
By A.J. Kaufman, Managing Editor
When remnants of Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall across the Appalachian Highlands region more than four months ago, the Nolichucky River overflowed rapidly to historical, unprecedented levels. The deadly tropical cyclone and ensuing flood claimed multiple lives in Northeast Tennessee and over 100 in neighboring western North Carolina. It continued to wreak havoc by destroying businesses and submerging people’s homes. Some estimates show that the economic impact of Helene’s deadly assault on the entire Eastern U.S. could total up to $150 billion.
Almost 140 days have passed since Helene hit our beloved region, but many residents know recovery will take years.
What does the future hold — especially on the agribusiness side — as the river and land changes course?
The Business Journal first spoke with Adam Watson, with the University of Tennessee’s Extension – Washington County. The agriculture agent claimed damage seen from the Helene flooding varied.
“In some instances, land simply disappeared with the floodwaters,” Watson told us. “Some fields found significant deposits of rock, silt, sand or a mixture of the three. This was often topped with flood debris of varying composition, but certainly, trees, structure debris and vehicles. Less affected fields might have only suffered fencing damage, but for livestock operations, was an immediate concern.”
As for the future, Watson says producers are still evaluating, while UT specialists have collected samples of the deposits and are “actively growing test crops to determine any issues that might arise and whether the fields can be productive.”
“The cost to remove deposits and return to a pre-flood condition are prohibitive when considering future revenues from these fields,” he explained, contending that “The hope is that what was left behind would permit profitable production.”
With the seasonality of cropping and planting, there has not been significant replanting yet. Watson says late winter will see some early seeding for temporary field coverage and then into spring and summer transplanting for vegetable crops. The pasture and hay fields will be reseeding in late summer or early fall with their permanent crops.
“There is still significant uncertainty and time before producers are truly recovered,” he added. “Truthfully, in some instances, what existed before the flood will not return agriculturally speaking.”
In Johnson County, farm damage was primarily loss of fence along streams and creeks plus deposits of sand, silt, and rock along bottomland.
Mountain City-based Extension Agent Billy Ward told the Business Journal that one area in particular suffered severe damage to their standing corn crop.
“Not only was debris left in the field, making combine harvesting difficult and impossible in some areas, their harvests, both in production and quality, was greatly reduced and many acres were lost completely,” he said, explaining that hay and pasture fields with deep deposits will continue to be cleared if the landowner has the means and equipment to do so, while more shallow locations will require reseeding in late 2026 after incorporating deposits into the soil.

Ward added that forage production on affected farms may suffer for over two years until perennial grasses become reestablished to their pre-flood levels.
“That said, areas with deposits and/or soil disturbance may require a management shift to reflect their current and future state,” he said. “Eroded and collapsing stream banks left unrepaired will continue to erode, which is a safety concern for humans, livestock and even wildlife. Riparian buffers and vegetation removed by flood waters not only increase the rate of erosion but negatively impact water quality by increasing the amount of suspended sediment in waterways.”
Over in Carter County, Elizabethton-based Extension Agent Kathleen Davis said farmers are dealing with land loss, as well as deposits across their crop and pasture fields.
The Roan Mountain and Hampton areas infamously saw the brunt of flood water destruction with Roan Mountain receiving more than 25 inches of rainfall. Most of that water flowed down the mountain into the Hampton region.
“The flood waters were not the only source of destruction within the county,” Davis explained to the Business Journal. “We also incurred a lot of wind damage across the entirety of our community. The destruction that Helene delivered will take years for us to recover from in our mountainous area of East Tennessee.”
Across the state line on Jan. 27, Vice President JD Vance toured Damascus, Va. with Gov. Glenn Youngkin to check on hurricane recovery. He also visited the Southwest Virginia town in early October.