Farmers across north central Florida are adjusting to worsening drought conditions as limited rainfall continues to dry out soil and complicate crop production heading into the spring growing season.
The current conditions stem from a combination of below-average rainfall and broader climate patterns that have reduced moisture across the region.
When asked about the cause of these extreme droughts across north Florida, FPREN (Florida Public Radio Emergency Network) Meteorologist Irene Sans attributes it to a combination of factors.
That dryness did not develop overnight. Rainfall deficits from previous months have carried into the current season, creating a compounding effect that has left soil moisture increasingly depleted.
“This drought has been happening pretty much all of this year and is continuing to get worse,” Sans said. “Areas in northern Florida thus far have had a deficit in rain that can vary anywhere in between 3 and 6 inches so far this year. But of course, this drought is stemming from last year where most of Florida had a dryer than usual wet season.”
Seasonal influences such as La Niña have also contributed by shifting typical weather patterns, limiting consistent precipitation.
“It has played out this winter to where having all of these ingredients come into play slowly create an opportunity for an extreme drought – the lack of tropical systems, La Niña, and the natural dry season,” Sans said.
Those patterns are affecting more than just isolated areas. Dry conditions stretch across much of north Florida and into other parts of the state, putting pressure on agricultural regions that rely on steady rainfall.
For farmers, those broader patterns are showing up in more immediate ways. Fields are drying out faster, forcing growers to adjust their routines as conditions change day by day.
Andy Seiler, a peanut farmer and office manager for Seiler Farms in Ocala, Florida, shared his experience dealing with the ongoing drought day to day.
“We’re having to buy more fuel to prepare our fields through irrigation so that we can even plant,” Seiler said.
Without consistent rainfall, soil becomes harder and less capable of supporting strong root systems, making it more difficult for crops to develop.
For peanut farmers, dryer soil is ideal but drought conditions bring additional concerns.
“Having a sandy soil, we get drier quicker in Marion County, which is good because peanuts don’t like standing water, but when we haven’t had any rainfall all winter and when it’s less than 10 inches through the wintertime, it makes it scary. Not only because we’re in an irrigation deficit but because there’s concerns for fires,” Seiler said.
Even when rain does fall, it does not always provide relief. Meteorologists say heavy storms often lead to runoff rather than absorption, limiting the ability of dry soil to recover.
“The ground is so dry and compact that when you throw water on top of the ground that is so compacted, all it does is create flooding because it is unable to drain. It doesn’t break the ground and loosen it so that it starts to drain and moisturize the ground,” Sans said.
Sans mentioned that for there to be relief for farmers and agriculture workers, the ideal weather would be “light to moderate rain for several days in a row”.
Without consistent rainfall, the drought is forcing farmers to rely more heavily on irrigation systems to maintain crop health – a method of watering crops farmers typically try to avoid unless necessary.
“The biggest misconception is that people think farmers want to irrigate, and honestly that couldn’t be farther from the truth. If we can 100% rely on nothing but natural precipitation, that would be a perfect world,” Seiler said.
Seiler mentioned that irrigation is necessary but comes at a hefty price – especially in drought seasons.
“We’ve had to irrigate some of our fields just to prepare to plant, which is not typical. When you continue to add cost to a product, it cuts into your profit margin, and it causes you to possibly have to charge more for your product. If the cost of doing business goes up, then the cost of good soil goes up as well,” Seiler Said.
Seiler also pointed to growing concerns about the strain that drought conditions create on the Florida aquifer, a shared water source used by multiple farms and agricultural operations.
“As the population continues to grow it’s not just farmers using water, it’s cities, municipalities, people with a backyard well,” Seiler said.
This is true for other businesses that rely on the Florida Aquifer.
In Levy County, Flores Family Plant Nursery chief executive officer, Grayson Clark spoke on how the lack of rain has impacted his nursery.
“Our wells take from the aquifer and when it’s not raining, the aquifer doesn’t get filled up and so we have to drill deeper and deeper into the ground.”
Employees are watering plants more frequently and monitoring soil conditions closely to prevent stress and loss, adjusting their approach as conditions remain dry.
Those same conditions are influencing what customers are buying. Many are turning to drought-tolerant plants and asking more questions about water usage and long-term maintenance.
“I’m not sure if this is due to the drought, but recently I’ve seen a trend of people buying a lot more native plants which have low water consumption, like muhly grass plants and saw palmettos which don’t use a lot of water, or plants stay usually pretty dry or don’t require a lot of irrigation,” Clark said.
These adjustments can have lasting effects, especially if dry conditions persist into key parts of the growing season.
“If this continues and we don’t start getting some rain, how bad is our summer going to be with fire concerns in the national forest and other places where there’s trees and brush that’s very dry that almost creates like a matchstick effect,” according to Seiler.
For many farmers, the uncertainty of relief paired with dependency on irrigation surrounding those conditions is one of the biggest challenges.
While agricultural businesses continue to adapt, including nurseries, the long-term impact of the drought will depend largely on how weather patterns develop in the coming weeks.
Until then, farmers across north Florida are left watching forecasts and adjusting as needed, hoping for steady rainfall that can restore balance to their fields.
“We need a cold front or several cold fronts that will move slow enough through Florida that come with enough moisture to bring the rain so yes, this is likely to continue through the rest of the spring,” said Sans.