California Floods Affect Florida’s Strawberry Production

By Clint Thompson The current weather crisis in California is impacting Florida’s strawberry harvests. One producer said he is picking additional fruit this time of year amid the floods out west. “I go until April normally with some of them, but we’re going a little longer than normal because California is in disarray with all the weather they’ve been getting. …

Florida Strawberry Growers Preparing for Freeze

By Clint Thompson Florida’s strawberry crop could be damaged by the sub-freezing temperatures in the forecast for this weekend. Matt Parke, farm manager of Parkesdale Farms in Plant City, Florida, discusses the scenario he and other producers are facing with potential temperatures in the 20s scheduled for Friday night and Saturday night. “We’re going to be running water, but it’s …

Florida Strawberry Farmer: Input Costs to go up 30% Next Year

By Clint Thompson A challenging year for Florida strawberry production is expected to worsen next season. Especially if the price of oil continues to spike amid the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, growers are likely to experience extremely high input costs entering next year’s planting season. “Anything that has to do with transportation is going up. If transportation goes up …