US (FL): Blueberry crops survive the freeze nearly unscathed

With the recent freeze across the states which devastated certain fruit crops, Florida's Blueberry crops seem to have dodged a bullet and came out nearly unscathed.

According to Dudley Calfee, President of the Florida Blueberry Growers Association, reports from the field have indicated very minimal damage from the freeze. “Our hearts go out to our brother growers up north,” he says. “Mother nature can be quite cruel at times in agriculture.”

Significant losses to the blueberry crop in Georgia will mean a longer picking season for growers in the Sunshine State, Calfee says. “We could be picking profitably into early May, if we can keep our labor here.”

Unfortunately, not all Florida crops escaped damage from the St. Patrick’s Day Eve freeze. Gary K. England, Director of the UF/IFAS Agricultural Extension Center in Hastings, says temperatures in the area dipped as low as 27°F for several hours.
Growers in the area are still assessing the damage and for those that didn’t cover their crops, re-planting is likely.

source: growingproduce.com