BERMUDA'S farmers are reeling from the effects of Hurricane Fabian, after the massive storm wiped out entire fields of crops.

Now farmers are ploughing through an expensive clean-up and replanting operation at a time when the destruction of growing produce has left many of them virtually without an income.

It will be months before the normal supply of island-grown produce resumes in stores and jobs could be at risk.

Fabian's sustained winds of more than 100 miles per hour ravaged the island's plant life and much of the foliage that survived in the fields was burnt off by salt water spray whipped up by the hurricane.

Joey Pacheco, of Locust Hall Farm, Devonshire, said the family-run operation had lost "everything that was in the ground".

And Tom Wadson, of Luke's Farm in Southampton, said he was having to "cut his way into fields with chain saws" and his business stood to lose at least half a year's income.

The Pachecos' farm is well known on the island for its Easter lilies supplied to the Queen - among many others - for 24 years.

The lilies were not even in the ground when Fabian visited, but the farm also produces a range of vegetables and herbs on around 80 acres of fields dotted all over the island.

"We've lost everything we had in the fields," said Mr. Pacheco. "All the seedlings we had - broccoli, cabbages, cauliflowers, onions - they're all gone.

"There were between 15 and 20 acres of crops that have disappeared. It's hard to say how much it will cost, but it's going to be really expensive."

He said it would be a few months before Locust Hall Farm would be supplying the supermarkets with anything.

"We started replanting the day after the storm, but we won't have anything to sell until Christmas," Mr. Pacheco said.

Joey's brother Roger Pacheco, another partner in the business, took time out from repairing the sheds and the greenhouse around the Devonshire farm that were demolished by Fabian to talk to us.

"We had cucumbers on drip irrigation under plastic, which were doing really well, but the hurricane just tore up the plastic and ripped them apart," he said.

"We were just about paying the bills - and if you can do that at this time time of year, you're doing well - but this storm has cost us close to $150,000.

"Bermuda is the only country in the world where the Government does not help its farmers through situations like this. Now we have nine wages to pay and no money coming in until January at the earliest.

"Consumers will be lucky to see any Bermuda carrots in the stores by Christmas. But even after all this, people will demand no price rises."

Asked how the business could survive the coming months, Roger Pacheco said: "We'll have to dig deep into what we've managed to save over the years and it'll go quickly. Two years ago we got really badly hurt by Hurricane Karen and we were still recovering from that."

He said the growing crops had not been insured as there was no policy offered by Bermuda insurers to provide such cover.

"All of us here have our hearts in farming," he added. "I love my job and I wouldn't change it.

"But it's a hard business. I've seen bad things happen before and good things as well. In the end there's only one boss and that's God and if he says it's all got to go, it all goes."

Mr. Wadson said he was trying to view the storm damage philosophically and said the losses to his business were difficult to calculate.

"We're going to lose something like half a year's income - the numbers are huge," Mr. Wadson said. "Right now we're having to cut our way into the fields. I have four chain saws, a chipper and a truck working all the time.

"With our crops out in the field, we're reeling. There may be a few sweet potatoes that grow back but apart from that, everything's gone.

"We had six acres of banana trees and they've been shattered. It'll be a about a year before they're back on line."

He said the banana fields yielded about 1,000 lbs per week and the loss of income from that one crop alone would be around $40,000.

"Bananas are basically our staple. They're what makes us able to keep paying people week after week," said the farmer.

Mr. Wadson has invested heavily in a state-of-the-art greenhouse and he managed to limit the damage to that by removing its roof before the hurricane struck.

"Because we took that action, the damage was minimal. The ends blew out and there was a lot of debris," he added.

"The key issue is that we have lost a lot of crops and that will severely affect our cash flow. And as long as I can find cash from somewhere I'll be able to keep paying our staff."

Colleagues in the industry had also suffered badly, he said.

"I know dairymen who have lost roofs from their buildings and I know one guy who's still looking for his sheep shelter. He's no idea where it went!"

Mr. Wadson's crops in the ground were not insured and he said he would like insurance companies to come up with policies that could cover farmers for the special risks they face in their day-to-day dealings with Mother Nature.