Bermuda farmers are struggling to recover after Storm Karen wiped out most of their autumn crops.

And one local farmer told The Royal Gazette that some of the farms are in danger of going out of business.

"It had a huge impact," Tom Wadson of Luke's Farm in Southampton told The Royal Gazette. "Most of my crops are completely gone. All the smaller, softer produce is completely lost."

"This is a serious setback and it has been a tough fall," he added.

"Since September 12 we have been on our knees and we can't be turned off and on like a tap."

The farmers say they are going to need a lot of support and encouragement if they are to recover.

"People have to realise we can't just throw up a crop on demand. We have to be supported through good times and bad," Mr. Wadson said.

Protecting the crops is nearly impossible in the event of bad weather, he added, and the length of Storm Karen three weeks ago made a bad situation devastating.

"Because it lasted so long everything was just battered," Mr. Wadson said. "The crops are tough to protect. That's a risk you take."

Mr. Wadson said he lost carrots, tomato plants, lettuce and 90 percent of his banana yield.

Although Luke's Farm started replanting immediately after the storm, much of the local produce will either be delayed or scarce in coming weeks.

Already many are finding carrots hard to come by. Imported carrots can not be brought into Bermuda because they are under a quarantine embargo.

Tommy Sinclair of the department of Agriculture and Fisheries said the carrot quarantine is intended to keep a potential pest out of the Island.

Mr. Sinclair said imported carrots may carry the "carrot rust fly" and that all the local farms were hard hit by the bad weather.

"There's not a lot of fresh produce out there," said Mr. Sinclair. "Sometimes the only carrot you can get is a tinned or frozen one."

But Mr. Sinclair said many of the grocers keep carrots and other produce in storage so consumers may not notice the produce shortage immediately.

And Mr. Wadson said his farm is still producing some fine winter vegetables.

"Don't panic if you can't find carrots," he said. "We have plenty of lovely orange sweet potatoes."