By Clint Thompson
The looming landfall of Tropical Storm Elsa should have minimal impact on the vegetable industry in Florida, said Aaron Troyer, farmer and chairman of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association.
“Most of the crops are out of the ground and harvested right now. Anything there would be your perennial crops like oranges, citrus, that sort of thing,” Troyer said. “I don’t think it’s going to affect the vegetable industry that much.”
Elsa is expected to make landfall along Florida’s west coast sometime late Tuesday or early Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. It remains tropical storm strength, as it lingers in the Gulf of Mexico. The main threat is with its wind speed. Tropical storms have wind speeds of at least 39 miles per hour.
“As long as it doesn’t do any structural damage or any damage to the perennials, in general, it’s a good thing. It replenishes aquifers. That’s part of that natural cycle that happens every season,” Troyer said.