South Florida farmers face catastrophic losses from historic freeze
By Rachel Williams
Click here for updates on this story
INDIANTOWN, Florida (WPBF) — Farmers on the Treasure Coast are preparing for another cold front while still recovering from a historic freeze that caused catastrophic crop losses. At East Coast Nursery in Indiantown, owner Mark Rutizer reported that over 50% of his crops were destroyed across 29 acres of land.
East Coast Nursery, a local tree farm, has seen its revenue disappear since the freeze hit South Florida. “I don’t have any sales because … what it is if they didn’t die, it looks like it’s dead for the most part. It’s unsellable,” Rutizer said. “It was unexpected. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never dealt with this before. Now I’m going through spraying the trees that might be able to bounce back.”
Rutizer described the situation as a setback, noting that he has lost millions of dollars and has already conducted layoffs at his farm. “Right now, I have to care for the plants that I have left so they don’t decline more. Then I guess in a few weeks, assess the situation and see where it goes from there,” he said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed an executive order to assist Florida’s farmers in their recovery efforts. He posted on X saying, “I signed Executive Order 26-33 in response to last week’s winter weather event and ongoing drought conditions throughout the state. This action helps facilitate emergency harvesting and protects Florida agriculture from further losses with expedited recovery under state authority and prompt assistance to be provided to Florida’s farmers.”
Rutizer expressed hope for timely assistance, saying, “It’s nice that they do it. I would hope that it’s in a reasonable manner so many farms don’t have to close their doors before that.”
Congressman Brian Mast toured the nursery and other farms to observe the widespread devastation. “It’s a different kind of emergency for people out here. You’re up in Virginia or Maryland or anywhere up along the east … beyond that temperature is not a big thing but to the Florida economy and the things that grow here the companies that exist to produce things in this USDA climate zone, it is an emergency to them because you’re not used to seeing sustained 25 degrees or even 25 degrees at all,” Mast said.
Mast acknowledged the need for financial assistance for farmers, stating that the Department of Agriculture must declare an emergency for aid to be provided. Which an emergency has not been declared yet.
In light of millions of dollars lost at the nursery the past few weeks, owners started a GoFundMe link to keep the business afloat.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.