LADY LAKE, Fla. — For many Florida farmers — small businesses in their own right — concerns have been mounting during the coronavirus pandemic: How do they move their crop? Will they have workers to harvest the food as the U.S. clamps down on movement? And how long can farmers go on?

“Every farmer in the area — every farmer is affected," said John W. McKenzie, who runs a watermelon farm in Sumter County called M&J Farms of Lady Lake Inc.

McKenzie's life revolves around toiling the soil. As a sixth-generation farmer, he's seen the business change dramatically over the years.

“From my Dad’s day, we used to load everything in bulk," he said. "You put 2,000, 2,200 watermelons on a trailer, send it on up the road.”

McKenzie calls himself "small time," with three fields of watermelons totaling about 125 acres; he boasts half a million in annual sales.

Yet amid the pandemic, answering his calling has been challenging.

“Everything affects price. Price gets too cheap, we can’t afford to pick it. And if we can’t afford to pick it, it’s over," he said. “If there’s no movement, there’s no work. If there’s no work, there’s no jobs, no money. And that’s the bottom line.”

McKenzie sells everything through a broker, who sells to everyone. About 70 percent of the watermelons go to chain stores such as Whole Foods or Publix, while 30 percent head to restaurants and schools, he said.

The only problem is that many of the latter are closed, so much of McKenzie's crop doesn't move.

Gary England, the regional specialize agent in fruit crops and director of the Hastings Agriculture Extension Center with the University of Florida/IFAS, said that growers across the board are facing unprecedented issues.

“Just something as simple as the farm has a tractor. There might be three or four employees that use that tractor. It has to be sanitized going in, sanitized going out. Plus, (there's) the masks if necessary, and social distancing," he said. 

Farmers are optimistic that they’ll be able to benefit from the $19 billion COVID-19 federal aid package intended for U.S. farmers.

Yet, there are other concerns. While the Sunshine State is No. 1 in the country in watermelon production, the pandemic casts a cloud of doubt over whether consumers will still snatch up the summertime staple with no barbecues in sight.

McKenzie also worries whether he'll get the guest workers he needs to harvest this month.

“We don’t know if we’ll be able to get as many as we have in the past. But at least we’ll get in the queue," he said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever be back to normal as we know it, (but) then we need to come up with a new normal," he said.