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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breakin ... 08934.html

South Florida nursery owners brace for damaging cold


Farm worker Juan Esteban bundles up against the 40-degree temperature Monday morning as he drives a tractor to a Southwest Miami-Dade field. TIM CHAPMAN / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
Photo BY ADAM H. BEASLEY
abeasley@miamiherald.com
In the winter, farmers and nursery owners go into reverse-hibernation.

The colder it is, the less they sleep.

And if this week's frigid forecast is accurate, Steven Leonard won't catch four winks -- let alone 40 -- for some time.

Leonard is president of Sturon Nursery, a 26-acre collection of tropical foliage in the Redland, with 200 varieties of plants valued at roughly $1.5 million

The cold snap that is gripping South Florida is expected to turn into a rare freeze, threatening Sturon's inventory.

``As an industry, we're all very, very concerned,'' Leonard said. ``I haven't slept the last couple of days, and probably won't for the next three or four.''

Leonard isn't suffering from insomnia. He simply can't afford to rest his head, not with his livelihood at stake.

South Florida's near-tropical climate makes for year-round agriculture, but prolonged sub-freezing temperatures would be ``lethal,'' Leonard said.

And that's exactly what's in store for the area.

While thin-blooded Miamians have been bundled up since the mercury dipped over the weekend, the worst is yet to come.

A wind chill advisory has been issued for most of South Florida, and temperatures were forecast to dip below freezing in far western Broward. On Monday and Tuesday, the mercury is expected to top out around 60 degrees -- 17 degrees below normal.

Then it's expected to get colder.

Leonard fears frost will visit the region overnight on both Tuesday and Wednesday, catastrophic for plant life that can be damaged with temperatures even in the high-30s.

The threat of sub-freezing conditions is expected to ease by Thursday, although South Florida won't return to normal temperatures until next week -- making for the longest cold snap in more than two decades.

The last time Leonard remembers it being this cold, this long was 1989, which caused ``massive'' losses to the agriculture industry.

``We will see some damage immediately, and then a week from now, we'll really see the extent of it,'' he added.

That's why he's getting such little sleep. It's the coldest at night, and so Leonard and his staff have worked around the clock, monitoring conditions and reacting in turn.

When temperatures near the freezing mark, Sturon will blast the crops with 70-degree water to fend off frost. Some plants will also be covered with blankets, although that isn't possible with many varieties -- such as the 18-foot palm trees.

As of Monday afternoon, there had been minimal damage to Sturon's two nurseries, but that will change the colder it gets.

.....so much for global warming.

If this is as severe as they predict, expect a 35 percent increase in the price of oranges and orange juice, per CNBC today. The crop is small this year and a lot of the groves gave way to condos and houses during the bubble. The US is already having to import citrus from other countries, when it used to be Florida could provide the majority for US needs.