SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – Poultry farmers across Southeast Georgia are struggling after their chicken houses have been flattened. With revenue gone and no finances for rebuilding, many are left wondering what to do next. Jeff Davis County seeing some of the worst damage.
From producing 180,000 chickens every 11 to 12 weeks, now reduced to rubble. Jeff Davis County Commissioner and poultry farmer, Van Wooten lost most of his chicken houses from Helene.
“We never expected anything like this in a lifetime. We didn’t we didn’t expect to lose the whole farm,” said Wooten. “I’ve lost roughly two million dollars worth of value and a $400,000 a year income. It’s totally gone. I’ve lost my all.”
He says those houses were his assets, his 401k, and the legacy he expected to leave behind. At his age, he says, starting over seems impossible.
“Money that we’re bringing in every year, it ain’t gonna exist anymore. So we got to have something to start over with or do whatever and at 63 years old. It’s gonna be hard to start over,” said Wooten.
He says the cost of insurance and lack of options, with only 2 insurance companies for poultry farmers in the county, make it difficult to carry full insurance on these houses.
Wooten says there’s no way they can rebuild without some help from the federal government.
“I’ve been through a lot of tragedies in my life, but nothing like this,” said Wooten. “This ain’t a 40-hour week job. You work your whole life, you just work every day, seven days a week. So you work your life to build this.”
Wooten’s friend and fellow poultry farmer- Dwain McClellan lives in Pearson, Georgia. He’s grown chickens for 37 years, lost all 8 chicken houses, and more than one million dollars from Helene’s destruction.
Another big concern facing these farmers post-storm is mental health. Damage and loss like this are weighing heavy on many farmers across our area.
“It’s just devastating to know that’s what you’ve worked for and all of a sudden it’s gone. Now that our chicken houses are gone, it’s like everything’s taken away from us. It’s just torn apart. It’s ripped from us. We don’t have anything left. It’s just gone. Where do you go from here?” said McClellan.
A legacy they too hoped to pass on to their children and grandchildren.
“We don’t have any income. It’s just gone. What money we’ve saved and tried to put back into chicken houses and all–hoping that one day that we could leave this to our children, we cant anymore” said McClellan.
Without insurance, only certain grant funds are available for farmers recovering from the storm…
Per Commissioner Harper with the GA Dept. of Agriculture: “Right now, the future is uncertain for far too many Georgia farmers and farm families who were devastated by Hurricane Helene. That is why we’re working around the clock with state, federal, and industry leaders to deliver much-needed aid for Georgia farmers and producers as quickly as possible.”
Mclellan and Wooten say– they need this help now though. Each day that passes with no paycheck and no money to rebuild- puts them further in the hole.
“We need help. If we’ve ever needed help, we need help now. In my opinion, we have people here who need help. Keep our money here. Don’t send it across the water. Keep our money here and help our people. Plain and simple. Keep our money here. Take care of our folks,” said McClellan.
Wooten echoes the same sentiment.
“I mean, how can our government help us to insure these houses in some kind of way? I know you’re going to have insurance if you build them, So if you guys aren’t getting any insurance there goes the incentive for rebuilding. And what’s our insurance gonna do next year? Y’all know we’ve had losses and it’s tough across this whole state,” said Wooten.
In the meantime, these poultry farmers say they have been reaching out to the offices of Senators Warnock and Ossoff, hoping something can be done to help these GA farmers start over from scratch.
Copyright 2024 WTOC. All rights reserved.