Lucille Neal, Editor-in-Chief of The Spark
On September 26th, 2024, Hurricane Helene hit Watauga County in a weather event unforeseen by anyone. In the wake of this event, it became clear that no community went untouched. Agriculture, an intrinsic part of Watauga County commerce and community, faced catastrophic damage. Marina Wilson, Watauga High School FFA president and Ellis Cattle Co. farm hand described the hurricane as a “wake up call.”
“In my family we only have 2 horses and I have a couple calves at the house and they were fine,” said Wilson. “For Ellis cattle Company, though we didn't lose any cattle, we lost a lot of fence. One of the farms is next to a river and from one end to the next the fence was gone.”
Fencing, feed, hay, and usable land were among the many things lost by Watauga County farmers in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
“We were planning on feeding silage (Which is corn that you chop and then it ferments and it pickles the corn and cows love to eat it). We had a field of corn below Dollar General on Boone Mountain and the winds knocked it over to the point that it all went to waste and we didn't end up feeding silage this year,” said Wilson.
“As a whole there was a lot of loss, loss of pasture land, damaged fencing, cattle scattered everywhere because there's no fence, and just a disruption in production because it messed everything up,” said Wilson. “There was loss of equipment, just down the road a man had his tractor turned over by the flood waters and destroyed it. Also a loss of hay. That was another big thing, we have been short on hay and a lot of our neighbors have too.”
The agriculture community is notoriously close knit. In the aftermath of the hurricane, with nearly no farms left untouched, Wilson witnessed an upsurge of help and support in her community culminating on her own front porch.
“I remember that evening of the hurricane after the water receded our neighbors walked up and we all gathered together,” said Wilson. “We made sure everyone was accounted for and funnily enough the only place that had service was if you stood exactly on the first step of my front door, so for at least 2 weeks everyone just gathered on my porch.”
For communities large and small, organizing the overwhelming rebuilding projects after the hurricane relied heavily on makeshift meeting spots like the Wilson residence. Empty storefronts, sidewalks, churches, and schools hosted groups of volunteers eager to aid in any way they could.
“The next day we had our gloves on and we got started. Our neighbor Jim Moretz had an excavator up the road and he started clearing the road and men had chainsaws and we just started,” said Wilson. “We didn't wait for help, we just all chipped in like a community should.”
Lending, donating, volunteering, and all other forms of support were pivotal in the agriculture community’s recovery.
“One of my friends, Jessica Miller, owns a dairy farm and got people to send in fence supplies for us. We passed her place at least twice when she had cows out (of the fence) and we helped her get them back in,” said Wilson. “A lot of the recovery was if you saw a need you went and helped, and we saw a lot of people do that for us too. I will forever be grateful.”
Community support crossed state lines thanks to the help of social media, and assistance from the greater agriculture community found its way to farms like the Wilson’s and Ellis Cattle Co.
“There was a whole shipment of hay from all over the country and we got some of that and it was a huge help. We had total strangers bring us fencing supplies, hay, and helped us build fences,” said Wilson. “But I will say that the ag community was already like this for the most part.”
Despite the mass rebuilding and community efforts following the hurricane, the impact is still felt deeply by Watauga County farmers. Usable land was lost and cannot be recovered, and the decrease in production will be felt by farmers for years to come. However, the community that found footing in agriculture after the hurricane made an equally deep impact.
“I feel very strongly that it has brought us more together,” said Wilson. “We all just lend a helping hand where it is needed (anyway) but it was for sure much more needed after the hurricane.”