FLORIDA CITY, FLA. (WSVN) – – With temperatures set to plummet over the weekend, farmers across South Florida are working nonstop to protect their crops from the cold.
On Friday, farmers at Torbert Farms in Homestead were harvesting several loads of green beans to shield them from the frigid conditions.
“We don’t wanna risk leaving too many beans out there in case it does get cold enough so we’re just staying on schedule and that way, if we need to get ahead in the coming days, we have enough time to harvest what we need to get,” said David Torbert, the owner of Torbert Farms.
For farmers at Torbert Farms, Friday and Saturday will be their busiest days, working around the clock to keep their snap beans, yellow squash, sweet corn and okra safe from the coldest temperatures to hit the area in more than a decade.
“We’re gonna be watering day and night, trying to harvest everything we can and, you know, it’s gonna be very busy the next few days as it’s been the past few days,” said Torbert.
The push to harvest as many of their crops and keep them safe is critical as many of these farms’ entire seasons could depend on what they can preserve over this weekend.
Torbert is one of many farm owners telling his workers to do what they can to push past the dropping temperatures to get the job done.
“I tell them, ‘Just try to stay warm and, you know, we’ll get through it, then we’ll have some rest period after, if everything goes well,” said Torbert.
Workers were also seen loading up melons on the back of a pickup truck, which were covered for protection.
Farmers will be able to harvest produce up until the moment the freezing temperatures roll across South Florida. Once it’s arrived, their options become extremely limited.
“The day of the cold, there’s not as much you can do except monitor temperatures and look for possible damage,” said Torbert.
Farmers told 7News these frigid conditions pose a far greater threat to their crops than the hurricanes most residents are accustomed to experiencing. If the weather stays at or below freezing point for more than a few hours, the plants could freeze, damaging or completely destroying entire crops.
With much of the country’s winter vegetables grown in South Florida to avoid these kinds of conditions, the stakes are high for farmers to protect as much of the produce as they can.
“If we were to lose everything, you’d be depending on Mexico and other countries to feed us,” said Torbert.
With the coldest temperatures expected to occur Sunday morning, the most critical period for farmers will be up until Saturday night to harvest as many crops as they can.
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