Photo by Ryan Atwood
Preliminary crop and infrastructure losses from Hurricane Milton are estimated between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) reported the preliminary estimate a week after Milton made landfall on Oct. 9 near Siesta Key in Sarasota County as a Category 3 hurricane.
The information in the FDACS document, Preliminary Estimates of Damage to Florida Agriculture From Hurricane Milton, was based on initial reporting and communication with farmers.
The report did not provide a breakdown of estimated dollar damage for any commodity, but noted that citrus, at 323,535 acres, had the third most acreage affected by the hurricane. Animal and animal products had the most affected acreage — 4.165 million acres — followed by field and row crops at 965,085 acres.
The report noted that the majority of Florida’s citrus acreage is situated in counties affected by Hurricane Milton, and that “significant production losses” are expected. Most of these losses are due to fruit drop, damage to branches and impacts from heavy precipitation and flooding, FDACS stated. It added that growers are also reporting heavy infrastructure damage, and there are major concerns of flood-caused tree mortality in the near future.
Out of 51 Florida counties impacted by hurricane and tropical storm winds, the Federal Emergency Management Agency listed 34 as disaster areas. Fourteen of those counties experienced hurricane force winds and flooding. Those counties are Brevard, Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole and Volusia.
FDACS stated that in the wake of Milton, several industry leaders across the state described “overwhelming impacts this storm had on not only their current year crop losses, but the further devastation of damaged infrastructure.”
The purpose of the FDACS document is to inform policymakers about the preliminary extent of the damage and losses experienced and expected by agricultural producers in Florida.
Learn more about the damage Milton inflicted on citrus from growers, Extension agents and association executives contacted days after the hurricane.
Source: FDACS
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