US growers predict shortages of key foliage for Valentine’s Day

Some growers in Central Florida are still reeling from a devastating hit last fall from Hurricane Matthew. The aftermath of the storm could lead to shortages of leatherleaf on Valentine’s Day.

“We are making progress everyday but there is still a lot of work to be done,” said Jana Register, director of sales and marketing at FernTrust in Seville, Florida, a co-op of 13 family farms and one of the largest growers and shippers in the area.

Wind damage from Hurricane Matthew in October was severe across Central Florida, with some estimates placing total crop loss at more than 50 percent and some growers seeing 100 percent losses.

“There are still hundreds of acres of leatherleaf without saran [shade structures], and the acres that are repaired will not be in full production for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day,” Register explained. She estimated that this year, FernTrust will fill about 80 percent of the leatherleaf volume it filled in 2016.

Click here to read the complete article at www.safnow.org.