This month’s All In For Citrus Podcast gives growers valuable advice for dealing with hurricanes and tropical storms. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) team describes how to prepare for and recover from these weather events, as well as the impacts they can have on Florida’s economy.
Before getting to the information about storms, the annual Citrus Expo wrapped up last week. Unfortunately, Citrus Research and Education Center Director Michael Rogers could not attend due to COVID-19 complications. Rogers and his family are doing fine, and the Expo was a success. He points out that the information from the UF/IFAS exhibit, including the new Florida Citrus Production Guide, can be found online for those who didn’t visit the trade show or want more resources.
Rogers adds that the upcoming Citrus Packinghouse Day on Aug. 26 will be moved to a virtual event due to COVID-19 precautions. He also discusses a new food safety hire at UF/IFAS that growers will be hearing from soon.
Florida residents are in the middle of hurricane season, and Citrus Extension Agent Ajia Paolillo gives growers all they need to know about storm prep and recovery. She says there are several checklists that growers can use prior to hurricane season and in the days leading up to an approaching storm. After a storm, Paolillo details what growers can do to immediately start recovery and address the biggest post-storm issue, which is flooding in groves. Root damage and phytophthora diseases can develop and spread from excessive water. Paolillo also notes there are several things in the grove other than trees that growers need to assess after a storm.
So what kind of an impact can a storm have on the citrus industry and what are the secondary effects to the state’s economy? Christa Court, assistant professor and director of the UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program, answers that question. Court and her team started tracking agriculture-specific data after Hurricane Irma to create a model for storm damage assessment. She said this can help with determining the amount and timing of assistance after a storm. Court hopes this will ultimately get to where the modeling can be done ahead of time — creating generalities based off data of past storms — and speed up recovery assistance.
Listen to the August episode of the All In For Citrus podcast.
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