Florida Ag Commissioner Adam Putnam shared his belief that Hurricane Irma would do damage to Florida Agriculture.
No one can forecast exactly what a hurricane will or won’t do, but Florida’s Commissioner or Agriculture, Adam Putnam, felt pretty confident in the prediction that Hurricane Irma would damage the Florida Agriculture industry in many different sectors. His words, shared in a Southeast AgNet article, came a few days prior to when the Category 5-level storm made landfall on the southernmost tip of The Sunshine State on September 10th, but the prediction is a non-brainer: it was a huge, powerful storm. While the damage has not yet been fully assessed, it’s something everyone in Florida Agriculture should expect. Read his words below.
Florida Agriculture and Hurricane Irma
According to the article, Putnam shared that he would be riding the storm out in his Bartow, Florida home. He shared his hopes that the storm would not be the fourth to pass over the Central Florida town: “I’m hoping we’re not going to notch a fourth hurricane eye over the top of my little town. The beautiful trees that were there prior to (Hurricane) Charlie (in 2004), they’re just not the same anymore.”
As for his predictions concerning the hurricane’s damage to Florida Agriculture, Putnam shared: “The current storm path projections come right up the heart of Florida’s agricultural lands,” Putnam said Friday. “The landscape and nursery businesses in south Dade County, around Homestead. The tropical fruits businesses. Avocados. The citrus and sugarcane industries in South Florida and throughout the interior. Fruit size on grapefruit trees along the Indian River is now of such a size that it is indeed pretty heavy and will undoubtedly be blown off the trees in significant ways.”
Reports of the damage will likely be forthcoming.
Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.