Citrus growers in Florida are still assessing the damage from Hurricane Milton, now five days after the storm ripped through the heart of the state’s “citrus belt,” which is responsible for a sizeable portion of the nation’s citrus supply.
Prior to the storm, growers were warning of potentially devastating damage to areas that were spared by Hurricane Helene in late September as the state prepares for its harvest.
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“This is really a multi-year event. We know from past storms that these trees are going to take a good two to three years to recover,” said Matt Joyner, CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, the state’s largest industry trade organization.
Joyner says what he has seen and heard from growers is not promising.
Florida’s five largest growing counties (Polk, Highlands, DeSoto, St. Lucie, and Hendry County), which accounted for 69% of the state’s citrus production last year, lay right in the middle of Milton’s path. The damage comes at a particularly difficult time as growers were looking for a bounce back after Hurricane Ian damaged crops in 2022.
On Friday, the USDA announced its forecast for the 2024-2025 citrus harvest, not including damages from Milton, which shows production across the state down 16% from last year.
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In 2023, Florida made up 17% of the nation’s citrus supply, down from 63% just over a decade prior, so Joyner says nationwide effects from Milton may be tempered but that does not change the outlook for the nearly 2,000 Florida growers who rely on the crops for their livelihood.
Milton came as these farmers have already spent years battling a plant disease — citrus greening that has spread to 90% of the state’s crops used to become orange juice.
“You know, we’re not a row crop where we can plow under and start over the next year,” Joyner said. “We obviously have to continue to nurture these trees and get them back to pre-storm production and that’s going to be losses that accrue to the growers over the next few seasons unfortunately.”
Joyner says he doesn’t expect this blow to drive growers away from the profession, despite the tough few years. He says the soil is some of the best in the country for these crops and the resilience amongst Florida’s farmers remains strong.
