MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — The severe flooding in Fort Lauderdale, coupled with the drought facing several parts of the country, is now affecting farmers on the Treasure Coast.
They said the erratic weather has caused food supply shortages in other parts of the country, which puts strain on farmers on the Treasure Coast to make up for it.
“It does, you know things that really affect you, you don’t really think about," said Greg Fluwelling, who runs the Painted Quarter Ranch in Indiantown.
Fluwelling said he's been farming on and off for all 61 years of his life, and with a cowboy hat on, and pigs at his feet, clearly has ranching in his blood.
“My uncle was [a rancher] and my dad was, so kind of a long line in the meat business," said Fluwelling. "Felt hat in the winter, straw hat in the summer, riding your horse, put your head down, keeps the rain off your head.”
He said in all 61 years of farming, he's never dealt with a drought this severe.
"These used to be beautiful, this was all weather impacted, killed all these," said Fluwelling as he showed WPTV dead palm trees on his ranch. "No rain, no water."
When storms dumped more than two feet of rain over parts of Broward County, he said it caused production disruptions for some farmers, which in turn, along with the drought in Arizona, Texas and California, caused a higher demand for his product.
A higher demand seems like a good thing, yet coupled with supply chain issues, inflation, and the drought, it's a strain on his industry, and is only expected to increase the high prices he's already paying across the board.
"Very much so, it takes over a thousand bags to package a cow when you butcher it, and bags were always readily available, but they’ve gone up $300 to $400 per animal," said Fluwelling.
Fluwelling said he's losing about 30% to 40% of his revenue per year to absorb costs instead of passing it on to the consumer.
“I think we’re all in this together," said Fluwelling. "We’ve absorbed, so far, all the prices and the cattle ourselves and haven’t raised anything.”
In addition to causing demand issues, the rancher said the rain hasn't helped ease the worst drought he's ever faced.
"What you want is a slower, consistent rain so the ground can absorb it," said Fluwelling. [The rain Broward County] is like pouring a cup of water on top of a pizza; it just runs right off."
That lack of rain translates to a lack of nutritious grass for his cattle.
"They’re probably about 200 pounds light right now," said Fluwelling.
Still Fluwelling keeps his hat on, and his chin held high, taking each obstacle in stride one step at a time.
"I mean you have to love it, there’s nothing easy about farming," said Fluwelling. "When you can’t control the weather or rain, you have to control what you can.”
Fluwelling said one thing that has helped keep him afloat through it all is the support from the community, both through sales, which support his business financially, and through positive feedback. He said for him, the support from the community, and creating organic, healthy, local food options, makes the challenges all worth it.
You can find Fluwelling, and other local farmers, at the Hobe Sound Farmer's market at 1425 SE Bridge Rd, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
