<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Florida -</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By Jordan Okumura<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">02.21.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Florida's weather complications this past week have caused a disruption in production for the state's strawberry industry. Rains moved into Florida on Valentine's Day causing damage to the berries provoking the tips to crack on some of the Strawberries. When freezing temperatures hit the state, growers ran water over the fruit as a precaution against the conditions. Growers have spent a significant amount of time cleaning up over the past few days from those recent weather complications.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/floarida-strawberry-rain-cropped.jpg" alt="Florida Rains Cause Strawberry Damage - IMAGES" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Some fields were directly processed into juice and some could not be harvested at all due to the combination of rain and cold weather. A significant amount of berries were affected. Volumes were down by half for the week but are looking to rebound quickly with growers getting back into normal production.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Temperatures as low as 28 hit regions in Florida but there wasn't significant damage associated with the freeze itself as much as the damage caused by the rain. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for further updates on Florida weather.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
