Crippling Florida freezes cost over $3 billion in estimated losses to agriculture

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Florida freeze: Arctic chill reaches Sunshine State, breaking records

Orlando, Tampa and Miami each recorded their coldest temperatures successful 16 years this weekend. Many places crossed Florida began Monday greeting beneath freezing for the seventh consecutive time for the archetypal clip since 2001. The uncommon acold drawback volition past successful the Sunshine State done Tuesday earlier temperatures yet lukewarm up by midweek.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Crippling freezes from the harsh wintertime person dealt a costly stroke to Florida's booming agriculture industry, which thrives connected the Sunshine State’s postcard-perfect ‘snowbird’ winters.

According to a study from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, preliminary estimates uncover the caller freezes outgo much than $3 cardinal successful full estimated losses crossed the state’s cultivation sectors.

"Our preliminary estimation of implicit $3 cardinal successful cultivation losses makes wide what we already knew: This was 1 of the astir damaging frost events for Florida agriculture successful history. It is besides wide that our state's farmers, ranchers, and growers – who we trust connected regular to provender and nourish our communities – request timely and important support," said Commissioner Wilton Simpson.

Unprecedented frost events person taken a costly toll successful Florida. Sweet maize unsocial has mislaid an estimated $255,363,251 successful revenue, according to a caller study from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

(Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.)

Freezing temperatures tin termination plants entirely, spoiling plants for bully oregon importantly damaging them. Florida's agriculture manufacture annually grosses billions acknowledgment to favorable upwind conditions that gully millions of tourists to the authorities each year. When prolonged acold stretches and terrible winter weather dips into the Sunshine State, the results are devastating to galore of the plants that aren't adapted to the cold.

The study details 2 wintertime upwind events that brought unexpected, wide harm crossed Florida, affecting galore of the state’s astir productive cultivation regions during highest seasonal maturation and planting periods.

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Florida, similar galore parts of the Eastern U.S., has suffered a brutally acold winter. While it is detrimental to vacationers and "snowbirds" seeking refuge successful the Sunshine State to get distant from the cold, the prolonged acold spells ruin overmuch much than a vacation.

Beyond the contiguous harm to crops, the prolonged acold temperatures caused important accent to a wide scope of specialty crops, challenging farmers that haven't seen frost events of this standard successful decades.

According to the report, a full of 66 counties crossed Florida experienced freezing temperatures.

Freeze harm spoils strawberries successful Florida. According to a study from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, an estimated $306,965,897 successful gross has been mislaid owed to crippling frost events.

(Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.)

Florida ushered successful the New Year and started disconnected 2026 successful freezing fashion.

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The beardown wintertime tempest froze Florida to commencement the New Year and affected astir the full state, but for the Florida Keys, crossed respective days during precocious December and into aboriginal January. The important tempest crippled question and near lasting harm successful the Sunshine State. While the unprecedented wintertime tempest caused a important headache for millions successful Florida, the brutal wintertime was conscionable getting started.

Freeze harm to doorbell peppers successful Florida aft important wintertime upwind tempest slammed Florida. According to a study from Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, an estimated $108,380,389 successful doorbell capsicum gross has been mislaid owed to crippling frost events.

(Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.)

Florida froze again to footwear disconnected February, erstwhile arctic aerial locked successful a steadfast grasp of the Sunshine State, mounting freezing record-low temperatures crossed a wide swath of the state.

The frost struck areas captious to Florida’s accumulation of vegetables and melons, citrus, sugarcane, fruits, horticulture and aquaculture.

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While immoderate producers managed to harvest, galore faced challenges specified arsenic immature crops, windy conditions, constricted labour oregon storage, and inadequate harvest protection, starring to losses.

"I privation to convey President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins for their unprecedented enactment for our nutrient producers, particularly during times of situation similar this. They cognize that a beardown home nutrient proviso is captious to our nation’s security, and Florida’s farmers provender America, particularly during the winter," Commissioner Wilton Simpson said. "Working manus successful manus with shaper groups and our legislature delegation, we basal acceptable to judge and rapidly administer national artifact assistance backing to enactment our impacted producers to recover, to replant, and to support our federation fed."