BUNNELL, Fla. — The Florida sun beats down on Matt Seay’s potato packing operation in Bunnell.
Seay is one of a handful of farmers in Flagler County who provide more than 4,000 jobs. This time of the year, his workforce more than triples, and it mainly hinges on something they can’t control—the weather.
“You just always have your fingers crossed hoping for good weather,” Seay said. “You know, doing the best that you can to watch the weather reports and put them all together and try to get the best one for you.”
Farmers here have seen drought and flood. This time of the year, mid-harvest is tough. Seay still has half of his 500-acre potato crop in the ground and this time of the year the weather can be just about anything. From drought to flood to disease, being in the agriculture industry is difficult. Seay boils it down to this: If it were easy, everybody would be farming.
Some farmers here believe if California’s water woes aren’t solved soon, growers in Florida could see an increased demand for their products. So far, that hasn’t happened, though. A spokesperson with the Florida Department of Agriculture said even if state farmers wanted to fill a void, it takes time to plan, plant and harvest a crop.
Still, the market value of crops and livestock grown or raised in Flagler County alone is worth nearly $17 million. Matt Seay hopes this helps people realize how such a small area of land produces so much of the country’s food.
“I’m not sure that everybody has been hungry enough to worry about it—yet,” Seay said. “It’s been so good for so long I think that Americans are a little spoiled, you know, on their food supply.”
And while this year’s potato crop is looking good, it’s not all smooth sailing. The spuds are destined for potato chip bags—but those factories are up north. “Trucking, getting our product moved to the plants up north where we send them to, that’s been a big thing for the last several years,” said Seay.
Because, you see, he doesn't make any money on the potatoes still in the ground.
Source: Channel 13 News