Florida freeze hits Parkesdale Farms: Why your grocery bill and Valentine’s Day could be impacted

Florida freeze impacting crops

Florida’s Lt. governor toured a strawberry farm in Hillsborough County on Tuesday to see how Florida’s recent freeze impacted the crops. FOX 13’s Carla Bayron reports. 

DOVER, Fla. - Lt. Governor Jay Collins toured Parkesdale Farms in Hillsborough County on Tuesday afternoon, where Matt Parke, the farm's manager, estimates a crop loss of 20% that will raise prices at the grocery store.

On Tuesday afternoon, Lt. Governor Jay Collins toured Parkesdale Farms in Hillsborough County, which hasn't seen a similar crippling freeze since 2010.

What they're saying:

"What happens with the crops is now they're going to think coming into springtime and they're going to start propagating more when there may not be a demand or need, so now you have a secondary problem," Collins explained.

READ: Cold nights, high stakes: Dover strawberry farmers fight to save crops

"We're behind because of the hurricane last year, trying to catch up, and then this happened right in prime time when we could've taken a step forward," said Matt Parke, farm manager of Parkesdale Farms.

Parke estimates a crop loss of 20%, but he'll have a better idea of the total number in the next few days.

He adds that this freeze will raise prices at the grocery store.

Big picture view:

As far as what can be done for farmers going forward, Collins says there needs to be a continued focus on working with the University of Florida IFAS on agricultural science and working with the USDA to make block grants available to help offset the risks when they happen.

"This is their lives and livelihood. Food security is a national security," said Collins. "We have to get this right. We can't keep losing them."

READ: Plant City farmers sacrificing this week’s harvest to save strawberry season — here’s why

With Valentine's Day coming up, the timing of the freeze couldn't have been worse. However, Parke's glad to be able to share his story.

"It's not all glitz and glamour out here. It's a lot of heartache and stressful events," said Parke. "Having somebody out here who understands where we come from and who understands the business, we're grateful for that."  

What's next:

It looks like it could freeze again this Thursday or Friday so the farm manager's keeping his fingers crossed it's just an early daylight freeze which he says won't be too detrimental.