Governor Glenn Youngkin announces a Virginia and USDA block grant program to aid farmers and forestland owners who sustained damage or certain commodity loss due to Hurricane Helene. Members of these communities are encouraged to prepare for the registration and application periods of the new Virginia Farm Recovery Block Grant Program.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing block-grant funding to support this new recovery program, as authorized by the American Relief Act, 2025 (HR 10545 – 118th), to aid in recovery from damages caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene, which struck Virginia in September of 2024. The Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (VDACS) will administer the Virginia Farm Recovery Block Grant Program to provide direct payment to eligible producers once federal funding is allocated to the state and once a state workplan is approved by USDA.
“Hurricane Helene left a lasting impact on Virginia’s agricultural and forestry communities, especially in Southwest and Southside, damaging infrastructure, destroying crops, and threatening the livelihoods of families, farms, and forestry operations across the region,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “This new recovery block grant program ensures that Virginians who haven’t qualified for other disaster relief finally have access to targeted support. My administration is committed to standing with our producers, helping them recover, rebuild, and continue driving the strength and resilience of Virginia’s rural economy.”
“We look forward to this USDA partnership, as this block grant funding relief will help many Southwest Virginia agricultural and forest producers recover and rebuild from Hurricane Helene’s devastation,” said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Lohr. “The application period for the Virginia block grant program will open soon and will be communicated by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. I encourage agriculture and forestry producers who were impacted by Helene to apply for this grant opportunity.”
The block-grant funding is intended to assist farmers and timber landowners and producers with certain losses that are not covered by other federal disaster assistance programs. VDACS is currently working with USDA on a workplan to administer the funds, as well as developing an online application portal that will be available at https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/about-farm-recovery-block-grant.shtml.
Based on USDA eligibility criteria, VDACS plans to make a disaster recovery application available to eligible agricultural and forestry landowners and producers in 27 designated localities to include the counties of Bedford, Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, Wythe; and the independent cities of Bristol, Covington, Danville, Galax, Norton, and Radford.
To prepare for the application, farmers and forestland owners who have operational losses in the designated localities should prepare to submit their application by gathering the following documentation:
- W-9 Form
- Federal Tax ID information for all owners, shareholders, or beneficiaries
- Tax Parcel ID
- Parcel Map
- Farm Service Agency (FSA) Farm Number
- FSA 578 Form
- Copy of Schedule F or other tax documentation demonstrating farming income
- Photographic evidence of damage or destruction to greenhouses, barns, and packing houses, silos, and other farm infrastructure that had a crop or livestock present in the structure within 12 months prior to the weather event
- Photographic evidence of damage or destruction to commercial aquaculture infrastructure
- Photographic evidence of damage or destruction to farm roads, bridges or culverts that provide direct access to a crop production area or livestock production area that was in production within 12 months of the weather event
- Documentation or evidence of harvested crops that were destroyed or crops that remained unharvested due to a loss of market (i.e. unsold crop that were destroyed because the market became unavailable because of the weather event)
- Documentation of ownership of private timberland, with a minimum of 10 contiguous acres, which sustained moderate, severe or very severe damage due to the storm
- Insurance adjustment reports and / or proof of insurance payments related to farm infrastructure losses
- Invoices demonstrating replacement costs for certain farm infrastructure or third-party vendor estimates for repair or replacement costs
- Documentation of application to, or payment received from, any other USDA indemnity or recovery program as a result of Hurricane Helene
- Documentation of salvage payments received, or deductions taken on taxes from agricultural or timer damage, loss or timber casualty
To receive Virginia Farm Recovery Block Grant Program funding certain producers must agree to acquire and maintain USDA Risk Management coverage for a period of two crop years for market loss, future economic loss, plasticulture, and aquaculture claims.
Once VDACS has a workplan approved by USDA, the agency will begin a promotional campaign, announcing the registration period and application period. Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) agents and representatives from the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) will assist in publicizing the registration and application periods to eligible producers and will also be available to provide technical assistance to farmers and timber owners. The application window will be announced and VDACS, VCE and DOF will make staff available to assist applicants in navigating the web-based application and to serve as technical resources. For applicants that do not have computer access, or who have limited computer access, a local VCE office may be used for computer access during the application window.
Current and future details regarding the Virginia Farm Recovery Block Grant Program can be found on the VDACS website at: https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/about-farm-recovery-block-grant.shtml