Farmers' Hard Work Pays Off--Almost 99% of Lagoons Held During Hurricane Florence

As of today, the reports show 46 out of 3,300 lagoons sustained structural damages, inundations from floods or overtopping (from too much rain) due to Hurricane Florence. 46 out of 3,300 – that’s not perfect but, still, given the size of the hurricane, it’s good news.  If you do the math, that means 98.6% of lagoons held up to the storm. That didn’t just happen. It was the result of a lot of hard work, and preparation for the hurricane, by farmers.But unfortunately good news doesn’t sell newspapers. And the News and Observer’s stories about how hog farms fared during the hurricane sure didn’t read like good news. Take the first line of one story: “The number of hog lagoons in the state that are overflowing and spilling is double the amount counted Monday afternoon…”Doubled? That sounded terrible. But, of course, the News and Observer was only reporting the bad news. It didn’t mention the thousands of lagoons that were holding up fine.Right above that story, the News and Observer, published a photo of a flooded farm and a headline: More NC hog lagoons are breached and overflowing as Florence flood waters rise. More catastrophe. More warnings of doom.Bad news sells newspapers. The News and Observer reported the threats. But ignored the bigger part of the picture where farmers’ hard work paid off.

Preparing, Battling, and Coming Through Hurricane Florence: One Farmer's Story

Like most farmers, I went to work getting ready for the storm (or a storm) long before I ever heard the words Hurricane Florence. No farmer worth his salt begins preparing, say, a lagoon for a storm when he hears a storm is on the way – he makes sure a lagoon can weather a storm all year long.As Florence headed for the coast, we secured trash cans, made sure diesel fuel and gasoline for generators would be available and feed for the pigs was well stocked. During the storm, like hundreds of other farmers, we made sure buildings were holding up under the stress of the hurricane winds and that generators came on – and stayed on – once we lost electricity.  And we made routine checks on the pigs to be sure they had feed and water as well as proper ventilation.And, of course, the unexpected happened. During one torrential downpour, the generator on our farm ran hot.  When it stopped working the ventilation fans stopped and the curtains in our hog barn dropped to allow the pigs to have proper ventilation.  Next, as quickly as we could, we repaired the generator and restored the electricity – then we went to work rolling up each curtain and resetting the curtain drop machines.  All these protections are in place for one reason: To ensure the safety of our animals. And the protections worked.One other surprise: During the storm one feed system broke down so, every day, we had to bucket feed those pigs until we were able to fix the feed system.I’m also a local volunteer firefighter and when I wasn’t working on the farm I helped other firemen remove trees from roadways with our tractor.  Hurricane Florence didn’t allow me much time away from the farm but my brothers and sisters in the fire service worked day and night rescuing people from floods and helping families in trouble.During the hurricane, like many families, we also had leaks at our homes and were constantly monitoring the generators that provide electricity to our refrigerators, lights, and fans. And, of course, simply keeping our families safe as the hurricane roared inland was our biggest worry. I should also add that, during the hurricane, many farmers I know had a lot tougher time, and overcame harder struggles, than I did.After the storm, with so many roads flooded, we’ve had to begin rationing feed supplies for our pigs, to make it last until feed trucks can safely travel.  And we’ve also begun to repair roofs across the farm. Everyday, we monitor the lagoon levels. And, of course, we already have a plan in place, preparing for the possibility of another storm.--Chad Herring, NCFF Executive Director  

Preparing for Hurricane Florence

With the approach of Hurricane Florence, questions being asked about what are farmers doing to protect their animals and farms from potential floods?

The simple answer is: EVERYTHING THEY CAN!Hurricanes are not taken lightly in North Carolina, especially by farmers. We have seen first-hand the devastation that they produce. Actions have been taken, not just in days leading up to Hurricane Florence, but for years now to be better prepared for such natural disasters. Many hog farms in low areas prone to flooding have been closed since the Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Over 100 to be exact and more than 200 lagoons.Hurricane Matthew in 2016 saw that these improvements worked when only one farm sadly lost animals and 99.5% of hog lagoons did not flood. Those were tremendous strides, and those strides have continued through today.Farmers are at their farms right now securing their lagoons, making sure their generators are working, harvesting what crops they can, obtaining feed for their animals, and more. They will do all they can to make sure their animals are protected during the storm.Many people have expressed concern for the safety of the animals and for the damage flooding may cause on the hog farms. They are concerned for what pollution flooding may cause on hog farms. Know that farmers are concerned. They don’t want anything to happen to their farm or the animals. That’s why they work so hard to prepare for natural disasters.However, natural disasters are called that for a reason. Nature is unpredictable and merciless sometimes. And, our best efforts cannot compete with that of Mother Nature.In the face of a natural disaster, let us all prepare for the worst, pray for the best, and support one another.For further information on how farmers are preparing visit:  http://www.ncpork.org/prepared/