ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida is on pace to produce the smallest crop of oranges in more than 75 years.
A forecast released last week says the Sunshine State is on pace to produce 44.5 million 90-pound boxes of oranges during the current season. That's a 1.5 million box reduction from the previous forecast in December.
If the current forecast holds true through the rest of the citrus growing season, it will be the smallest orange crop since the 1944-1945 season when the state produced 42.3 million boxes of oranges. The citrus growing season in Florida lasts from fall into late spring.
