COLUMBUS, Ohio — The United States Department of Agriculture said it is "standing by to assist producers" as they recover from Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

“Our job is to try to keep farms viable and operational, to help rural communities remain resilient, and at the end of the day to get as much help as quickly as possible to as many people as possible," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a release.

While the immediate destruction may be visible, secondary impacts of the storms will likely play out over time.

"Hugely productive areas in the country in terms of agriculture in a variety of different fruits, vegetables, livestock products and crops," agriculture expert Andy Vance said. "Broiler meat is kind of centered the southeastern U.S. from the Carolinas on through to Arkansas."

Vance said the damage may create challenges for farmers as they look to purchase the inputs they need to run their operations.

"If I were a beef cattle producer or a dairy cattle producer in the affected regions, can I get hay now? Are there forages available? Has the storm decimated some of those feed stocks that I need to feed my animals? And then, just the logistics with power out, with roads impacted with landslides in the Carolinas and so on, can we physically get the feed and hay and supplies to the farmers who need them because of the challenges to the infrastructure and logistics systems with a storm that massive," he said.

If you have an idea for the Ag Report, a question for Chuck and Andy or you’d like to send a photo of your farm and the work you do, email charles.ringwalt@charter.com.