Farmers in western North Carolina are beginning a year-long recovery effort after Helene decimated the area.

For apple farmers in Henderson County, Helene hit during the peak of the harvest season. Some commercial farms have lost hectares of land and crops, while other agritourism farms are now suffering from a loss of visitors.

“It’s pretty heartbreaking,” said Jeff Nix, a third-generation apple farmer in Hendersonville. “I never dreamed of it.”

Nix’s family farm, called Farm full of flavorcovers approximately 115 acres and provides apples to schools across the state through the North Carolina Farm to School program.

Helene caused insurmountable damage to Nix’s farm, wiping out 10 acres of land located next to a creek. While the creek provides rich soil for trees to grow, it also made the area more susceptible to flooding when Helene entered the water.

The trees that were on this land were planted about 10 years ago. This was supposed to be the year Nix and his family earned their investment. Instead, Helene swept everything away.

More than a month after the storm, the only trees left in sight are uprooted, lying on top of the sand and silt deposited by the water. To the side, tractors sit upside down, nestled among the remains of trees.

Nix also lost about a week of apple picking and apple slice production at his facility. He estimates his total losses at more than $1 million.

“We will rebuild. I’ve said that probably 10 times now,” Nix said confidently. “I work to pass this on to my son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Once a farmer, always a farmer.”

The destruction of Helene remains visible in Henderson County. Power lines are still down in some places, piles of wreckage line the sides of roads and crews continue to repair sinkholes.

In addition to apples, Henderson County is home to several other crops, including grapes, berries, tomatoes and peppers. Henderson County is one of North Carolina’s top tomato producing counties.

Similar to Nix’s apple trees, these crops require fertile soil to grow well, which can be found near water.

“Unfortunately, anyone near the water for this storm suffered significant damage,” Karen Blaedow said. She works for NC State’s Cooperative Extension as the Henderson County Horticulturist.

Blaedow estimates a total loss of up to $50 million for the county’s 450 farms.

“It’s not just about crop loss. It’s the land,” Blaedow said. “Field repair will be the most expensive part of the recovery.”

Federal aid programs are available to selected farmers. The US Department of Agriculture offers initiatives such as Tree Assistance Program or the Emergency Conservation Program to help farmers remove debris, rebuild land and replant crops.

State aid could also come from the General Assembly. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has proposed funding of $422 million for agricultural help from Helene.

In 2022$10 million has been awarded to farms in western North Carolina to help mitigate losses from Tropical Storm Fred. Farmers hope a similar program will be available again. Area nonprofits also provide grant aid, including from Asheville WNC Communities.

However, Blaedow says these programs can only go so far. She stresses that full recovery will take time.

“Years. It will be years for (farmers) to really get the land back,” Blaedow said.

For farms that have been less affected, bringing tourists back to the region is essential to survival.

“This is the peak tourist season and what’s happening with some of these growers now is this second impact of the storm where, financially, it’s just crippling some of these agritourism businesses,” Blaedow said.

That’s exactly what Danielle McCall is dealing with. Her family’s U-pick apple farm, Stepps’ Hillcrest Orchardsuffered only minimal crop and property damage. But Helene washed the road to get there.

McCall’s farm finally reopened on Oct. 26 after being closed for four of the season’s 11 weeks. McCall says those four weeks are the busiest time of the year.

“There’s no way to make up for the congestion these farms typically experience in late September and early October,” said McCall, another third-generation farmer. “It really couldn’t have happened at a worse time.”

She estimates that her family has lost about half of their annual income.

As a way to pivot, McCall and her family picked apples themselves and sold them from the farm at farmers markets or local fairs. McCall hopes these sales will offset at least 10 percent of their losses.

The farm will remain open at the end of this year. The orchard usually closes on Halloween, but will be open until November 10th.

She and her husband are considering extra work over the winter to ensure they can afford next year’s crop.

“Without some kind of direct help from the government, we’re going to be in a pretty tough spot,” McCall said. “What we need is something to help with the loss of income because people couldn’t come to our farm.”

Despite the situation, McCall and other farmers remain resilient.

“Farmers are very entrepreneurial in spirit and we just tend to be very hard workers,” McCall said. “We have to do everything we can. That’s all we can do.”