Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson will ask for $2 million during the upcoming legislative session to help parts of the timber industry that sustained damage in Hurricane Idalia.
The money would go to owners of timber land to plant new seedlings, according to a news release Monday from the Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services.
Last week, the department estimated timber losses at $64.75 million as it issued a preliminary report that found the Aug. 30 storm caused up to $447 million in losses for the state’s agricultural industry. The report estimated Idalia damaged 289,096 acres of timber.
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The storm damage came shortly before Georgia-Pacific announced the closure of its Foley Cellulose mill in Taylor County, directly affecting 525 jobs.
The company said Sept. 18 it didn’t believe the mill, acquired in 2013, could competitively serve customers in the long term.
The Category 3 Idalia made landfall in the Keaton Beach area of Taylor County, before crossing other rural areas of North Florida. The legislative session will start Jan. 9.
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