Storm damage could be almost $200 billion
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Members of the American farming community are doing what they can to help those impacted by Hurricane Harvey in Texas last week.
In Kansas, the Department of Agriculture is collecting hay for transport to the affected areas.
And Governor Sam Brownback signed an executive order to lift certain rules and regulations for commercial transport vehicles to ensure the supplies are delivered as soon as possible.
“This action will help Kansans who wish to help provide hay and other supplies to help farmers and ranchers in Texas,” the August 30 executive order says.
The USDA estimated 1.2 million beef cows across 54 Texas counties are impacted by the storm.
In North Carolina, a farmer and feed supplier is also planning to donate hay to help the affected ranchers.
Harvey dropped 51.9 inches of rain in Texas since the storm made landfall last Thursday, meaning cows are running low on food.
“If they had feed it’s flooded (and) if they had hay it’s flooded (too),” Jessica Hill, owner of Liberty Farm and Garden Supply, told Fox8. “They have thousands of cattle down there.”
Hill hopes community donations will help send 100 tons of animal feed to farmers in Texas.
And for her, farmers helping farmers is an idea that hits close to home.
Hill’s family has farmed cattle since 1899. In the 1980s, a severe drought dried up all the hay, so farmers from around the U.S. sent hay to her family’s farm, she told Fox8.
In Missouri, the Equipment Dealers Foundation, is asking the community to donate to its Disaster Relief Fund.
The fund was created after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Since then, it has helped disperse more than $280,000 to affected people.
“We need to make sure those affected know that our community supports them and is willing to do anything we can to help,” Tom Nobbe, chairman of the Equipment Dealers Foundation, said in a statement.
AccuWeather estimates Hurricane Harvey’s damage could top $190 billion.
A list of other ways to help those affected can be found here.