As Florida recovers from one of the most active hurricane seasons in recent history, the state's various industries are assessing damages to production and infrastructure. 

As one of the leading strawberry-producing states in the U.S., Florida's farms suffered from the strong winds and heavy rain that poured on the state between October 9 and 10.

Wish Farms, a year-round berry producer and shipper fared better than a lot of other growers in the region. The company's strawberry farm is in Manatee County, where they got significantly less rain than other areas

Nick Wishnatzki, Public Relations Director at Wish Farms told Freshfruitportal.com at this year's IFPA Global Produce & Floral Show that "damages at our company-owned farm have been completely repaired thanks to a dedicated group of about 300 people working around the clock."

He said the industry is resilient and collaborates to help get things back in order as soon as possible. 

However, the hurricane damage may alter some of the season timing, considering that the hurricane season impacts strawberries at the planting phase.

“The timing wasn’t ideal as we had plants in the ground that we are working to get established, but our initial assessment is that the plants sustained little damage,” Wishnatzki said.

The main point, Wishnatzki said, is that they did sustain some damage, but they were able to pick themselves up. 

Strawberry industry and hurricanes

Wishnatzki indicated that usually, the storms avoid the main strawberry-producing areas in the state, but Milton's unusual path caused it to have a direct hit, affecting growers in the Tampa Bay area. 

“It’s been over a hundred years since our area has experienced a direct hit, so it was certainly a new experience, but we are thankful it didn’t hit as an even stronger storm,” he said. 

The main damage for Wish Farms was plastic wraps and covers in the field that got pulled up, but in general, nothing too dramatic. 

“For us, damages were a challenge but not devastating," Wishnatzki said. "It may impact the season in terms of getting a later start, but I still think the season can be a success as our farmers are a resilient group."

"We are hopeful that we will have a good season," Wishnatzki concluded.