Hurricane Helene ravaged farmers’ topsoil. They’re still fighting to build it back.

Hurricane Helene unleashed devastating floods across southern Appalachia, severely damaging farms and eroding vital topsoil in a region where agriculture is a key economic and cultural pillar. In northeast Tennessee, Will Runion’s 736-acre cattle and hay farm along the Nolichucky River was inundated when the river swelled to nearly 1,200 feet wide, about ten times its normal size. The floodwaters destroyed equipment, swept away structures, and gouged deep holes in his pastures, leaving fields buried under up to eight feet of sand and silt. Runion, who was also developing a riverfront campground, faced massive losses and a long road to recovery. The storm dropped up to 30 inches of rain across parts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, and Virginia, triggering historic flooding and landslides. These events caused widespread destruction in a largely rural area where farms are often small and located on flood-prone bottomlands valued for their fertile soil. In North Carolina alone, agricultural damages from Helene were estimated at $4.9 billion, with Tennessee’s losses reaching $1.3 billion. Thousands of farmers lost crops, livestock, machinery, and infrastructure, compounding the economic toll on the region’s agricultural communities. More than a year after the hurricane, farmers like Runion are grappling with the long-term impact on their soil, a critical but often overlooked resource. The floodwaters not only washed away topsoil but also deposited thick layers of sand and debris, severely degrading the land’s fertility. This loss threatens the viability of farms and the broader agricultural economy, as soil restoration is a slow and costly process. The disaster highlights the increasing vulnerability of Appalachian agriculture to extreme weather events, raising concerns about future resilience amid climate change. Efforts to rebuild are underway, but the scale of damage underscores the challenges faced by farmers in adapting to more frequent and intense storms. The disruption to farming operations and the loss of productive land could have lasting effects on food production, rural livelihoods, and the cultural fabric of the Appalachian region. As communities work to recover, the need for targeted support and sustainable land management practices has become more urgent to safeguard the future of agriculture in this vulnerable landscape.