Hurricane Irma damage may cost the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences millions of dollars.
“We did better than we feared,” said Jeanna Mastrodicasa, the IFAS associate vice president for operations.
Mastrodicasa said she worried IFAS, with more than 1,000 buildings and about 25,000 acres in Florida, would lose nearly everything in the storm. However, most facilities faced minimal damage.
But the damage IFAS did experience could still be costly. A destroyed greenhouse alone could cost $400,000, she said.
The exact cost of repairs is undetermined because IFAS is still listing damages for insurance claims and federal assistance, she said.
The Southwest Florida Research and Education Center and the Hastings Agricultural Extension Center have some of the most drastic damages and flooding, Mastrodicasa said. The Hastings center, west of St. Augustine, deals with farming practices, while SWFREC staff in Immokalee, Florida, research vegetables and citrus.
Mastrodicasa said all research fields at SWFREC were ruined, with citrus taking the hardest hit. The storm blew fruits off trees and into floodwaters
Faculty conducting research have to start over, she said.
Calvin Arnold, the Immokalee center director, said about 50 percent of crops and about 25 percent of the trees were lost.
He said it’s easier to recover from damage to faster growing crops like tomatoes or watermelons.
“Citrus is very difficult because there will not be another crop until this time next year,” he said.
Monica Ozores-Hampton is a UF associate professor working at the Immokalee extension office, where she specializes in vegetable horticulture.
She said she could lose trees she planted around 2013 and may have to start her research over.
“I’m not very hopeful,” she said.
The two centers are expected to reopen Monday.
Mastrodicasa said some staff are still without power or have a tree through their house, but they have been working to get IFAS up and running.
“It’s been difficult times,” she said. “We’re trying to be as supportive and realistic as possible.”
