PIEDMONT — Jackson Wood wondered if Helene would be the end of his DarkSpore Mushroom Co.
With no electricity, the owner of the specialty mushroom farm that sells to nearly 20 local restaurants and three farmers markets had been forced to throw away all his fresh product. It was about 700 pounds, or $9,000 worth of sales.
Wood was looking at starting from scratch.
“I’m unsure if we’ll be coming back from this or not, honestly,” Wood said.
Once power comes back he’ll reassess, then start the nearly monthlong process of growing mushrooms again.
Even so, Wood remained grateful.
“Our building is still intact and we’re all OK,” he said Oct. 1. “We have a lot of family members and friends in this industry too that have been affected a lot worse than we have. It’s very unfortunate.”
Wood is one of the multitude of farmers across South Carolina just beginning to assess the damage wrought by Tropical Storm Helene, which packed a punch to the Upstate with flooding rains and winds up to 72 mph. The storm killed at least 36 people across the state and left thousands in damaged homes and without power.
For farmers, the storm destroyed specialty crops like Wood's mushrooms as well as cash crops such as soybeans, cotton and peanuts. Others are dealing with livestock losses due to downed fences and structural damage to feed-storage facilities. The lack of power could be detrimental to poultry producers in particular, as well as farmers who are reliant on wells with electric pumps to water their livestock.
"There's a number of moving parts that we're dealing with right now," said Adam Kantrovich, director of Clemson Cooperative Extension Service's agribusiness team.
The devastation came on the heels of several already disastrous months for South Carolina farmers, who have battled drought, plunging commodity crop prices and previous flooding from Hurricane Debby in August.
All of that means more yearly losses are likely, Clemson extension experts said in a press release.
That includes products like cotton — one of South Carolina's more popular crops.
Farmers planted 225,000 acres of cotton in South Carolina in 2024, up from 210,000 in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Cotton's development varies greatly, said Michael Jones, a cotton specialist at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence. Harvest typically begins in late September in South Carolina, and cotton fiber weight and quality are best the day the boll opens.
Fiber degrades with water produced by storms, so many farmers were waiting to defoliate until after the storm passes.
“Most fields have open bolls at this time, so the storm will be an issue," Jones said in the press release.
High winds blow lint to the ground, and tangled plants make harvest difficult, he added. Wet ground also makes it difficult to use heavy equipment.
Another popular South Carolina offering — soybeans, is expected to take a hit.
About 25 percent of the state’s soybean crop has reached maturity, with most of the crop beginning to drop leaves, said Michael Plumblee, a corn and soybean specialist in Blackville.
While the rain will help relieve drought-like conditions, wind made the mature soybeans drop their leaves and could make younger plants bend too close to the ground, making it harder for farmers to harvest them.
The USDA reported South Carolina farmers planted 390,000 acres of soybeans in 2024, slightly less than 2023 when 395,000 acres were planted.
Helene was a most unwelcome guest for farmers who, just months ago, lost specialty crops like melons and saw significantly lower corn yield because of a late-spring to summer drought, Kantrovich said. Still more struggled because geopolitical events such as international trade tensions have spurred commodity prices for grain items to drop while input remains the same.
Hurricane Debby also created flooded conditions late this summer, cutting into production.
Growers with crop insurance should work with their crop insurance company if they've seen heavy losses, while those who have uninsurable crops should get in touch with the USDA Farm Service Agency within their county, Kantrovich said. The USDA Farm Service Agency can also help with emergency loans.
While many farmers had made good assessments in the days following the storm, others remained uncertain. At Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery in Greenville, the owners were still unsure what the extent of the impact will be on their small business that sources product almost exclusively from local and regional producers.
Mary Walsh, who opened the grocery and café with Jac Oliver 13 years ago, spent Oct. 1 trying to figure out how to restock the store’s shelves after the power had been restored. She also began checking in with some of the hundreds of farmers the store works with.
She hadn’t been able to get in touch with many from the Asheville area.
“We haven’t had time to assess but I know other people are way worse off than we are,” she said.
In the aftermath of Helene, Clemson Extension is offering an Agricultural Impact Assessment form for producers to use to file individual farm and field reports, as well as area reports by extension agents. The assessments help in recovery and aid requests for the state and beyond.
Producers can visit www.clemson.edu/extension/helene.html for more information on how to complete the impact assessment form.
