Domestic options will soon be available for consumers yearning for that sweet, delicious peach. The first of Florida’s peach crop will be ready in late March, according to Jose Chaparro, UF/IFAS Associate Professor in the Horticultural Sciences Department.
He said the peach trees have produced their strongest bloom in the last five years. It is due in large part to colder winter temperatures, something the peach trees have missed out on in recent years.
“We’ve been really taking it on the chin the last four years, and the same thing happened in central Georgia last year. Everybody’s suffering from the lack of chill symptoms, so crops have been light. Fruit sizes have been small. Fruit shape has suffered significantly,” Chaparro said. “This is more like what we would like in terms of chilling. In central Florida along the I-4 corridor, we were very near, if not equal to, historical averages.”
Hopefully for Florida growers, a strong peach bloom will translate into a productive season. Florida peaches are the first to hit the market every year. Producers hope they can take full advantage.
“We cannot compete toe-to-toe with Georgia because we don’t have the volume. And because of our temperatures and soil, we’re going to always be slightly smaller in size,” Chaparro said. “For us, our competitiveness is based on earliness.”
What a difference a year makes for one Florida farmer.
At a time of the season that should be the most profitable for Hank Scott, the 2020 spring was a disaster. It wasn’t due to disease issues, or increased pest pressures or adverse environmental conditions that affected crop yields. It was due to a global pandemic that nobody was prepared for.
“That’s our best season of the year, that spring pickle deal. (Last year) was devastating for us. It took a big hit,” said Scott, president of Long & Scott Farms in Mount Dora, Florida. “But we’re working our way out of it. Hopefully, we’ll have a good spring season this season. Maybe we’ll rebound and be back to somewhat normal, if that’s possible.”
Long & Scott Farms produces Kirby Cucumbers, also known as pickling cucumbers, as well as approximately 450 acres of cabbage through the winter.
COVID-19 Pandemic
It was this time last year that the pandemic impacted the country, shutting down restaurants and schools. Scott was left with a surplus of produce with no one to sell to. That’s not the case this season which makes this season somewhat of a success already.
“Stuff is selling and there’s somebody to sell it to this year which makes it nice. That’s pretty much the whole deal right there. Prices are a little bit better thank God. Of course, there was no price at all last year because there was little to no movement,” Scott said. “It hit us at the end of cabbage season and at the beginning of pickle season. Pickles were pretty much a disaster. Out of the six sizes that we grow, one size and maybe a few or two other sizes were selling fresh market. But processing was just dead. This fall was a little better. Prices weren’t great but we had a decent crop and sold for the most part everything.”
Weather has also been great for Scott’s cabbage production. No freeze, above average temperatures and the rain was just about perfect. But it also appears the winter freeze in Texas that devastated the state’s crops has also impacted sales for this Florida farmer.
“We had a beautiful cabbage crop. Sales were not great early in the year. We didn’t sell as much as we’d hoped or needed to sell early on. But we’re doing really good now, mainly because Texas got whacked so bad, which is sad that somebody’s got to get hurt for you to get a good market,” Scott said.
South Florida’s watermelon crop is a couple of weeks away from harvest. Producers in that region are looking to rebound after COVID-19 decimated last year’s season.
How will producers fare in 2021? Bob Stewart, owner of GID Farms in Immokalee, Florida, says, “You never know.”
“You go plant them, grow them and make the best crop you can and let the market do what the market’s going to do, because you just don’t ever know,” Stewart said. “Like last year, when we started loading watermelons last year, it was about the time they shut the country down. That was a big issue with getting loaded and getting gone. The movement was just slow, slow, slow, trying to get them moved.”
While it was a bountiful harvest and profitable market for producers in north Florida and Georgia, producers in south Florida suffered. Just as harvests ramped up across the south Florida region, the pandemic hit. Everybody stayed home and didn’t venture out to grocery stores like they used to.
Stewart believes acreage this year will be about average.
