production

Study Shows Value of FDOC Orange Juice Promotions

Daniel CooperFlorida Department of Citrus, Marketing, Orange Juice

A 2024 University of Florida (UF) study showed that demand for orange juice (OJ) would have declined by 8% without the awareness of Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) promotional activities. The study estimated consumption would have decreased by an additional 75.7 million single-strength equivalent gallons — equal to roughly 13.7 million boxes of Florida processed oranges — without FDOC promotions. …

early

Grove Recovery After Milton

Daniel CooperHLB Management, OTC Expert

Sponsored Content In this special series, Tom Johnson, owner of TJ BioTech, tackles questions about optimizing trunk-injection applications to treat HLB. Q: After a series of weather challenges, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton, what are you hearing from Florida citrus growers about the continued health and recovery of groves going forward? Tom Johnson: I am certainly not suggesting that I …

Bleak Outlook for Florida Citrus Production

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Statistics Board released its first forecast of the 2024–25 citrus season on Oct. 11. The report does not reflect the damage to the Florida citrus industry inflicted by Hurricane Milton. The Dec. 10 forecast update is expected to take that damage into account. “The forecast for the season is extremely discouraging,” said Matt Joyner, …

winds

How to Help Trees Recover From High Winds

Daniel Cooperhurricane, Irrigation, Tip of the Week

By Christopher Vincent Hurricane Helene’s path spared most of the citrus industry the kind of trouble that Hurricane Ian brought back in 2022, but Ian taught us some important lessons you can use if your trees were hit by high winds. WIND SPEED MATTERS Trees impacted by Category 3 winds were mostly defoliated, with major limbs broken and near 100% …

Alico

Alico Increases Production and Names New Chairman

Daniel CooperProduction

Alico, Inc.’s Citrus Division harvested more fruit in the three months and nine months ended June 30 than during the same periods in the prior fiscal year. Harvests for the three-month and nine-month periods were approximately 0.8 million and 3.1 million boxes, respectively, compared to 0.4 million boxes and 2.7 million boxes, respectively, in the prior fiscal year. POUND SOLIDS AND …

crop insurance

A Crop Insurance Policy That Has Paid Off for Citrus Growers

Daniel CooperEconomics, Insurance

By Ariel Singerman Federal crop insurance is a key component of the farm safety net because it allows growers to obtain coverage against losses and, therefore, manage risk at a subsidized premium rate. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency (RMA) started offering Florida citrus growers the option to insure their crop under a policy called Actual …

roots

The Relationship Between Roots and OTC Treatments

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Root health

Back in the early days of the HLB fight, it was observed that what is going on underground in citrus tree root systems is just as important as what is happening aboveground. In 2013, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service researchers published that 27% to 40% root loss due …

applications

Moving Beyond Greening

Daniel CooperCitrus Greening, Economics

By Tom Spreen When citrus greening was first discovered in Florida, it did not have a profound impact on production. The big news at that time was the multiple hurricanes that had crossed Florida in 2004 and 2005. The hurricanes served to spread citrus canker so sufficiently that the state of Florida was forced to abandon its efforts to eradicate …

Alico

Alico Grove Transitions and Transactions

Daniel CooperLand

Alico, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer John Kiernan recently discussed several Alico citrus grove transitions and transactions. Here are some of his comments that were included in an announcement of the company’s financial results for the period ending March 31.  “To be clear, Alico will continue to conduct our regular citrus operations at nearly all of our groves for …

alico

Alico Disappointed and Frustrated With Production

Daniel CooperProduction

Alico, Inc. announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024 and the six months ended March 31, 2024. Revenues of $32.1 million for the six-month period were relatively flat as compared to $31.9 million for the same period last year. BOXES AND POUND SOLIDS Alico harvested approximately 1.2 million boxes (second quarter) and 2.2 million boxes (six-month …

consumers

Florida OJ Has Solid Share of Consumers

Daniel CooperFlorida, Orange Juice, Research

A significant portion of consumers are drawn to Florida orange juice (OJ) despite recent economic setbacks, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) study shows.  “There is an intrinsic value that consumers have for Florida orange juice. When they think of Florida, orange juice is often part of the imagery,” said Marisa Zansler, director of economic …

grapefruit

Global Grapefruit Production to Rise

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast, International

Global grapefruit production in 2023–24 is estimated up slightly from the prior year to 6.9 million tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) reported. A slight increase in China more than offset lower production in South Africa. World exports of grapefruit are projected to increase while fruit for processing is forecast to be lower. Here are …

Peace River Valley

Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association Ceases Operations

Daniel CooperCitrus, Florida

Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association (PRVCGA) is ending its 31-year run. After much consideration and deliberation, the association’s board of directors announced the decision to close down in a letter released Feb. 12 by Executive Director Emma Keller. The letter stated that the tough decision to close the association “comes after facing numerous challenges that have significantly impacted our …

alico

Alico Reports Results for Early and Mid-Season Oranges

Daniel Cooperfinancial, Production

Alico, Inc.’s Citrus Division reported it had “significantly lower than anticipated” early and mid-season orange production for the fiscal quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2023. It blamed the reduction on the ongoing effects of 2022’s Hurricane Ian. Although the early and mid-season crops were lower than anticipated, Alico still harvested more boxes, produced more pound solids and received higher prices …

pgrs

PGRs: Multipurpose Tools for Citrus Improvement

Daniel CooperPGRs, Tip of the Week

By Tripti Vashisth Canopy health of HLB-affected citrus has been directly related to disease severity, fruit drop and overall fruit production. Some success has been found with the use of certain plant growth regulators (PGRs) such as gibberellic acid (GA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) to achieve healthier trees with reduced fruit drop and increased production. HLB MANAGEMENT Application of these …

Florida Citrus: The Road Back

Tacy CalliesEconomics, Florida

By Tom Spreen The Florida citrus industry has experienced a difficult stretch of years since the record crop year of 2003–04, when over 240 million 90-pound boxes of oranges were produced. INDUSTRY DECLINEIn 2004, multiple hurricanes crisscrossed the Florida peninsula. They were the first hurricanes to hit the citrus-producing area of Florida since Hurricane Dora in 1964. The hurricanes themselves …