OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. — Strawberry growers in Okaloosa County are bracing for another round of bitter cold, hoping what remains of their crops can survive the next two nights as temperatures drop again across the western Panhandle.
Several strawberry patches in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties are covering fields with tarps and row covers to protect plants from near-freezing conditions. Growers say the cold winter has already taken a major toll statewide, with more than 16,000 acres of strawberry crops damaged — about 80% of Florida’s production.
Local farmers say the record snowfall at the beginning of 2025 was less harmful than the repeated hard freezes that followed…