The Tennessee Department of Agriculture announced that applications for the Hurricane Helene Agricultural and Timber Relief Fund will open Wednesday, April 22, at 1 p.m. Eastern (noon Central), giving eligible farmers and forest landowners in Northeast Tennessee notice to prepare required documentation and apply for assistance.
The block grant funding is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the American Relief Act of 2025 and will provide approximately $34 million in financial assistance to eligible agricultural producers and forest landowners who experienced losses due to Hurricane Helene.
“Hurricane Helene was an unprecedented natural disaster for our state and placed a heavy burden on Tennessee’s rural agricultural and forestry communities,” Gov. Bill Lee said. “We’re grateful for strong partnerships with USDA and TDA that will allow us to deliver resources to help producers recover losses, rebuild operations and continue driving our state’s agricultural economy forward.”
“This funding aims to restore farm productivity, support forest recovery and strengthen the long-term resilience of Tennessee’s agricultural economy following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene,” Agriculture Commissioner Andy Holt said. “We want eligible producers and forest landowners to be ready when the application period opens on April 22, at 1 p.m. Eastern (noon Central), and we encourage them to take advantage of the resources TDA is providing to help them apply.”
The Hurricane Helene Agricultural and Timber Relief Fund is designed to offset a portion of verified losses for eligible agricultural producers or forest landowners who operate in Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi or Washington counties.
Applications will be open for 90 days, with a deadline of July 21 at 5 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Central).
Two informational webinars will be held. One on April 23, 2026, at 7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Central) and another, April 28, noon Eastern (11 a.m. Central) to provide program details, eligibility requirements and guidance on the application process.
Additional details including webinar registration, application access and FAQs are available on the Hurricane Helene Agricultural and Timber Relief Fund webpage. For questions, email [email protected] or call toll-free at (833) 616-6700 or locally at (615) 837-5241.
Translation and interpretation services are available free of charge. Please contact [email protected].
