Farmers fear losses as freeze hits at critical time

ARCADIA, Fla. — Farmers across DeSoto County are assessing crop damage after overnight temperatures dropped below freezing in some areas, bringing one of the coldest mornings of the year.

Small farmer Lynn Steward, who has been growing crops in the Arcadia area for decades, says the freeze hit at a critical time for many plants, especially tender vegetables that were already flowering or producing fruit.

“Some of these are just gone,” Steward said while walking through his fields. “And the hard part is, you won’t really know for a couple days what made it and what didn’t.”

Crops with high water content, such as tomatoes, are particularly vulnerable during freezes. When temperatures fall below freezing, water inside plant tissue can form ice crystals that rupture cells from the inside out, often killing the plant or stopping fruit development entirely. Steward says tropical plants, like papaya, have little tolerance for cold and rarely survive sub-freezing temperatures.

The damage is not always immediate or obvious. Farmers say plants that still look green in the hours after a freeze can collapse days later as internal damage becomes visible.

To protect crops, some growers ran sprinklers and irrigation systems overnight, a technique that may seem counterintuitive but is widely used in agriculture. Steward says the method can help, but it is not foolproof.

Nearby farm stands, including Jersey Acres Farms, are also monitoring their fields. Growers there say tomatoes and sunflowers may have been damaged, though the full extent of losses is still unclear.

Despite the setbacks, Steward says the freeze isn’t entirely bad news.

Some winter crops, including broccoli, cabbage, kale and mustard greens, can actually benefit from cold temperatures, which can slow growth and improve flavor. Freezing weather can also reduce insect populations that thrive during warm winters, potentially leading to healthier crops later in the season.

“It’s hard on plants when it’s warm one day and cold the next,” Steward said. “But once things become more dormant and the temperatures stay consistent, you can actually see better blooms in the spring.”

For now, farmers are watching the forecast closely. Additional cold mornings could worsen damage or help determine which crops will survive.

“You just watch the weather, day by day,” Steward said.