Evaluations of the impact of Hurricane Idalia continue to come in. Here are some additional stories I have seen lately in newsletters and forwarded to me by David Zierden, the Florida State Climatologist. Economic costs continue to rise from the destruction of infrastructure, including peanut buying facilities, barns, chicken houses, farm equipment, and irrigation pivots. Many of these will not be easily replaced and if they are, will take a long time to restore. Some will be covered by insurance but certainly not all. Another big loss is due to the extended loss of power and water, which caused the death of an estimated 5 million chickens in Florida (as well as some in Georgia) because they could not be kept cool after the storm. Loss of power also affected a number of dairies, food manufacturing plants, and animal shelters and affected the ability of many vegetable growers to irrigate, causing further losses. Vegetable fields also reported damage from wind-blown debris and sandblasting, ripped plastic covering, and waterlogged fields in areas of heavy rainfall.
Many farmers have stated that it is too early to determine the final losses to their crops, since they have to watch and see if the crops like cotton and vegetables can recover from the turbulent winds that thrashed them around, bending stems and removing foliage. It may take weeks for the extent of the damage to be known. This is also true for pecan trees which were blown over. While some may have been staked back up, it is not clear whether their roots can survive the uprooting caused by the wind pushing them over. Younger trees with smaller root systems were especially affected.
One impact I have not heard much about yet is the impact on forests in the area, particularly pine plantations. We know after Hurricane Michael there was tremendous tree damage but I have not seen any articles or other evaluations discussing this potential loss due to the high winds.
Hurricane Idalia kills 5 million chickens in Florida’s Suwannee County (tallahassee.com)
Early Reports: Citrus Fared Well in Idalia – Specialty Crop Industry
Idalia Aftermath: Power Restoration a Priority for South Georgia Producers – Specialty Crop Industry
Pecan Producer Loses Some Trees, Talks Season – Specialty Crop Industry
The Facebook page of the Friends of the Georgia Farm Bureau had some damage photos from their contributors here.
Cotton whipped by wind in southeast Georgia. It is not clear how well it will recover from the extreme conditions yet. Source: Friends of the Georgia Farm Bureau Facebook page.
