Sen. Ossoff Continues Pushing to Support Georgia Farmers Impacted by High Winds from Hurricane Helene

Sen. Ossoff Continues Pushing to Support Georgia Farmers Impacted by High Winds from Hurricane Helene August 10, 2026 Atlanta, Ga. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is still fighting for Georgia farmers impacted by Hurricane Helene. Sen. Ossoff launched an inquiry with Dr. Neil Jacobs, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), requesting data about wind speeds during Hurricane Helene as Sen. Ossoff continues fighting to support Georgia farmers and growers who are struggling to recover from damage from high winds during Hurricane Helene. The inquiry comes after last month, Sen. Ossoff urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to evaluate all available National Hurricane Center (NHC) data and take “all possible actions within your authorities to ensure that growers who purchased HIP-WI crop insurance policies from the Federal Crop Insurance Program receive the maximum support possible from USDA.” Despite experiencing crop and production damages, producers who purchased Hurricane Insurance Protection – WindIndex (HIP-WI) coverage through USDA in Screven, Effingham, Chatham, Bryan, Evans, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Wayne, Glynn, and Camden Counties did not receive indemnity payments, which are payments made to farmers after they face qualified losses like from natural disasters. These indemnity payments are only made if the NHC determines that a county (or adjacent county) was impacted by sustained hurricane-force winds. According to a new report published by the NHC in February 2026, “wind gusts in the 70-79 knots (kt) range were measured by weather stations in Towns, Chatham, and Echols Counties,” suggesting more farmers in these counties should be eligible for indemnity payments. “I write on behalf of Georgians who continue to suffer from the effects of Hurricane Helene but have been denied the compensation they expected under their hurricane insurance coverage,” Sen. Ossoff wrote to Dr. Jacobs. “The Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) relies on NOAA data on sustained wind speeds to determine whether farmers who purchase Hurricane Insurance Protection – Wind Index (HIP-WI) coverage will receive indemnities following the devastation of a hurricane.” “Hurricane Helene caused $5.5 billion in agricultural and timber losses in Georgia. Despite these overwhelming damages, RMA determined that several counties in southeast Georgia did not experience requisite ‘sustained wind’ to trigger policy coverage. As a result, growers who purchased HIP-WI coverage in those counties were not compensated,” Sen. Ossoff continued. Sen. Ossoff continues working to help Georgia agriculture recover from Hurricane Helene. Sen. Ossoff introduced the Farm Disaster Tax Cut Act to provide farmers with a temporary tax cut on crop insurance payments in the event their crop yields or revenues fall below their guaranteed level due to natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and diseases. In March, Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock announced more than $531 million in Hurricane Helene Federal relief for Georgia’s farmers after Sen. Ossoff successfully fought to pass a bipartisan disaster relief package in December 2024 that included $21 billion in agricultural disaster funding to help Georgia farmers recovering from the disastrous impacts of Hurricane Helene and farmers nationwide impacted by natural disasters. Click here to read Sen. Ossoff’s full inquiry. # # # Prev Previous Sens. Ossoff, Rev. Warnock Again Demand Answers from DHA on Reduction of Services at Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center Next Sen. Ossoff Commends South Georgia Firefighters After Historic Wildfires Next