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Hopes For Big Strawberry Crop Fall With Temperatures

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By RUSSELL RAY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 3, 2008

Strawberry growers in the Tampa Bay area were expecting a bumper crop - and bumper sales - this season. Wednesday night's frigid temperatures, however, have put those expectations on ice for now.

Nearly all of Florida's strawberries are grown within 30 miles of Plant City in Hillsborough County. This season, Florida strawberry growers planted a record 8,320 acres and were expecting to exceed last season's sales of $273 million, an all-time high.

"We were looking at very good returns," said Shawn Crocker, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association.

As is often true in farming, however, Mother Nature may have a say in whether Florida strawberry sales reach a new high this year.

With three to six hours of below-freezing temperatures expected through this morning, strawberry growers rushed Wednesday to harvest all the ripe berries in their fields, hoping to avoid massive losses.

Ripe berries need to be picked before growers turn on sprinklers to apply a protective layer of ice around the strawberry blooms to prevent freeze damage.

"Once you start putting water on to create ice, you turn that red ripe berry into mush," Crocker said. "What you're protecting is that piece of green fruit and the plant."

Temperatures were forecast to plunge into the 20s this morning. The blast of cold air comes in the middle of strawberry season, which runs from November to March.

"For the last two days, you've had every berry farmer in the industry out picking their fields to get everything in that they can possibly get in," Crocker said.

Mike St. Martin, who runs St. Martin Farms in Plant City, had pickers out the past two days, focusing in part on 100 acres of strawberries. "We are picking away," he said. "We're picking a day early and picking all we can pick."

It's the first major freeze Florida strawberry growers have faced in more than a decade, he said.

What's more, high winds are expected into this morning, which will make it more difficult to prevent plants from freezing. If it's windy, the water used to create a protective layer of ice won't be applied evenly, leaving some parts of the field more vulnerable to freezing.

Although the potential for a freeze has led growers to harvest more strawberries, it shouldn't lead to a long-term supply glut or lower prices in groceries, Crocker said. The wholesale price of a 10-pound flat of strawberries is running about $13 to $14, Crocker said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Charlie Crist has declared a state emergency and temporarily eased the rules for transporting strawberries and other crops, such as citrus, vulnerable to cold weather damage. Specifically, the governor relaxed weight, height, length and width restrictions for commercial vehicles transporting crops to processing facilities. The order, signed Monday, will remain in effect for 14 days.

Removing the transportation restrictions will help strawberry growers get more fruit to processing plants quickly, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson said.

"Florida produces nearly all of the nation's domesticallyrown fruits and vegetables during the winter," Bronson said. "So it is especially critical that we do whatever we can to help prevent damage to this season's crop."

Tribune reporter Keith Morelli contributed to this story. Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at rray@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7870.

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