Flooding issues from Tropical Storm Eta impacting South Florida farmers

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The amount of water drowning the crops at Accursio Farms in Homestead is stunning.

The owner of the farm told Local 10′s Christian De La Rosa he won’t be able to add up the monetary damages until all of the water recedes, but it could potentially be in the hundreds of thousands.

This unfortunately comes in the middle of harvesting season, just weeks before thanksgiving.

“This was devastating to our crops,” said owner Sam Accursio “It’s taken some of our squash plants and just breaking it off at the base and the plant is basically floating down the road right now.”

The water left in South Florida from Tropical Storm Eta is ultimately expected to affect the supply at local farms, which will affect prices.

“Supply will be impacted,” said Accursio. “We will not meet the demand. The price will go up.”

There isn’t much they can do about the water besides letting it recede naturally.

Of course, it doesn’t help that the grounds were already saturated.

Farmers are hoping the water clears out in the next couple of days, but one thing South Floridians can do to help out these farmers is continuing to buy local.


About the Author:

Christian De La Rosa joined Local 10 News in April 2017 after spending time as a reporter and anchor in Atlanta, San Diego, Orlando and Panama City Beach.