(AP) — In this Dec. 30, 2010 photo, tomatoes in different stages of ripeness are seen in the fields at Martha's U-Pick Vegetable Stand near Homestead, Fla. The plants show damage from recent cold weather. Last January, a nearby farmer, Sam Accursio lost nearly all of his pickling cucumber crop at his Homestead farm during an unusual cold snap. Eleven months later, about half his crop was wiped out by three back-to-back December cold fronts.
"It's crazy," said Accursio. "I've never experienced a growing season where we've had four frosts in one year." As 2010 comes to a close, fruit and vegetable farmers around the Sunshine State are assessing the damage of December's unseasonably cold temperatures. Sweet corn, green bean, bell pepper, romaine lettuce and cucumber crops suffered major losses. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture, the state lost $273 million from the December freezes alone — including nearly 9,000 acres of crops. The statistics are only compiled through Dec. 20, which means they don't even account for the problems caused by this week's cold weather. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)