Brooke Rollins, who is the new U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, talks to reporters Wednesday. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said federal disaster relief will soon be on the way for farmers left struggling to move forward in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Rollins, who was confirmed last month, told reporters Wednesday during a visit to the state Capitol that her agency would beat the March 21 deadline set by Congress to distribute aid packed into a $100 billion disaster relief package passed late last year.
Helene ripped a path through the Southeast, devastating communities and farms along the eastern side of Georgia. The storm killed 34 people in Georgia and left a lasting mark on the state’s top industry, causing an estimated $5.5 billion in damage to agricultural producers and timber growers.
“That money will begin to move in the next few weeks,” Rollins told reporters. “We were given a deadline by Congress, which isn’t often met, but for me, it was very important we meet it, of March 21. We will actually beat that deadline, so you’ll be hearing more about that in the coming days.”
House Speaker Jon Burns, who was part of a group of state leaders who met with Rollins Wednesday, said the assurance that the funds will soon start flowing is important to both farmers and their lenders as a new planting season gets under way.
Dispatching additional relief has also been a top priority for lawmakers this session.
“The problems from Hurricane Helene have slowed down the marketing process. The low prices have impacted the ability to repay loans and get ready to go again another year,” Burns told reporters Wednesday.
“So, the certainty coming from the state and from the federal government on some of those disaster dollars is critically important right now. The timing of it is to make sure it gets out so we can get this crop in the ground,” he added.
Defending funding cuts, tariffs
Rollins also defended President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy and the administration’s recent cuts to a food aid program during a press conference Wednesday.
Under Rollins, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently cancelled the rest of a $1 billion program that schools and food banks were using to buy food from nearby farms. An agency spokesperson said Monday that the programs “no longer effectuate the goals of the agency.”
It was a cut that Georgia U.S. Jon Ossoff, who is a Democrat, has called on the Trump administration to undo.
“This will hurt Georgia kids and Georgia farmers,” Ossoff said in a statement Tuesday. “We should support our schools providing kids with fresh, nutritious food grown locally by Georgia farmers. It’s a win-win for childhood nutrition and Georgia agriculture.”
Rollins told reporters Wednesday that the funding was cut because it was for a COVID-era program that she said was specific to the pandemic.
“As we are re-imagining and reconfiguring and restructuring the federal government that includes looking very hard at programs that on their face may sound really, really good, but are they actually reaching the intended recipients?” Collins said. “Are they actually doing what the taxpayers have asked us to do, which is to use their tax dollars as smartly and efficiently as possible?”
Rollins also acknowledged the worries of the agricultural community over tariffs and suggested that assistance would likely be offered to farmers who are caught in the middle.
“This community has been very patient, but they’re hurting, and we understand that,” she said.
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