Between hurricanes
and citrus greening, Florida’s citrus industry faces a bitter outlook.
This was supposed to be the season when Florida’s citrus industry finally started to bounce back after years of battling the deadly citrus greening disease. But then Hurricane Irma hit. The September storm walloped southwest Florida before whipping through Central Florida, downing trees, knocking fruit off the branches and flooding fields.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates citrus production will plunge 21 percent this season compared with last, a figure many growers think is too conservative because it was made this month, before the full effects of the storm could be determined. Fruit can continue to drop for weeks, and standing water can cause rot and disease and eventually kill trees.
Benny McLean, 75, a consultant to Uncle Matt’s Organic in Clermont, said he’s never seen such devastation from a hurricane since he got into the business in 1965. But he’s not ready to write off Florida’s signature industry.
“It’s too early to give you an accurate answer” about the crop loss, McLean said. “Everybody’s kind of still like the boat just overturned and we’re trying to find the life preserver.”
Destruction from the wind is only the beginning. Gusts from the slow-moving hurricane spread the bacterial disease citrus canker and the fungal disease citrus black spot, McLean said.
The USDA predicts that the harvest to fill 54 million boxes, down from 68.8 million last season, 81.7 million in 2015-16 and 97 million in 2014-15.
The situation is so dire that Gov. Rick Scott this month activated a $25 million interest-free loan program to provide short-term working capital to citrus growers.
Scott and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam — a 2018 Republican gubernatorial candidate — are urging Congress to include $2.5 billion for Florida agriculture in a disaster-relief proposal. That figure includes $760 mil-
“It was supposed to be a rebound year. We had a really nice crop … Then this happened.” Andrew Meadows, Florida Citrus Mutual spokesman
lion for the citrus industry.
“It’s frustrating,” said Andrew Meadows, a spokesman for Florida Citrus Mutual, which represents 6,500 growers. “It was supposed to be a rebound year. We had a really nice crop … Then this happened.”
At Simpson Fruit Co. in Mount Dora, president James Simpson said 25 percent of his crop was lost, but a whopping 50 percent of the Fall Glo tangerines, which were fairly ripe, fell from the trees.
“[But] compare that to what happened in South Florida and we’re counting our blessings,” said Simpson, who runs the longtime family-owned business and also works as a software engineer.
The hurricane wasn’t as unkind to Showcase of Citrus in Clermont as to some growers, founder and owner John Arnold said. Although he lost 30 percent to 40 percent of his navel oranges, which were large and almost ready to harvest, the Valencias came through relatively unscathed. On the upside, he said, the remaining fruit may become larger because water and nutrients are nurturing fewer oranges on each tree.
Arnold has 700 acres of groves in four counties, but his business, not far from Walt Disney World, is diversified and therefore not dependent on citrus sales only. There’s a u-pick grove, a monster truck ride through grove and swamp, wine tasting, a country store and an animal show designed to attract Central Florida’s plentiful supply of tourists.
Arnold takes the current challenges in stride when he thinks back to the freezes of the 1980s that wiped out most of Lake County’s citrus industry.
“It’s kind of like comparing a storm to having your business burn down,” he said. “You can lose everything or you can do some repairs. And the story today is about repairs.”
Uncle Matt’s Organic also has hope because it occupies a segment of the market that health-conscious consumers crave. The company, which sold its juice brand to Dean Foods, has been experimenting with other crops, including organic peaches and green beans. The McLean family also act as consultants to blueberry growers.
“We’re thinking outside the box,” McLean said. “We have the certified organic land. Good soil. Good location. Good wells. Good water.” He knows there’s no guarantee, though. “If you’re in agriculture — pick any crop in the U.S.: corn, soybeans, tomatoes — it’s nothing but legalized gambling.”