Grower Not Surprised by 4 Percent Acreage Decline

“I don’t think there were any real surprises in the report today,” Indian River area grower and packer Cody Estes says in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s report that Florida citrus acreage tumbled 4 percent. Florida acreage is now at 480,121, the lowest number since tracking began in 1966. “Hopefully with the anti-microbial treatments that are going on, we’ll see a little less drop and the volume will be a little better than what we anticipate.”

Estes also tells why the Indian River area has the three counties with the most abandoned citrus acreage: “The tree age is so old, especially on the grapefruit. I think there are a lot of trees that would have gone out of production without greening — a lot of trees that I planted when I was in high school, back in 1968. And I think there’s some other uses coming in. People are buying acreage and haven’t pushed the trees yet, for other uses.”