Hurricane Milton: Spotty Citrus Damage, Some Severe

A few themes are unfolding as Florida’s citrus industry begins to assess Hurricane Milton’s damage. First, it could have been worse. The overall citrus losses do not appear to be as bad as those incurred from Hurricane Ian in 2022. Second, the hurricane affected nearly the entire Florida Citrus Belt, but damage varies greatly depending on the specific area. Reports range from minimal to severe damage.

“Milton impacted a huge swath of citrus — whether by wind, rain or tornadoes. Damage is very spotty,” said Matt Joyner, Florida Citrus Mutual executive vice president/chief executive officer. “It was a much bigger fruit loss event than tree loss.”

Joyner noted that the most severe damage was in areas that were hit by tornadoes.

“Anecdotally, we have heard that where tree health has improved due to oxytetracycline treatments, those trees may have weathered the storm better,” added Joyner.

HIGHLANDS AND HARDEE COUNTIES

Ray Royce, executive director of Highlands County Citrus Growers Association, said a tornado in Lake Placid harmed Smoak Groves when solar panels from an adjacent solar farm flew into the grove. He also reported significant fruit loss on Lykes Bros. lemon trees in Lake Placid.

Outside of the areas where tornados touched down, Royce said he was surprised at how little citrus damage there was in the southern half of Highlands County. He believes there was more significant damage in northern areas of Highlands County and in Hardee County.

In southern Highlands, Royce reported that most individual protective covers (IPCs) remained on trees, and there was not significant tree damage, unlike from Hurricane Ian. As for rain, he said Highlands only received 3 inches, but he did hear of one grove in Hardee that’s standing in water.

Ron Mahan of Tamiami Citrus estimates fruit loss to be 10% to 15% in Hardee County and 5% in Highlands County. He noted that trees appear to be in pretty good shape, but that additional fruit drop is likely to occur.

Royce’s preliminary estimate for Highlands is 15% to 30% fruit loss on early orange varieties and under 10% for Valencias. However, he stressed these numbers could change because it is still too early for growers to fully assess the situation, and further fruit drop can still occur.

“Growers were already seeing some drop due to tropical storm force winds from Helene, and there is normally drop this time of year due to citrus greening,” noted Royce.

INDIAN RIVER

Although Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida, the state’s east coast saw some of the worst damage. Doug Bournique, executive director of the Indian River Citrus League, said more than 20 tornadoes struck the east coast. They included a massive tornado in Vero Beach and another that just narrowly missed the U.S. Department of Agriculture lab in Fort Pierce.

Despite the winds from the hurricane and tornados, Bournique said the biggest concern Indian River growers are dealing with is standing water in groves. “We received 9 inches of rain from feeder bands before the storm even hit,” he said. “That’s two months’ worth of rain in 24 hours.”

Bournique added that prior to Milton, it had already been a very wet year, and now the water has nowhere to run.

“Communication has been rough, with cell towers down and many have lost power,” said Bournique. “Right now, the priority is getting water out of groves from days of being flooded, and we are working closely with state water managers.”

Bournique predicted damage will be a mixed bag but said it’s too early to give any kind of loss estimate for Indian River growers. “It will take a while to truly give an assessment of what we have. We should know more in two weeks, once growers can get in their grove and we see what kind of drop occurs.”

Bournique believes the Indian River will still have fruit this season, but just how much fruit remains to be seen.

“It’s criminal this happened because growers need every piece of fruit,” Bournique said. “Demand is strong, and we were on the verge of a positive season. Hurricane Milton was a tough start to the season.”

POLK COUNTY

After viewing post-hurricane groves in southern Polk County, citrus Extension agent Chris Oswalt made the following observations:

• Fruit drop was heavier on trees with fruit closer to maturity.
• Water did not appear to be an issue (Northern Polk got more rain).
• Young flush turned black on some trees.
• A majority of IPCs stayed on trees.
• Hurricane Ian damage was worse.

“Damage is significant, but I thought it would be more,” remarked Oswalt. “For trees with healthier canopies, I did not see the extent of fruit drop and defoliation I expected. Some younger trees got blown around, but a lot of them hung in there really well.”

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

According to Mongi Zekri, multi-county citrus Extension agent in LaBelle, damage was worse in Charlotte County than Collier, Lee, Hendry and Glades counties. He noted flooding was a problem, particularly in the northern groves.

“Most growers I contacted did not have major structural damage, but there were some problems with IPCs. Fruit loss is from 10% to 30%. It was worse on Hamlins, grapefruit and early-maturing varieties,” said Zekri. “Growers are still assessing the damage but most reported that it could have been worse. Hurricane damage will continue for several months.”

Jim Snively of Southern Gardens Citrus reported mostly minimal loss in Hendry County. He noted that, except for hurricane damage, trees look great due to oxytetracycline treatments.

LAKE COUNTY

Glenn Beck of Beck Bros. Citrus in Lake County said damage in his area is spotty but severe in some groves. He estimated 90% fruit loss in navels and a high percentage of grapefruit loss. He said early oranges saw 30% to 40% fruit loss, with less loss occurring in Valencias.

SEEKING AID

Joyner noted that “Florida Citrus Mutual is in constant communication with state and federal partners so that they can make informed decisions on how to help the industry recover.”

Growers can learn more about USDA disaster assistance programs here.

Florida Commerce has launched another $50 million for the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program. Loans of up to $150,000 are available for citrus and cattle operations impacted by Hurricane Milton. More details are available here.

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