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Strawberries recover from hurricane season
FOX 13's Lloyd Sowers reports on how back-to-back hurricanes on the verge of strawberry season in Florida affected the state's many strawberry fields and the people who make a livelihood growing them.
PLANT CITY, Fla. - Despite two hurricanes, Plant City farmers want to see strawberry fields forever that include a new and better berry this year.
Kenneth Parker, the head of the Strawberry Growers Association, has worked in the strawberry fields of East Hillsborough County for decades.
He thought he'd seen everything until back-to-back hurricanes hit the Bay Area toward the end of 2024.
"The early part of our season was unlike anything my generation has ever seen," Parker said. "We've never had strawberries in the ground when a hurricane came."
The hurricanes delayed planting, so workers are racing to pick Florida's winter strawberries.
Workers race against the clock to harvest strawberries.
The strawberries may be sweeter than ever due to our recent cooler but above-freezing temperatures.
"This weather is making them so good," smiled Parker as he finished a bite of a new strawberry variety called Encore, which growers say could be the best berry yet.
"It's not just the flavor but the color inside and out, the firmness of the fruit, which indicates something about its shelf life," explained Vance Whitaker.
Some could call Whitaker and his research partner Cheryl strawberry scientists.
"We get to eat strawberries for a living," laughed Whitaker.
The pair work mainly in a laboratory at the University of Florida's Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Southeast Hillsborough County. There, they breed strawberries, matching parent plants to produce better offspring.
Cheryl, a "strawberry scientist", takes a bite of a strawberry.
"And that's what happens in breeding," Whitaker said. "You make small improvements over time."
Growers have worked to improve their berries since the late 1800s, when railroad man Henry Plant built a spur to load frozen berries in Plant City and ship them up north.
"There are farms here that have been in constant production for over 120 years," Parker explained.
There have been a lot of berries since Plant built that spur-to-load frozen berries in Plant City.
"And you can see a lot of difference in the varieties of today and back then," said Whitaker.
File: Strawberries
There's always something new in the field. This season, it's racing to catch up after two hurricanes.
All the growers hope for now is good weather and other things.
"We want people to buy Florida strawberries," smiled Parker.
Parker also promised plenty of berries for the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City, which begins Feb. 27.
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