By Clint Thompson
Hillsborough County, Florida’s winter strawberry capital of the United States, could soon be in danger. Matt Parke, farm manager of Parkesdale Farms in Plant City, Florida, believes the influx of people moving into the area means there is less and less land to use for agriculture. That will slowly impact the county’s production of strawberries over time.
“We’re running out of land here. Florida’s having a huge boom of people coming here, and Hillsborough County is getting sucked up with houses. I think by 2050 there will be very few berries grown in Hillsborough County. I’d say 90% of it is going to be because of the population of people that will be living here,” said Parke, as Hillsborough County is already one of the most populated counties in the state.
“What’s happening is some of these farmers are getting offered numbers they can’t refuse for land. There’s more land south of us and there’s more land north of us, and there’s less people there. My land is not for sale, but there’s a number that will make your eyes turn. I haven’t heard it. We get people offering money for land all the time. It’s not anything that has made my eyes turn. But people are getting those offers.
“What I see happening is just people piling into our county. We’re the fastest growing county in the state. They just keep coming. They keep putting up these tract homes, and they’re sold before they even break ground.”
Parke said growers are already moving parts of their strawberry production both south and north of the county.
“I think the move you see now is people are trying to expand, because we don’t have the room to expand in the county. I would say more people are headed south, which in my opinion, two years ago, why don’t we head north? They’ve got cooler winters than we do. Don’t go too far north, because if you go too far many counties up, you get too many freezes. You just want a few freezes,” Parke said.
“Right now, in Manatee County there’s probably 3,000 acres being grown there. Polk County has probably got another 600 right now, maybe coming upon 1,000 this year. The exodus has started, but I don’t think it’s going to happen super fast. That’s the only places to go to expand. You can’t expand in Hillsborough County anymore. There’s no more land to expand on.”