By Clint Thompson
A prolonged dry spell is not unexpected for Florida’s farmers this time of year. It does present ideal weather conditions for the state’s blueberries to be harvested.
Doug Phillips, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Blueberry Extension Coordinator, discussed the current harvest season.
“It’s good picking weather, because you definitely want the berries to be dry when you’re picking them, so we don’t have rain showers where you have delays from that. The growers, this time of year when it’s dry, in addition to the drip irrigation they will supplement with the overhead (irrigation) just to make sure the plants are getting enough water,” Phillips said.
“The plants all look good. I’m out at one of the farms in central Florida right now, and everything looks good. I’ve been out here a few times over the last two or three weeks and they’ve been periodically running overhead. But yeah, I think it’s all good.”
Advantageous Market
Not only are Florida growers benefiting from high quantities of fruit, they are also taking advantage of a friendlier market as prices have been “pretty steady.”
“People are picking a lot of fruit. I don’t have a lot of visibility into market pricing but just from some informal comments with growers, it seems like prices have been pretty steady through the month,” Phillips said. “I would imagine, without having the facts to back it up, Georgia was late because of the cold just like we were late because of the cold, and I think because Georgia fruit, apparently hasn’t come into the market yet, I think that helps keep the prices more stable. So far, so good.”
Florida’s dry season usually lasts from November to May, which is indicative of its place in the most recent release of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Most of Florida is experiencing some level of drought conditions. The Panhandle and Northeast Florida are abnormally dry. Moderate and severe drought cover most of the rest of the state, though extreme drought is observed in some areas.