Franca Tantillo puts rising fuel prices in the same category as the springtime hailstorm that wiped out part of her strawberry crop. Both cut into the profit she can make at the farmers markets she sells at in New York City, about 135 miles south of her farm. ...more

July 31, 2008

PLANT CITY - Summer Pippin's reign as Florida Strawberry Festival queen is drawing to a close. On Saturday, she will crown one of 25 young women who are competing for the title coveted by many girls who grow up in the Plant City area. ...more

February 2, 2008

Florida strawberry growers are still reeling from last month's freeze. Since the Jan. 3 freeze, strawberry production has dropped more than 30 percent compared with last year, costing growers and farmworkers more than $15 million, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association said Friday. Initially, industry officials projected a 10 percent to 15 percent loss. ...more

February 2, 2008

Last month's freeze destroyed more than a third of Florida's strawberry crop, costing growers and farmworkers more than $15 million, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association said Friday. ...more

February 1, 2008

Summer Pippin's reign as Florida Strawberry Festival queen is drawing to a close. ...more

January 30, 2008

Plant City is the nation's winter strawberry capital, and local farmers depend on immigrant workers to bring in the crop, a growers group official said. ...more

January 12, 2008