“I don’t think there’s going to be anybody that jumps into it real big and plant a whole lot more than just normal,” Stewart said.
Stewart’s first plantings, which was around Dec. 20, are nearing harvest time.
“Hopefully, we’ll be loading some by April 1. That’s the gameplan to get it kicked off in the United States,” Stewart said. “You’re trying to let the imports get done and roll into our window as that April market.”
The International Trade Committee’s (ITC) decision regarding blueberry imports was shocking to Florida’s blueberry producers. It was no less surprising to the state’s strawberry farmers who have their own ITC investigation under way.
“Our jaws dropped. We know how bad the blueberry deal is and they said they were 5-0 voting against it,” said Matt Parke, farm manager of Parkesdale Farms in Plant City, Florida. “I scratched my head to that and was like, ‘Well, I don’t think strawberries even have a chance.’”
The ITC deemed in February that imports of fresh, chilled or frozen blueberries are not a serious injury to the domestic industry. It goes against what members of the American Blueberry Growers Alliance testified about during the virtual hearing with the ITC in January.
“We were in a board meeting when we got the news. If they didn’t get one person to rule in their favor, we ain’t going to get none. To me, blueberries were in a worse position than we were,” Parke said. “The problem is, too, if it was regional; they’re taking a nationwide perspective, but if they would have done a southeast perspective from the Carolinas down to Florida, I don’t see how they could vote against it. It should have been unanimous.”
In early December, the ITC instituted two monitoring factfinding investigations into U.S. imports of fresh or chilled strawberries. This was made in a request from the U.S. Trade Representative.
Statistically Speaking
According to a presentation by UF’s Zhengfei Guan, Florida strawberry production was approximately 220 million pounds in 2000, while strawberry imports from Mexico totaled approximately 70 million pounds. In 2019, Florida production maxed out at 200 million pounds, compared to Mexico’s approximate 400 million.
How can producers like Parke compete when everything is stacked against them?
“Mexico has really affected our industry since NAFTA. The first couple of years NAFTA wasn’t so bad. People were still figuring out they could go down there and still invest their money and produce berries a whole lot cheaper,” Parke said. “The third or fourth year of NAFTA, we used to have maybe 200 growers here in Plant City. Between then and now we’re down to probably 50 growers. It’s just because a lot of people went belly up and couldn’t compete.
“Here in Florida, my guys average $100 a day picking berries. In Mexico, they pay them $5.20 to pick every day. Two-thirds of my cost is harvesting. How can I compete with that?”
Parke said the market is not great right now. Along with Mexico’s strawberry imports, Florida is picking a pile, and California’s picking a pile. The market is reflecting the increased supply.
“Mexico has really taken a toll on the American farmer,” Parke said.
LAKE ALFRED, FLA — University of Florida researchers continue to study ways to combat Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening disease.
One discovery brings the potential of another tool for citrus growers to control Asian citrus psyllid, the insect that transmits the disease-causing bacterium, and protect infected trees from further damage.
Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski, an associate professor of entomology and nematology at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center, discovered that 2’-deoxy-2’-flouro-d-arabinonucleic acid antisense oligonucleotides (FANA ASO) (small-sized single-stranded nucleic acids) can be used to silence essential genes within the psyllids and in the bacterial pathogen that causes citrus greening.
Pelz-Stelinski and her team reduced the citrus greening disease pathogen in the psyllid and in citrus. This led to less transmission and a potential reduction in disease severity.
“The intent of this research was to find alternative, environmentally-friendly tools for psyllid management as current pest management strategies have led to the development of resistance among Asian citrus psyllid populations,” said Pelz-Stelinski. “Understanding the relationships of essential bacteria needed for insect survival provides potentially important targets for control strategies that use bactericides. By disrupting how the psyllid acquires and processes the pathogen while impacting the nutrition and fitness of the psyllid may provide an alternative management tool in controlling transmission of the HLB pathogen”
It was a record-setting week on some South Florida farms with respect to Asian bean thrips (ABT) populations.
