Hurricane Helenes Impact on Tennessee Agriculture: A Study by the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The United States Department of Agriculture gave the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture a $275,000 grant to study the effects of Hurricane Helene on agriculture.

Assistant Professor Eminé Fidan told 6 News that Helene left an enormous amount of silt and sediment on agricultural land, enough to bury farmland under six feet of sand in some instances.

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UTIA is studying how this will impact farmers in Cocke, Greene, Unicoi and Washington counties and what can be done to help. Fidan explained that UTIA has been trying to answer questions from farmers on how Helene will impact soil and crops in the years ahead.

“This project will address the critical need for assessing and managing flood deposits in four counties in Tennessee where surface waters are used for crop irrigation and where soil quality is crucial for tomatoes, soybean, corn, tobacco and other crops,” said Fidan. “Our work is essential for understanding the immediate challenges and long-term impacts on agroecosystem health and food safety, and for developing strategies that will benefit farmers in future seasons.”

The first issue UTIA studied was how to remove the sediment so farmers could plant. Now, this new grant will allow professors to study issues that might hinder farmers from growing crops going forward.

Fidan said that seeing the damage done by Helene was “discouraging” at first, and some worried if they would ever recover, but crops in some areas are giving them hope.

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“I’ve honestly been kind of surprised by how well some fields are doing,” she said. “We are getting some growth and some crops that are flourishing in some areas that were impacted by Helene which gives us hope.”

Fidan said that UTIA is planning to host a field day on August 20 where they will answer questions about Helene.

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