b'That was the beginning. A team formed across special- And then, theres the crust.tiessoil scientists, forage experts, vegetable productionWhen it rains on that new sediment, it forms this hard specialists, ecological engineers, economists, crisis manage- layer, he says. Seeds germinate underneath and never ment specialists, and GIS analysts. They started small, testingbreak through. We found seedlings trying to push up and the sediment in the greenhouse during the winter. The goalcurling under the crust, never seeing daylight.was simple: figure out what could still grow. That discovery is now shaping their recovery strategy. We could get some things to germinate, Walker says.The team plans to use seed mixtureslarger seeds like But once the root systems started developing, we sawoats or wheat to punch through the crust, making a path for problems. Micronutrient issues, like manganese deficiency.smaller seeds like fescue or clover.And then there were plants that looked like they had herbi- Monocultures wont work here anymore, Pedreira says. cide injury, but when we tested, the labs told us there wasThese arent uniform fields. Nothings homogeneous. What nothing there. Annette Wszelaki a UT vegetable productionworked last year might not work now.specialist said, Early vegetable germination seed trials in the greenhouses showed herbicide damage on young plants.A New Way ForwardLater trials showed that the vegetables could possibly growDavid McIntosh intimately knows the land. Hes a researcher out of the damage. and the coordinator of the UT Beef & Forage Center whose family has lived near the Nolichucky river for eight genera-Were Learning as We Go tions. Hes watched tractors sink into sand and ryegrass fail Were getting reports back that say, Youre good, Pedreirato grow. Hes felt the pressure of not having answers.says. But when we plant and the fields turn yellow. We thinkIve stood on a farm this fall, looked a farmer in the eye the herbicide residues are below the thresholds that labs canand said, I dont know what to tell you. That hurts.detect but still enough to affect the plants.The Runion Farm sits on the Nolichucky River. Hurricane Helene completely changed the farms topography.PHOTO: RUNION FARM 24/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2025'