Farmworkers Self-Help, Inc.

Early estimates from Florida show 10 consecutive nights of freezes destroyed nearly a third of the state’s winter fruit and vegetable production and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Harvesting remained stopped in many areas as growers wait for warmer weather to see what they can salvage. The severe cold struck all central and south Florida’s growing regions, from Plant City’s strawberries to vegetables in Immokalee and Naples in southwest Florida to Belle Glade in West Palm Beach County, to Homestead and areas along the East Coast.
On Jan. 14, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson toured the Plant City area and planned to visit other areas hit hard by the severe cold. He is expected to seek federal disaster assistance. Terrance McElroy, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Tallahassee, said state officials would receive preliminary damage estimates the week of Jan. 18. The cycle of sub-zero overnight temperatures ended Jan. 13. He said the state expects a minimum of a 30% loss in production and millions of dollars in losses. “We anticipate there will be very substantial damages,” he said Jan. 14. “The tomatoes, sweet corn, zucchini squash, and many of the winter vegetables grown around Lake Okeechobee and further south, particularly those in lower-lying areas, were severely damaged.” What percentage of the crop will be salvageable, McElroy said, won’t be determined until growers are able to return to fields.
In early reports, growers in Belle Glade reported losing winter corn and beans deals and Immokalee growers reported the freezes destroyed up to 60%-70% of their bell peppers and part of their squash. “Because of the vulnerability of them, the tender leafy vegetables are much more vulnerable than the citrus grown under the canopy of a tree,” McElroy said.
With so many crops lost there will also be a loss of work for the farmworkers in Florida and this is a major concern for Farmworkers Self-Help. A 30% loss of crops could very well translate into a 30% loss of jobs, many of Florida’s farmworkers could be without jobs or working much less than they need to support their families. We know that we must be prepared for the worst and we also know that winter is not yet over.