According to UF/IFAS, across most farms in southeastern Hendry County, ABT populations averaged 0.2 ABT per bud and ranged from 0.3 to 1.5 per bloom (at full bloom). But in an isolated located, reports were as high as 10.0 ABT per bloom (at full bloom).
This was the highest population levels reported at this stage in Hendry County. Damage appeared to occur to the blooms.
Whereas in northeastern Hendry County, populations varied considerably. No ABT populations were reported in some plantings, while others reached as high as 5.0 ABT per bloom at early pod development.
In the central part of Hendry County, populations stabilized after increasing over the previous few weeks, dropping to 0.3 to 0.6 ABT per bloom (at full bloom).
Other Counties
Scouted beans are older in northern Collier County, and populations of 1.8 ABT per bloom were reported.
In eastern Palm Beach County, reports indicate populations have steadied at 0.1 to 0.5 ABT per bloom or per plant. Aggressive insecticide programs include 1 to 2 spray pre-bloom to keep populations from building early and more aggressive sprays at bloom and later appear to keep ABT at moderate levels. Similar populations are reported in western and north western Palm Beach County.
Beans were close to harvest, and ABT was not reported in southern Glades County.
Florida vegetable farmers are tired of voicing their displeasure with imports from Mexico. Some are seeing the writing on the wall; the end is nearing for American farmers.
Kim Jamerson, whose husband grew up on a family farm and has been farming since age 6, is ready to sell her farm.
It is not because she doesn’t enjoy the work she’s called a career for 17 years. It is because Mexican imports of vegetables and specialty crops have made it impossible for her to remain competitive.
“I see an end coming because I’m going to sell the farm. It’s not going to be instant. I’m fortunate that I have a good piece of property that’s going to go into a good real estate sale eventually. Am I going to sell the farm today? No. Am I going to list the farm probably in the next two months? Yes, I am,” Jamerson said.
Not the Last
She’s not the first and likely won’t be the last to call it quits due to imports.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Sam Accursio, a vegetable farmer in Homestead, Florida who produces pickle and cucumber, green beans and yellow and green squash on about 4,400 acres, said he “sees it ending,” in the next couple of years.
Jamerson farms approximately 1,280 acres of produce in the Fort Myers area. This includes eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber and green pepper. It costs her almost $10 per box to break even, whereas Mexico is importing pepper at around $1.95.
Statistics support Florida farmers’ claims that imports are driving them out of business. Florida produced 1.6 billion pounds of tomatoes in 2000, 20% higher than Mexico. But now Mexico imports (3.6 billion pounds) five times more than what Florida produces (750 million pounds). Mexico’s imports of bell peppers totaled more than a billion pounds in 2019, compared to Florida, which totaled a little more than 300 million.
It is hard not to empathize with Florida vegetable farmers who have slowly seen their livelihoods being taken away.
“I can tell you right now, I loved farming. My family liked farming; they love it. It just gets harder and harder every year. It’s getting to the point where it’s like, why even do this?” Jamerson said.
According to the South Florida Pest and Disease Hotline, bacterial spot disease is active in tomato and pepper fields on the east coast and around southwest Florida.
It is present at moderate levels in older hot pepper plants. Bacterial spot disease flares up after rain events and with fog in tomatoes and non-resistant peppers across the southwest region of Florida.
Reports from the Manatee Ruskin indicate low levels of bacterial spot in susceptible peppers. Farmers and scouts in Homestead, Florida report the disease is present in tomato and susceptible pepper varieties.
Bacterial spot is a serious threat to tomato and pepper production in Florida. It spreads quickly during warm periods with wind-driven rains. Fruit symptoms lead to reduced marketability.
Symptoms on tomatoes include distinct spots with or without yellowing. Fruit spots often begin as dark specks with or without a white halo. As spots increase, they become raised and scab-like.
Click here for additional information on bacterial spot.
