FORT PIERCE, Fla. — As temperatures prepare to plummet across Florida, citrus growers are taking protective measures to safeguard their crops from potentially damaging cold weather.
Al's Family Farms, which has operated for nearly 50 years, is among the growers preparing for what could be the coldest temperatures the region has experienced in years. Despite the challenging forecast, farm officials say they're ready for what's coming.
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In the orange groves of Fort Pierce, several trees now stand nearly empty after crews worked around the clock to harvest fruit ahead of the cold snap.
"All these Hamlet oranges have already been picked," said Jeff Schorner, president of Al's Family Farms.
When asked what orange growers do to prepare for cold weather, Schorner had a straightforward answer.
"Pray first, then get to work," Schorner said.
That work began three days ago, according to Schorner, whose groves in Central Florida could see temperatures that might damage unharvested fruit.
"Over 4 hours at 28ºF—I went ahead and said, let's get the fruit off. Let's get it picked. Let's get it back and run it at the packing house," Schorner said.
While cold weather typically benefits citrus by making fruit sweeter, extended periods of freezing temperatures pose significant risks.
"If we kind of see a long duration of cold, that's when we have to make lots of preparedness steps," Schorner said.
In the Treasure Coast region, Al's Family Farms took a more selective approach, picking only a handful of groves.
"There's plenty of fruit down here in the Fort Pierce area for us and Vero Beach because frankly we're not concerned being this far south," Schorner said.
For groves that haven't been harvested, Schorner says they're relying on irrigation systems to protect their crops. The farm uses specialized micro-jet emitters that spray water continuously throughout cold nights.
“We’re also watering with 72º water out of wells. That’s going to give us an extra blanket of warmth and then if we think it’s going to get super cold, we’ll actually run our micro-irrigation all night long [...] and the canopy of the tree is above it giving it an insulated blanket for the tree,” Schorner said.
Despite the challenging weather ahead, Schorner remains optimistic about his crops' survival.
"I think we're going to pull out of this thing okay," Schorner said.
With preparations complete and protective measures in place, Schorner now waits to see how his crops weather the cold snap.
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