(01/28/25) BATON ROUGE, La. — Last week, the southern United States was hit with unprecedented amounts of snow and deep freezes. While some may have enjoyed playing in the snow, growers of strawberries rushed to cover their crops and mitigate as much damage as possible.
Luckily, they seem to have mostly succeeded in doing so, according to LSU AgCenter agents who visited different strawberry farms around the state.
During the winter months, most farmers expect to have some freezing conditions and prepare their crops by placing row covers on the tops of their plants. The covers are made with wire hoops that are designed to not touch the plants to ensure they won’t freeze over.
While strawberry growers have experience dealing with the cold, the snow and the length of the freeze was “out of the ordinary,” said Mary Helen Ferguson, AgCenter agent in Tangipahoa Parish.
“The fact that they had to have them covered for a whole week, that’s hard because when you have the covers on there all that time, the bees can't get to work. You’re not going to get pollen,” Ferguson said. “Also, having those row covers on there usually creates a pretty humid environment, and sometimes we end up with disease issues.”
The snow may have put some strain on the row covers, but it also created a naturally insulated environment that may have helped keep in some warmth around the strawberry plants.
Clark Robertson, AgCenter agent in Livingston Parish, said that even with some freeze damage, he expects farmers to only face a two-week lag in their expected harvest.
“There is definitely some freeze damage to some of that crop that was on plants right now, and there will be some going forward with the blooms that were affected,” Robertson said. “But after we see them recover from this, it should be back up to normal.”
According to AgCenter extension agents, the strawberry product this year will be mostly unaffected by the freezing temperatures. LSU AgCenter file photo
Row covers like these are used to protect strawberries and other crops from freezing conditions. Photo by Kiki Fontenot/LSU AgCenter
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture