Hurricane Idalia’s unrelenting fury devastated property and disrupted the lives of thousands of people in North Florida. Hundreds of family homes and business structures suffered damage or were lost as a result of the August storm.
Tentative insurance company estimates place the overall loss for Floridians at more than $9 billion. The lingering impact of the hurricane continues to plague a region extending from Jefferson County east to Columbia County and south to Levy County. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reported that by mid-October, private insurers had received 23,845 claims for damages caused by the storm.
The powerful tropical cyclone affected a largely rural and small-town population and, if current projections are correct, cost far less than last year’s Hurricane Ian (more than $63 billion). Idalia’s massive, long-term impact upon farm families has gradually slipped from outside attention.
Farmers and ranchers who suffered catastrophic losses face a special threat. Damage to their properties has hobbled the restoration of production.
As Taylor County grower Billy Murphy explains, “Farmers operate on such thin margins that it doesn’t take much beyond a disaster like this to put you out of business.”
According to a preliminary report compiled by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Hurricane Idalia inflicted total agricultural losses of at least $447.9 million. In addition to the widespread agricultural destruction in the northern region of the state, some farm properties in Citrus, Hernando, and Pasco counties also sustained major damage.
Crushing winds wiped out crops in the field and in greenhouses, fencing, barns, sheds and poultry housing. The storm also ruined equipment needed for daily operation. The list of farm products sacrificed to the disaster includes peanuts, corn, fruits, vegetables, honey, tree nuts, grains, poultry flocks, beef cattle, dairy cattle, cotton, shellfish, and other aquaculture foods and timber stands.
All farmers and ranchers laboring to recover from ravages after Hurricane Idalia express concerns about the challenge they face.
Citrus growers in Florida and elsewhere in the U.S. depend upon the young trees grown in sealed greenhouses at Billy Murphy’s farm. By virtue of the controlled environment, the trees are free of disease. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) officials certify the quality of his products and license their sale to growers.
Murphy’s greenhouses largely withstood the storm, but roof failure opened breaches in two of them, leaving the trees exposed to the surrounding environment. They were repaired by constant work within eight days, adding to overall restoration expenses of more than $168,000.
Now he faces an uncertainty over his ability to sell, imperiling his source of income. He has an emergency authorization from FDACS to market trees in Florida despite the roof failures. But USDA’s regulations forbid him from shipping trees that were unprotected – even temporarily – to volume buyers in other states.
As a result of the federal quarantine, he could stand to lose $300,000 to $350,000 in future gross sales. “That is a bigger hit than the storm itself,” Murphy laments.
At Buck Carpenter’s farm in Madison County the hurricane demolished a barn, scattering it in pieces for three-quarters of a mile. A tractor, a bailer and other machinery and equipment suffered major damage.
A grain, perennial peanut and hay farmer, Carpenter explains that “We were probably hit more than any of our neighbors.” Wind ruined 400 acres of hay and pushed army worms from other locations into the fields, threatening even more crops. He has initially estimated the overall loss at $175,000.
“It takes an extraordinarily large amount of cash to run a farm just for one day,” he points out. “The worst part of any natural disaster is that it is imperative that we continue production. That sometimes is impossible without a little bit of assistance.”
The scale of the disaster prompted quick responses from farm families both in and outside of the affected area. They provided their fellow producers in need with water, generators, fuel and fencing materials, as well as other supplies.
The Florida Farm Bureau State Women’s Leadership Committee established a Hurricane Idalia Relief Fund to offer immediate aid for farmers and ranchers in the damaged region.
But this help, welcome as it has been, will not enable many victims to resume production. The challenge of recovery is overwhelming for them. Temporary support from state and federal government may well determine the viability of their farm operations.
For more of the story, continue reading at FloridaFarmBureau.org.