BRISTOL, Va.— Commonwealth, federal, local and nonprofit agencies are coming together to hold Agricultural Recovery Resource Days, where staff from over 15 participating organizations share resources with farmers and agribusinesses impacted by Hurricane Helene in southwest Virginia.
Farmers, private forest owners, and agribusiness owners can attend whichever event best fits their schedule and can drop in any time during the hours listed. For latest information, please visit: www.fema.gov/event/hurricane-helene-virginia-agriculture-recovery-resource-day.
The next Agriculture Recovery Resource Days will be held on:
Thursday, Nov. 7
Open from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Highlands Fellowship Church
22417 Watauga Road, Abingdon VA 24211
Washington County
Saturday, Nov. 9
Open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Wytheville Meeting Center
333 Community Boulevard, Wytheville VA 24382
Wythe County
We are planning additional events in the upcoming weeks, including an event in Smyth County and another in a location central to Lee, Scott and Wise counties.
The following agencies will be present at the Agriculture Recovery Resource Days to answer questions about grants, loans and other resources available for the agricultural community:
Federal agencies:
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
- USDA Farm Service Agency (USDA FSA)
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS)
- USDA Rural Development (USDA RD)
Commonwealth agencies:
- Virginia Department of Emergency Management
- Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Virginia Department of Forestry
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
- Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
- Virginia Department of Health
- Virginia Cooperative Extension
- Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission
- Virginia Small Business Financing Authority
Local agencies and organizations:
- Virginia Farm Bureau
- Virginia Cattlemen’s Association
- Farm Credit of the Virginias
- First Bank & Trust
- Agrisafe Network
- Local Soil & Water Conservation Districts
For information about commonwealth and federal resources for agribusinesses, see Help for Virginia Agribusinesses and Farmers Fact Sheet.
For additional disaster recovery resources, visit vaemergency.gov, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management Facebook page , fema.gov/disaster/4831 and facebook.com/FEMA.
FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during and after disasters. FEMA Region 3’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Follow us on X at x.com/FEMAregion3 and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/femaregion3.
To apply for FEMA assistance, please call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362, visit https://www.disasterassistance.gov/, or download and apply on the FEMA App. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish and 3 for other languages). Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency, or economic status.Any disaster survivor or member of the public may contact the FEMA Civil Rights Office if they feel that they have a complaint of discrimination. FEMA’s Civil Rights Office can be contacted at FEMA-OCR-ECRD@fema.dhs.gov or toll-free at 833-285-7448.