Florida Crops Suffer Millions in Damage from Cold

citrus, blueberry, strawberry, tomato, cucumber, strawberries, kumquat and tropical fish industries all hit

This is the longest duration of cold in 60 years. —Charlie Bronson, Florida Ag. Commissioner

January 13, 2010
By John Frank
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson estimated the price tag from the extended freeze in the hundreds of millions of dollars, though he cautioned the extent of the damage is still largely unknown.

"This is the longest duration of cold in 60 years,'' he said.

In a Wednesday briefing for lawmakers, Bronson said preliminary reports show at least 30 percent of the state's crops were destroyed when below freezing temperatures gripped the state for nearly two weeks.

"That doesn't mean we lost everything,'' he cautioned. "We are hoping they can salvage as much as they can.''

Now that temperatures have thawed, damage assessment teams are visiting farmers throughout the state to get a better picture of what was lost. But already it's clear that fish farmers took the biggest hit with most losing their entire stock. And pole bean prices shot from $10 a crate before the freeze to $45 a crate this week, Bronson said. For strawberries, citrus and squash, it's a waiting game to see what is left after the protective ice melts from the crops.

A byproduct of the freeze meant farmers pumped so much water to spray crops that it led to numerous sinkholes, especially in the Tampa Bay area. Rep. Rich Glorioso, R-Plant City, said officials estimated the underground aquifer fell by 60 feet.

But Bronson said the farmers "had to do what was available to them'' to save the crops.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1423551.html