State of Emergency in Florida To Help Growers Affected by Record Cold

By Paul Rusnak|Updated: February 15, 2022

The cold wave that flooded down into Florida on Jan. 28-30 forced growers to take extreme measures to save their crops. Their effort was not in vain. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed an Executive Order declaring a state of emergency in more than 30 counties due to the freezing temperatures and their impact on local ag.

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Cold protection practices were in play at Southern Hill Farms in Clermont.
Photo courtesy of Southern Hill Farms
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Growers had to get back into the swing of freeze protecting crops with the latest cold snap. It has been several years since temps dipped this low in the Sunshine State.
Photo courtesy of Southern Hill Farms
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Gene McAvoy, Associate Director of Stakeholder Relations for the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, documented crop damage from the latest cold snap on social media. He reported seeing some fields that were severely impacted to others that were basically unscathed and everything in between. Regarding this field shot, he says, "Older tomatoes in colder areas took it hard."
Photo by Gene McAvoy
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This planting of squash near Indiantown was left uncovered to the elements. The cold has taken its toll.
Photo by Gene McAvoy
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This field of eggplant in South Florida is looking "rough" after its encounter with the recent cold snap.
Photo by Gene McAvoy
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This planting of sweet corn in Palm Beach County did not fare well during and after the recent cold snap. Chalk this one up a loss.
Photo by Gene McAvoy
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Putting water out to ice over sensitive crops might seem counterintuitive, but the practice proves effective to save fruit.
Photo by Vivek Sharma
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These ice-encased strawberries were the result of a long-night's work of cold protection.
Photo by Vivek Sharma
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Blueberry harvest time is just around the corner for Florida growers. Producers in the Sunshine State and the rest of the Southeast put long hours in to save their crops.
Photo by Cecilia Heller
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Irrigation is for more than just watering crops. In this case, it's providing an element of protection.
Photo courtesy of Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association
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Freeze protection of crops can yield some pretty cool images.
Photo courtesy of Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association

Prior to the state of emergency being issued, State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried sent a letter to the Governor asking him to issue the order. The letter reads in part: “Our agriculture industry is our state’s second largest economic driver, and our farmers are the best in the world. 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.”

Part of the order eases transportation restrictions of any vehicles traveling within the state that are transporting agriculture commodities so impacted farmers can move as much product as possible while it is still salvageable.

To view a complete copy of the Executive Order declaring the state of emergency, click here.

Crop damage assessments are still ongoing in the wake of the cold snap, especially for citrus. Ray Royce, Executive Director of the Highlands County Citrus Growers Association, says the frigid air (the coldest in the last four to five years for some) has left much more damage behind in parts of the South-Central region than perhaps originally thought. “It will take some time to fully understand the impact on both the unharvested fruit and the damage to the new flush and bloom that was very prevalent in many locations due to a warmer winter pattern up until the freezing conditions of Jan. 29–30,” he said in an industry update.

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Florida Citrus Mutual asked the Florida Department of Citrus to pursue emergency rulemaking to allow flexibility for affected growers to move their fruit to processors and packinghouses.

On a related note, the Florida Citrus Commission — in an emergency session — lowered the minimum ratio requirement for oranges to 8.5:1 with a minimum Brix of 8° (fresh and processed). This emergency rule will go into effect upon certification by the Secretary of State (anticipated no later than February 4, 2022) and will expire March 20, 2022. After March 20, the regular maturity standards will once again be in effect.

For growers impacted by the weather, USDA offers disaster assistance. Check out these resources:

Risk Management: Producers who have risk protection through Federal Crop Insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) should report crop damage to their crop insurance agent or the local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office.

Producers with crop insurance should contact their agency within 72 hours of discovering damage and be sure to follow up in writing within 15 days. If you have NAP coverage, file a Notice of Loss (also called Form CCC-576) within 15 days of loss becoming apparent, except for hand-harvested crops, which should be reported within 72 hours.

To report any crop damage, FSA is directing producers to click here.

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Paul Rusnak is the Senior Online Editor for Meister Media Worldwide's Specialty Crops Division, which consists of American Vegetable Grower, American Fruit Grower, and Greenhouse Grower magazines, all Meister Media brands. He is based in Northeast Florida. See all author stories here.