Breaking: Tornado Strikes one of America’s Largest Tea Farms, Brookhaven Mississippi

Photo: Destruction in tea field, Jason McDonald, Facebook

Late Wednesday night, multiple tornadoes struck the central and Western parts of Mississippi, where The Great Mississippi Tea Company was struck.

Jason McDonald, who owns and operates one of the largest tea farms in the continental US, assessed the damage Thursday morning after the farm was directly hit.

“All of our lawn mowers and other [tea harvesting] equipment around the farm was damage. The pump sheds are gone. Most of our trees are gone,” Jason said Thursday evening. One of the houses on the property was completely destroyed. Along with farm equipment, all roofs on the property will need to be replaced.

It took crews hours to clear roadways of debris, with power and internet expected to be down for at least several weeks.

Although the tea trees are still in tact, fallen oak trees on the farm have made the tea trees inaccessible for much of the farm.

With expected delays to this spring’s harvest, there is a risk of a complete cancellation of the farm’s next harvest.

“We don’t even have power,” Jason said in response to the delay of the upcoming harvest.

A GoFundMe to help The Great Mississippi Tea Company will go live in the next few days.

Please stay tuned for updates, and to find out how you can contribute to The Great Mississippi Tea Company, and how you can assist with recovery efforts.

The Great Mississippi Tea Company was founded in 2012 by Jason McDonald and Timothy Gipson in Brookhaven, Mississippi.

Photos: Jason McDonald, Facebook