Farmers race to save crops from freeze

PLANT CITY - For strawberry farmer Mark Harrell, it had already been a long day and it will probably be an even longer night.

“Maybe (I’ll) take a quick nap or maybe have to come right back over, it depends on how quickly the temperature drops,” said Harrell.

Harrell arrived at his Plant City strawberry farm at 5 a.m. Saturday. As temperatures dip in the Bay Area this weekend, possibly towards the freezing point, all 9 acres of Harrell’s livelihood are at risk.

“Well, you could lose your production for three to four weeks at least," said Harrell. "Depending on the severity of the cold it could be even more severe than that."

During the day, workers harvested the already ripened berries and then coated the sprinklers with oil so they don’t freeze at night.

If the temperatures drop low enough, Harrell will turn on those sprinklers until they coat the berries with a protective jacket of ice.

“It generates actually a little bit of heat and insulates anything that is encapsulated inside,” said Harrell.

Harrell’s berries aren’t the only ones left out in the cold this weekend. Plant City is home to a bevy of berry farmers.

According to the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, Hillsborough County alone produces about 15% of the nation’s strawberries. They say the 18 million flats produced every year, if placed end to end, would reach from Plant City to Seattle and back again.

After decades of berry farming, Harrell says he’s dealt with freezes many times, but never one that threatened to stick around so many nights in a row.

“It’s been a long time. We’ve had just one night or two nights at a time and it’s been many years since I can remember having four or five consecutive nights, especially of the temperatures they’re talking about,” added Harrell.

Harrell says he’ll check the outdoor ground temperature at least every hour at night with a remote thermometer. If it reaches close to 32 degrees, they will turn on the sprinklers. Of course, that costs them money they’d rather not spend, so he and many other farmers are hoping the freeze doesn’t happen.