Across U.S. agriculture, September 10 has a distinctive place on the calendar. It falls at the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, and, more than once, that timing has intersected dramatically with farms and ranches. Two of the most consequential examples came 57 years apart: Hurricane Donna in 1960 and Hurricane Irma in 2017. Both made Florida landfalls on September 10, and both reshaped harvests, farm balance sheets, and disaster policy far beyond the state line.

Two September 10 landfalls that left a mark on agriculture

1960: Hurricane Donna knocks fruit from trees and plans off course

On September 10, 1960, Hurricane Donna crossed the Florida Keys and moved into the peninsula, a long-lived and far-reaching storm that would go on to affect much of the Eastern Seaboard. For growers, Donna’s signature was wind-driven fruit drop and tree damage:

• Citrus and avocado groves suffered extensive fruit loss as high winds shook canopies; damaged limbs and salt spray added longer-term stress to trees.
• Vegetable producers in South Florida—preparing fall plantings—faced flooded fields, salinity intrusion in low-lying areas, and disrupted planting schedules.
• As Donna tracked north, orchards in the Mid-Atlantic and New England reported fruit drop and trellis damage, complicating apple harvests and reducing packouts.

Donna became a reference point for wind preparedness in perennial crops: pruning strategies to reduce sail area, windbreak placement, and the value of diversified blocks to spread risk across varieties and harvest windows.

2017: Hurricane Irma delivers a statewide stress test

On the morning of September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall at Cudjoe Key, Florida, then again that afternoon near Marco Island as it moved up the peninsula. The agricultural footprint of the storm was vast:

• Citrus groves experienced heavy fruit drop and canopy damage in key regions, compounding losses for an industry already contending with HLB (citrus greening). State officials estimated agricultural losses of at least $2.5 billion across commodities.
• Sugarcane was lodged by wind, complicating harvest logistics but, in many fields, partially recovering as stalks re-anchored in subsequent weeks.
• Vegetable operations in the Everglades Agricultural Area and Southwest Florida saw flooded beds, damaged irrigation infrastructure, and delays that rippled through fall and winter supply chains.
• Nursery and greenhouse operations—especially in Miami-Dade County—reported structural damage and prolonged power outages that jeopardized inventories.
• Livestock and dairy operations wrestled with lost power for milking, water access issues, and impassable roads that hindered feed deliveries and milk hauling.

Irma’s aftermath accelerated discussions about grid resilience for cold storage and irrigation, expanded use of on-farm power redundancy, and renewed attention to wind-rated structures and drainage improvements.

Why September 10 matters so much to farms

Climatologically, early September—around September 10—is the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. In U.S. agriculture, that date collides with critical phenological stages and harvest timelines:

• Perennial fruit: Citrus in Florida is sizing up ahead of early-season picks; apple and pear orchards elsewhere are mid-harvest. High winds at this stage translate directly to fruit drop and bruising.
• Row crops: Southern cotton bolls are opening and vulnerable to wind and rain; rice and peanuts are nearing or entering harvest; corn and soybeans in many regions are at or approaching maturity, when lodging risk increases.
• Vegetables: Florida’s fall vegetable cycle is ramping up bed prep and transplanting—timing that makes fields sensitive to flooding and infrastructure damage.
• Livestock: Heat stress can pivot quickly to water-quality and forage issues when storms flood pastures, wash out fencing, or contaminate water sources.

That convergence of weather risk and crop staging is why multiple “on this day” entries in the agricultural record trace back to hurricanes and tropical storms.

Policy and recovery milestones that followed

Major September 10 landfalls did more than knock fruit from trees—they influenced how the United States manages agricultural disaster risk:

• Disaster declarations and emergency lending: Both Donna and Irma triggered federal and state disaster designations, unlocking credit and cost-share tools for debris removal, fence repair, and infrastructure rebuilding.
• Insurance uptake and design: Repeated late-summer wind events spurred greater enrollment in crop insurance products tailored to specialty crops (including coverage for fruit drop), as well as endorsements for quality adjustments and hurricane-specific triggers.
• Targeted relief: After the 2017 season, Congress funded programs such as the Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program to backstop uninsured and underinsured losses, shaping how future catastrophic aid is designed and delivered.

Enduring lessons etched into farm practice

• Wind and water readiness: Pruning regimes, windbreak establishment, drainage upgrades, and road-crown maintenance reduce damage and speed re-entry after storms.
• Power and perishables: Generators sized for irrigation pumps, milk cooling, and cold storage, combined with fuel planning and priority restoration agreements, are now standard risk controls.
• Infrastructure hardening: From trellis engineering in orchards to tie-down systems in nurseries, structural standards have evolved with each major storm.
• Diversification of timing and variety: Staggered maturities and mixed plantings can spread exposure when a single wind event threatens a region’s entire harvest window.
• Labor and logistics planning: Housing resilience, evacuation and re-entry protocols, and pre-staged supplies help stabilize the workforce and shorten downtime.

A date that keeps the sector vigilant

September 10 is a reminder that the U.S. growing season doesn’t unfold on a blank slate. It’s a date that has delivered hard lessons—most memorably in 1960 and 2017—about how fast weather can rewrite a harvest. It also highlights the progress producers have made, from agronomic practices to financial tools, to keep food and fiber moving even when the atmosphere is at its most volatile.