{"id":735,"date":"2025-01-17T15:11:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T20:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/?p=735"},"modified":"2025-01-17T15:11:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T20:11:23","slug":"forestry-gets-hit-hard-by-helene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/2025\/01\/forestry-gets-hit-hard-by-helene\/","title":{"rendered":"Forestry Gets Hit Hard by Helene"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Storm Damaged Pines from Hurricane Helene (Georgia Forestry Commission)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hurricane Helene\u2019s impact on Georgia was severe, causing widespread damage to agriculture, especially to pecan growers and the timber industry. Older pecan trees suffered up to 75% loss, while younger trees experienced 25-40% damage, decimating what was already a financially stressed crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgia, the nation\u2019s top timber producer, also saw heavy losses, particularly in central and south Georgia. Strong winds obliterated timber stands, with some areas sustaining nearly total destruction. Replanting these trees could take over 20 years, and without the income from harvested timber, many landowners face challenges in replanting. Some will have to wait for natural regeneration, which can affect timber quality and increase costs in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salvaging the remaining wood is a complex task, as current machinery is not ideal for handling the damaged timber, which also results in lower revenue. Timber producers are facing increased harvesting costs along with decreased profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, the University of Georgia Extension, UGA Warnell School of Forestry, and the Georgia Forestry Commission hosted meetings to assist landowners, foresters, and loggers. These sessions covered pest management, replanting strategies, and available cost-share programs. Recordings of the meetings and presentation materials are available on the Candler-Evans Ag Update Blog and Candler County Extension Website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those affected by the storm, the Candler and Evans County Extension Offices offer support in creating recovery plans, with opportunities for tax breaks, grants, and cost-share programs to help landowners replant and recover. Though the road ahead will be challenging, resources are available to help rebuild Georgia\u2019s agricultural and timber industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relief Resources Link <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UGA Forestry Post-Hurricane Meeting Video Recording<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Power Point Presentations From UGA Meeting<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hurricane Helene\u2019s impact on Georgia was severe, causing widespread damage to agriculture, especially to pecan growers and the timber industry. Older pecan trees suffered up to 75% loss, while younger trees experienced 25-40% damage, decimating what was already a financially stressed crop. Georgia, the nation\u2019s top timber producer, also saw heavy losses, particularly in central […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":324,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forestry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/324"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":738,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions\/738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}