Crop Disaster Recovery is accepting new Florida Block Grant clients as producers face severe freeze and hurricane losses; applications open 2/25/2026.
LAKE PLACID, FL, UNITED STATES, February 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Crop Disaster Recovery Now Accepting New Clients as Producers Face Compounding Losses from Hurricanes and Devastating Freeze
Florida agricultural producers continue to wrestle with significant weather-related losses. As the Florida Block Grant Disaster Relief Program prepares to open for applications on February 25, 2026, many producers are still assessing damage from a recent and unusually severe freeze that impacted large swaths of the state’s winter crop footprint.
Over multiple nights in late December through early February, temperatures dropped well below normal across central, south, and southwest Florida. Many producers reported temperatures near or below freezing for extended periods, conditions that are rare in the state’s subtropical climate. Without adequate ground insulation from soil heat, crops that were already in active production were exposed to sustained cold.
As a result, growers reported:
• Significant loss of early-season vegetables, including winter greens, leafy vegetables, and other tender crops that are not tolerant of frost.
• Fruit and specialty crop damage, with considerable impact to strawberry, raspberry, vegetable, and other high-value plantings that were in sensitive growth stages.
• Budding and flowering citrus injuries, where prolonged cold weakened trees and increased stress on trees still recovering from prior storm events.
• Irrigation infrastructure strains, as prolonged protective water applications drove up operational costs and placed added pressure on well capacity and labor resources.
In many cases, growers deployed frost protection systems including overhead irrigation and wind machines, but the duration and intensity of the cold exceeded typical protection windows. As fields have warmed, producers are increasingly reporting extensive damage with plant death, stalled regrowth, and crop losses that may result in missed market opportunities.
Although freeze damage is not a separate category under the Florida Block Grant program, it compounds financial strain on farm operations that were already dealing with hurricane-related loss. From a disaster recovery perspective, proper loss documentation, crop injury assessments, and integrated weather impact records are critical in positioning producers for all available relief sources, including Block Grant eligibility where possible.
Crop Disaster Recovery (CDR) is urging producers to document freeze impacts now, including weather records, crop staging at time of freeze, photos, and production schedules so that these losses can be fully accounted for in broader disaster claims and recovery planning.
“Producers in Florida are facing a season unlike most we’ve seen between hurricane damage and this rare freeze, many are dealing with layered, overlapping losses,” said Crop Disaster Recovery. “Getting documentation in order, understanding how freeze impacts interact with other disaster claims, and preparing early for the Block Grant application window can make a real difference in the outcome.”
CDR is actively assisting producers ahead of the Block Grant opening on February 25, and is accepting new clients for disaster preparation, documentation support, and claims strategy.
Producers are encouraged to begin gathering freeze impact data, production records, and weather documentation now and to be ready for the upcoming application period.
Shane Cassell
Crop Disaster Recovery, LLC
+1 863 659-1335
email us here
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