Floods spawned by Hurricane Matthew killed “at least tens of thousands of chickens, hogs and other livestock” in eastern North Carolina, said the Washington Post. Some environmentalists said the losses could reach the millions because of the large livestock production in the flooded area; North Carolina is one of the largest hog and broiler-chicken producers in the nation.
The world’s largest hog-processing plant is in Tar Heel, NC, said the Post. “More than 2 million hogs are raised just in Duplin County.”
Don Roose, of U.S. Commodities, said hog slaughter nationwide was down 100,000 head from week-ago levels, partly because slaughter plants in North and South Carolina were shut down by the hurricane, reported Brownfield Ag News.
In South Carolina, “Early estimates indicated a significant loss of the cotton crop and a moderate loss of soybeans,” said Manning Live. State agriculture commissioner Hugh Weathers said poultry farms reported losses of 203,000 birds. “Many farms are without electricity and are relying on generators to power the chicken houses,” said Weathers.