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Most Of State Agriculture Able To Shake Off The Cold

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 4, 2008

TAMPA - An overnight freeze caused only minor damage to Florida's citrus crop, but some strawberry growers suffered significant losses, officials said Thursday.

Florida, the nation's biggest fruit producer, was hit by a blast of Arctic air Thursday morning that sent temperatures below freezing for several hours. The freeze, however, caused little harm overall to the state's citrus and strawberry crops. Growers, forewarned of the coming cold front, scrambled for days to protect their crops.

"Anecdotally, our growers didn't see much damage," said Andrew Meadows, spokesman for Florida Citrus Mutual, a trade group for Florida citrus growers.

The cold weather may benefit some citrus growers, Meadows said, because it slows growth and helps the fruit retain more sugar.

About 10 percent to 15 percent of Florida's current crop of strawberries were lost to the freeze. Some growers struggled to create a protective layer of ice on their plants by spraying water in windy conditions, said Shawn Crocker, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association based in Plant City.

"We couldn't get the coverage we were looking for," he said.

22 Acres Of Berries Lost

Parkesdale Farms, which grows strawberries on 250 acres in Dover in eastern Hillsborough County, lost about 22 acres of strawberries after a water line broke, preventing the grower from spraying the field.

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis visited the owners of Parkesdale Farms on Thursday to discuss the possibility of obtaining federal disaster assistance to cover the losses.

"It's pretty devastating," Bilirakis said. "They say they won't have any pickings for six weeks. So they're estimating they're going to lose about $750,000."
Farm operators could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Overall, though, strawberry losses were limited, officials said.

"This is when our price is the strongest," Crocker said. "The growers are really counting on the stronger prices to get their return back as quick as they can."

Florida strawberry growers are now fetching $13 to $14 per 10-pound flat, a price that will fall as the season continues. The Florida strawberry season runs from November to March.

It was the first major freeze the state's strawberry growers have experienced in more than a decade, Crocker said.

"It wasn't as bad as it could have been," he said.

Other crops in the Tampa Bay area also escaped major damage from the weather.

In the Pasco County hamlet of St. Joseph, known as the kumquat-growing capital of the state, early indications are that temperatures got low enough to chill the specialty fruit but not ruin it, said Frank Gude, one of the owners of Kumquat Growers of St. Joseph, a packing house.

"I feel like we've escaped the bullet - again - but not by much," Gude said.

Amusement parks also took precautions to protect plantings. At Cypress Gardens theme park in Winter Haven, workers sprayed insulating foam over flowers.

No Problems For Tropical Fish

Norton's Tampa Bay Fisheries in Ruskin said it weathered the cold Thursday morning as best it could. Plastic roofs over 65 of the 80 ponds helped keep warmth in. A steady flow of well water, at a constant 72 degrees, into uncovered ponds may have helped prevent disaster, said Mike Norton, the business's owner.

On Thursday morning, Norton said, he surveyed his ponds and didn't see any dead fish. It could be several days, though, before the company is able to assess damage from the cold.

"It's still a little early to tell," he said. "But I don't think it got as cold as we expected here. We won't know until a couple of days, until the sun comes up and everything comes to top. Everything is at the bottom now, trying to keep warm.

"Ninety-five percent of what we raise usually survives the cold," Norton said.

Ruskin has hundreds of tropical fish ponds. The Bay area supplies about 80 percent of the nation's demand.

Utility companies in the Bay area were braced for heavy demand, but didn't see records, largely because temperatures did not fall as low as forecast.

St. Petersburg-based Progress Energy Florida had expected to set a record for electricity use Thursday morning between 7 and 8 a.m. But a company spokeswoman said Thursday that customer usage was well below the utility's peak consumption record set Jan. 24, 2003. The company did not have specific figures immediately available for power demand Thursday morning.

Tampa Electric also reported Thursday that no records were set.

Shelters for the homeless in the area were prepared to help those in need.

At the Pinellas Hope homeless encampment, which opened last month in central Pinellas County, the 230 or so homeless residents were given mattresses, extra clothing and "as many blankets as they need," said Gregg Cosgrove, night manager.

"We had coffee and hot chocolate for them all night."

Temperatures are not expected to fall below freezing again this week. A warm-up is in store for the weekend, with daytime temperatures returning to the 70s and overnight temperatures in the 50s.

Reporters Russell Ray, Josh Potilove, Keith Morelli, Billy Townsend, Carlos Moncada, Jo-Ann Johnston and Julia Ferrante contributed to this report.

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