Bob Spencer, with West Coast Tomato in Palmetto, Florida, believes there is light at the end of a year-long tunnel for the state’s tomato producers.
As more states continue to reopen combined with the recent passage of the America Rescue Plan, there appears to be good news on the horizon for Florida tomato producers who have struggled from the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re starting to see a little bit of sunlight here over the last two weeks as more and more states are reopening restaurants. You’ve got New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio starting to reopen. It’s definitely helped our market,” Spencer said. “During the same period of time that we were experiencing the restaurant shutdowns, Mexico came in with a huge volume. It dumped a lot of cheap product into the country in violation of the agreements that we have them. It’s been a tough three months. But there’s definitely light at the end of the tunnel as these restaurants start to reopen.”
Pandemic Impact
Spencer estimated in a story in VSCNews in April 2020 that his company was losing 90% of his business. With food service being shut down for an extended period, this was devastating news for an industry that designates 70% to 75% of its crop for food service. And it could have been a lot worse.
“We were fortunate last year when it hit that we were still dealing with the after-effects of the new Suspension Agreement with Mexico. As a result, they had planted less acreage in the prior summer. That meant we had less product coming in to compete with us,” Spencer said. “While it was tough for us, it was not as bad as it could have been. Mexico had planted less, not knowing what was going to be the outcome of all the litigation around the suspension agreement.”
That changed this year, however. Spencer said Mexico overplanted and started dumping in low-cost tomatoes, which adds to tomato producers’ frustration.
“The reality is it’s the Commerce Department responsible for enforcing the agreement. In reality, it’s the equivalent of having Barney Fife as your security guard. They aren’t set up to enforce agreements,” Spencer said. “It’s just very difficult to get them interested in doing the kind of work to enforce the agreement. We’ve been dealing with it since 1996.”
But Spencer remains optimistic times are looking brighter for the state’s tomato industry.
“The springtime looks better (though) with the restaurants reopening,” Spencer said. “You’ve got restaurants reopening and you’ve got Uncle Sam sending everybody a check. Hopefully, people will use part of that check to go out to dinner.”
South Florida watermelon production could use a productive season following last year’s impact from COVID-19. Unfortunately, wind damage may derail farmers’ hopes.
“Everything’s beat up from the wind and the cold. The crops that were planted super early more so than the ones that were planted late. I think if the weather stays like it is, the quality will be exceptionally good. But I think yields will be low,” said Greg Collier, Florida watermelon producer.
Collier said sustained wind speeds reached 30mph with gusts of 45mph.
“Wind is one of the hardest things there is on a watermelon, and it’s pretty democratic, everybody gets it. We might get a four-inch rain and the guy two miles down the road might miss it altogether,” Collier said. “I might frost or freeze, and you might not. But the wind is the same everywhere. Everybody gets 35mph wind and it beats them up.”
COVID Impact
The potential lack of yields is disheartening considering how COVID impacted the market last season. Just as harvests were beginning to start across the South Florida region, the pandemic shut the country down.
“We experienced no business. When we were rolling into harvest last year, the market was (more than) 40 cents (per pound) on the off-shore Mexican stuff. A couple of guys in Immokalee (Florida) started a few loads and then the COVID deal hit. They sent everybody home. They went to the stores, bought up a bunch of groceries to take home with them and never came back to the stores. Then they started closing the stores down, especially in the northeast,” Collier said.
“New York got hit real bad, which, that’s one of the prime sales areas for Florida is the New York area; Philly, Baltimore, Boston, New York City. That’s where a ton of our stuff goes to.”
Collier plans to start harvesting fruit in South Florida in the second week in April. There is fruit on the vine now that is a little bigger than a softball.
Collier is part of Global Produce Sales, a marketer of watermelons. They’ll have fields in Moore Haven, Florida; Plant City, Florida; North Florida, South Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina and Delaware.
“We had a phenomenal year in north Florida and Georgia. Indiana was really good. But South Florida was not so much,” Collier said.
