TAMPA, Fla. — A new study shows a clearer picture of how Florida's agriculture industry is struggling after Hurricane Ian.

Economists at the University of Florida estimate the storm cost the industry more than $1 billion due to lost crops and livestock. Manatee County farmers were hit the hardest, according to the study.

What You Need To Know

  •  Hurricane Ian cost Florida's agriculture industry $1 billion, according to a report from economists at the University of Florida.

  •  Farms in Manatee and Hillsborough County were hit the hardest, the study said.

  •  Economists explained Hurricane Nicole and hard freezes at the end of 2022 further complicated the effects of Ian on farms. 

Dakin Dairy Farm in Myakka City is still picking up the pieces from the mess Hurricane Ian left behind five months ago.

“Everybody says ‘oh are you back to normal?’ I don’t think there will ever be another normal," owner Jerry Dakin said. "It’s big changes, we have buildings that we’ll never put back up that were not insured because they were too old."

Multiple buildings at Dakin Dairy Farm were damaged, including one that protects animals from the Florida sun. Jerry said losing 250 cows during the storm was the farm's worst loss.

The farm can currently milk about 2,000 cows, but they're still short of where they used to be.

“With the buildings that have come down and everything, we don’t have the facilities to take care of them so our numbers have dropped down," Dakin said.

Manatee County farmers lost $126 million because of Ian's damage, according to the UF study. Dakin said rebuilding his farm has been stressful and one of the toughest struggles of his life. Right now, the focus is on putting roofs back on the damaged buildings, which Dakin hopes to have done by mid-March.

Meanwhile, the farm's cafe and tours are back up and running. Rachel Thomas and her husband started leasing the cafe shortly after the storm came through and have watched the farm transform through the window of their shop.

"It’s really exciting to see," Thomas said. "It’s a great barn so to see it kind of come back to life and like still stand and stay standing is just really energizing and exciting.”

Despite all of the challenges the farm has faced, Jerry said he's humbled by the outpouring of support from the community - both near and far. People from as far as Michigan and Wisconsin have come to lend a hand.

“When a disaster happens in a place, I’ve realized now just get in your vehicle and go show up," Dakin said. "There’s just so many things you can do of just showing up that helps out people.”

As the agriculture industry continues to face hardships after Ian, Dakin does not take his job lightly. His dairy farm is one of the largest in the state and feeds about 700,000 people. But it's one of just 150 dairy farms left in Florida, which gives Dakin even more motivation to build his business and livelihood back up.

Behind Manatee County, Hillsborough had the second greatest loss of agriculture in the state, totaling more than $104 million dollars, according to the UF report.

Economists also explain Hurricane Nicole and hard freezes at the end of 2022 further complicated the impacts of Hurricane Ian.