Florida farmers and citrus growers are cautiously optimistic that their crops will survive a third straight night of subfreezing temperatures.
"It was not as cold as [forecast] last night. Citrus did fine," said Liz Compton, spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Orange and grapefruit groves reported only sporadic icing of fruit, she said.
With the mercury dipping into the 20s, agriculture producers have taken protective measures, ranging from sprinklers to flooding and covering.
Belle Glade, the state's "Salad Bowl," was not as cold as initially predicted -- 28-degree readings were reported Monday night, but only for an hour or two.
But Southwest Florida reported heavier damage from Monday night's chill.
"Corn and beans that survived last week were wiped out last night," Compton said. "Many farmers are reporting freezing back the top 6 to 8 inches of tomatoes, pepper, eggplantsin many places."
Some sugar cane fields also were damaged by icy winds.
Calling the damage less severe than last January's 100-year freeze, but worse than last week's cold snap, ranchers said their brown pastures are unlikely to rebound quickly because of the cold and drought.
"That means cattlemen will be spending a lot of money on feed this season," Compton said.
If tonight's cold comes without wind, the sprinkling by farmers and grove operators should continue to be effective, Compton said. But some producers could sustain further damage as the cold settles like a blanket over row-grown crops.
"Sometimes damage is not noticeable right away," Compton said. She said no dollar figures for damages were available.
Florida's tropical-fish industry is also feeling the chill.
Marty Tanner, president of the Florida Aquaculture Association, said the critical water temperature is 50 degrees.
"We're right at that tipping now, hovering in the mid-50s," he said.
Tanner said the state's aquaculture industry lost 70 percent of its stock last January, a $50 million loss.
Located primarily in Polk and Hillsborough counties on the west coast and in Miami-Dade on the east coast, Florida's tropical-fish hatcheries account for roughly 80 percent of U.S. production.
Tanner said hatcheries will again cover their swimming pool-size ponds with plastic tonight to protect fish.
Weather forecasters says a warming trend should bring temperatures back to seasonal levels by Thursday.
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Reach Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
