Farmers, Foresters, and Agribusiness employees in South Carolina May be Eligible for FEMA Assistance

South Carolina farmers, foresters, employees and self-employed individuals who work in the agribusiness industry whose tools or equipment were damaged by Hurricane Helene may be eligible for disaster assistance. FEMA assistance is available to replace disaster-damaged essential tools, supplies, equipment and items required for employment or for self-employment.

Coverage for Tools and Equipment

Family-owned farms typically have a variety of equipment needed to conduct business. These include, but are not limited to, tractors, plows, seeders or planters, harvesters, sprayers, hay balers and utility vehicles. These items are all potentially eligible for FEMA disaster assistance if the applicant can show that they were damaged by the disaster, the applicant does not have another working item that can meet this need, and the loss of the item was not covered by insurance. Crops and livestock are not “tools and equipment” because they are the products of a farming operation, whereas tools and equipment are the means of production.

Farmers, farm employees, self-employed individuals and foresters may be eligible for assistance to replace disaster-damaged tools and equipment not covered by insurance when they can show these items are required by their employer.

Assistance is based on a need to replace disaster-damaged essential tools, supplies, equipment, or other items required by an employer as a condition of employment or required for education. This may also include items required for a specific trade or profession that are not provided or supplied by the employer.

Additional assistance to help meet these needs may also be available from the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

How To Apply for FEMA Assistance

Homeowners and renters in Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Jasper, Kershaw, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Union and York counties and the Catawba Indian Nation can apply for federal assistance in several ways:

For a video with American Sign Language, voiceover and open captions about how to apply for FEMA assistance, select this link. FEMA programs are accessible to survivors with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.