Economic Impact of Hurricane Michael to the Georgia Vegetable Industry

Summary

The economic impact of Hurricane Michael to the state of Georgia depicts crop loss of over $480 million dollars to the Vegetable Industry. This report will be useful to policy makers in determining the level of disaster relief to provide to the state and affected vegetable farmers.

Situation

Hurricane Michael touched down on the panhandle of Florida as a category 4 hurricane and moved northeast through southwest Georgia in the early morning (2 – 3 a.m.) of October 10, 2018, causing significant damage to large portions of the state’s vegetable industry. According to an earlier estimate by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the category 4 storm caused over $1 billion in agricultural losses when it went across southwest Georgia. Unfortunately, the $1.1 billion Georgia’s vegetable industry was seriously affected by the hurricane. Thus, there was a great need to determine the economic impact and value of the crop loss.

Response

Immediately after the Hurricane Michael touched down in Georgia, the UGA multidisciplinary Extension Vegetable Team visited the most affected counties and conducted damage assessments aimed at preparing a comprehensive report to determine the actual loss incurred to the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Industry caused by the Hurricane Michael. Calculations were based on the information gathered by the Vegetable Assessment Team, growers and county extension agents during farm visits in southwest Georgia. Total acreages, estimated percentage of damaged field, yield losses, and prices for the various vegetable crops were taken into consideration. There was a significant degree of loss per crop across the state of Georgia, but nothing compared to southwest Georgia, where most of vegetable crops are located in the state. A portion of early planting crops had already been harvested before Hurricane Michael made landfall. However, the majority of crops were still in the field, which maximized Georgia vegetable growers’ losses. For instance, bell and specialty pepper, eggplants, tomato, sweet corn, squash, and cucumbers sustained approximately 70 - 90% losses while other vegetables like cabbage, greens, snap beans and broccoli, sustained damages from 20 - 50%.

Impact

Damage estimate by the UGA Extension Team depicted a total loss of $480 million to the Georgia Vegetable Industry. According to the Extension Vegetable Team report, the vast majority of initial crop damage was caused by the strong winds, which resulted in lodging or defoliation of plants. Further, damages were sustained after the hurricane due to “sunburn” of exposed fruit. This is because most of the foliage in crops were either damaged or were partially defoliated due to the strong wind. It was projected that the secondary damage and losses will exceed initial losses caused by the hurricane. To make things further worse, due to power outages growers were unable to cool or store their harvested produce and were also unable to irrigate their remaining crops in fields. These values are subjected to changes, as it did not include property losses. Losses caused by Hurricane Michael left a devastating blow not only to our farmers, but to the community and the Georgia economy at large. This assessment of the economic impact will be useful for policy implementation by the state legislators, stakeholders and congressional representatives, especially in getting some disaster relief assistance for the state, industry and affected vegetable farmers.

State Issue

Sustainability, Conservation, & the Environment

Details

• Year: 2018
• Geographic Scope: State
• County: Tift
• Program Areas:
  • Agriculture & Natural Resources