up to $3 billion and counting.
But the Georgia Forestry Commission Tuesday released a detailed analysis showing damage to more than two million acres of forestland, resulting in a $374 million total loss. Commission Director Chuck Williams reported that about 79,000 acres of forest were a complete loss following Michael, with the most severe damage in the southwest where the storm entered the state on Oct. 10. In 2017, Georgia led the nation in the volume of annual timber harvested.
“Once our crews were able to get on the ground and conduct a thorough assessment, we were able to provide a value estimate that is much less than anticipated, thankfully,” Williams said. “A couple of factors affected the lesser valuations —the hardest hit areas weren't as densely forested, and more forested acres fell into the "moderate damage" classification.”
Cotton losses were also narrowed from an early GDA estimate range of between $300 million and $800 million, which was dependent on farmers’ ability to harvest what remained in the field.
University of Georgia Extension reported an updated cotton damage assessment of $550 to $600 million due to Hurricane Michael, the GDA said Tuesday. Last year, Georgia cotton farms produced 2.25 million bales of cotton lint at an estimated market value of $794.9 million.
The storm’s impact to the landscape and green industry have been added to the scope of damage. The agriculture department said UGA Extension estimatesd a $13 million loss to the sector.
Losses to other crops and commodities remained unchanged. The pecan crop loss from Michael is estimated at $560 million, which will have ongoing impact because of the extensive damage to mature, producing trees.
Losses to vegetable crops including sweet corn, cucumbers, squash, peppers, peas, and more remain estimated at $480 million.
And poultry losses continued to be estimated at $25 million for Georgia's dominant commodity. Farmers lost 97 chicken houses and well over 2 million chickens in Michael. Both meat and egg production was affected.
The peanut crop loss estimate at between $10 million and $20 million was unchanged. The speed of repairs to infrastructure and restoration of power will be a major factor on the final loss estimates, the GDA said.
“As president of Georgia Farm Bureau, I want to encourage our people, the farmers, to be patient,” said farmer and bureau president Gerald Long. “We’re at one of our lowest moments in life, and patience is tough right now.”
