Despite the odds, Wish Farms kicks off strawberry season after back-to-back hurricanes

Strawberry harvesting after two hurricanes

FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis reports on Wish Farms, a strawberry farm in Manatee County that had its yearly harvesting season jeopardized by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

PLANT CITY, Fla - A Bay Area farm was the first to harvest a pallet of strawberries in the state despite suffering damage from Hurricane Milton.

Wish Farms has been around for more than 100 years as a grower and shipper of berries.

"Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and pineberries," said Wish Farms Public Relations Director Nick Wishnatzki. "In Florida, we have about 15 to 16 growers here locally in Plant City, Dover."

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Wishnatzki said Wish Farms has about 15 to 16 growers locally in Plant City and Dover. Wish Farms also has farms in east Manatee County, which was hit hard by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

"We're really at the mercy of Mother Nature. Whether there's a hurricane or just a regular rainstorm," Wishnatzki said.

Florida growers usually begin strawberry preps in August, and Wishnatzki said they start planting in September and October. Strawberry harvesting season runs between Thanksgiving and Easter.

Before the recent hurricanes, Wishnatzki said Wish Farms' team of farmers did what they could to prepare.

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"You have to get tractors in position. You have to make sure everything is tied down, and that needs to be tied down," Wishnatzki said.

Fortunately, about 95% of the strawberries were spared. Wishnatzki said Wish Farms did see wind damage from Hurricane Milton.

"As soon as it was safe to do so, our farm team went out there to assess the damage. Really within hours, starting to repair the fields," Wishnatzki said.

"The wind is a big issue, because it rips up our plastic beds, the drip tape that's underneath them, and can do a lot of damage to the farm," Wishnatzki said.