The Georgia Department of Agriculture has launched a low-interest emergency loan program to help farmers who suffered losses from Hurricane Helene.

The application period for the SAFETY 24 Hurricane Helene Relief Loan Program, a partnership of the agriculture agency and the Georgia Development Authority, opened on Friday on a first come, first served basis.

Farmers who suffered losses from the storm and live in a federally designated disaster area or adjacent county are eligible to seek up to $500,000 at a 2% fixed-interest rate. That includes counties across South Georgia and the eastern half of the state.

The money can be used for income replacement, operating capital, repairing or replacing damaged farm structures or farm equipment, and the purchase of machinery necessary to recover from hurricane damage.

“Help is on the way for Georgia farmers affected by Hurricane Helene,” state Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper said. “The SAFETY 24 program is meant to provide Georgia farm families with the capital they need to keep operating while we continue pushing Congress to deliver additional federal relief, and I strongly encourage all impacted farmers to apply so we can begin to build back.”

An update the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences released on Friday reported a preliminary damage assessment of at least $5.5 billion in agricultural and timber losses from Helene, down from an earlier assessment of $6.46 billion.

The losses include an estimated $2.65 billion in damage to timber, $683 million to poultry, $577 million to nursery crops, $560 million to cotton, $291 million to pecans, and $275 million to beef cattle.

The application form and additional details about the program can be found online. Applications can be submitted online via email or by regular mail.

Capitol Beat is a nonprofit news service operated by the Georgia Press Educational Foundation that provides coverage of state government to newspapers throughout Georgia. For more information visit capitol-beat.org.