Nurseries on the Northshore in Louisiana are bracing for snow. Owners are not as concerned about the cold temperatures as they are about the weight of the snow. In December 2008, a snowstorm crushed 104 greenhouses at Windmill Nursery in Washington Parish, causing over $300,000 worth of damage at the nursery.
“The LSU Ag Center estimated the snowfall cost Louisiana’s commercial horticulture industry at least $5 to $6 million dollars, mostly in damaged greenhouses,” said Buddy Motley, production manager for Windmill Nursery.
Motley and his crew removed shade cloth from the greenhouses to prevent the cloth from holding snow on the houses.