Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of an emergency executive order on Wednesday for almost all of Central and South Florida after the extreme cold weather threatened Florida’s farmers and growers.
“Because of the foregoing conditions, I declare that a state of emergency exists in Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Lucie, Sumter, and Volusia counties,” the DeSantis announcement said.
DeSantis also mentioned the need for an emergency harvest for crops, if needed, and loosened restrictions on truck transport.
“WHEREAS, such prolonged freezing temperatures and extreme fluctuations in weather conditions impact Florida’s agricultural industry; and WHEREAS, facilitating an emergency harvest is essential to prevent destruction of agriculture, and the relaxation of the restrictions on commercial vehicles is necessary to transport vulnerable crops to processing sites without delay; and…,” the statement said.
Taryn Fenske, communications director for DeSantis, said the Florida Division of Emergency Management has been working with the Florida Department of Citrus and other partners to assist the affected areas.
Gene McAvoy, associate director for Stakeholder Relations at the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, said to The Florida Capital Star that the governor’s emergency declaration was just the first step.
“We certainly welcome the emergency declaration,” McAvoy said. “The sugarcane crop is frosted and cannot grow and it needs to be harvested.”
McAvoy added the potential financial loss for farmers and growers could “be as much as tens of millions” if the harvest is not done quickly.
“[The harvest] has to be done in a fairly timely manner because fungi and bacteria can cause the plants to decline,” McAvoy said.
Due to limited materials in the marketplace, McAvoy said many farmers who rushed out to buy covers for their crops were unable to do so.
“The most effective way to protect the crops is to cover the crops,” McAvoy said. “But what we found out a week before the freeze, the same material used to cover crops is used to make COVID masks. That material was not possible to find and lead to substantially more loss.”
Before the emergency declaration was made, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried called on DeSantis to make the declaration to “keep Florida growing.”
“Our agriculture industry is our state’s second largest economic driver, and our farmers are the best in the world,” Fried said. “They remain resilient in the face of continued unfair foreign trade, invasive pests and diseases, a global pandemic, and extreme weather – from hurricanes to now these record cold temperatures. But they need our help now to keep Florida growing.”
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
