Hurricane Irma brought considerable damage to the Southeast, including to agriculture. Assessments have begun, and agriculture is getting back to work following the storm. However, the lack of electricity has impacted mostly everyone in the storm’s path. High winds snapped power lines and left about 7.3 million homes and businesses without power in Florida and elsewhere in the U.S. Southeast, state officials and utilities said. They said it could take weeks to complete repairs.
Irma prompted Tyson Foods Inc to shut meat plants in Florida and Georgia on Monday to keep workers safe. Tyson plants were shuttered in Cumming, Dawson and Vienna, Georgia, and at a beef facility in Jacksonville, Florida, spokesman Derek Burleson said.
In Georgia, the Port of Savannah, which exports almost a third of all U.S. poultry, was closed through Tuesday, the Georgia Ports Authority said. In South Carolina, the Port of Charleston, which also handles exports of poultry, also halted shipping operations due to the storm. The South Carolina Ports Authority said it expects normal operations to resume on Tuesday.
Because of the impact on many crops due to Irma, USDA will survey and complete updated harvested acreage in affected states. This information will be released in USDA’s October 12 Crop Production report. Harvested acreage will be collected from producers of soybeans in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana for corn and soybeans; South Carolina for soybeans; and in Texas for corn and soybeans.
Georgia State Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, a former Georgia governor, will tour the state Friday to assess the damage.
“At this time, it is too soon to tell just how much Hurricane Irma has devastated the agriculture industry,” said Adam Putnam, Florida’s agriculture commissioner.
