A December Florida TaxWatch report, The Continuing Decline of Florida’s Citrus Industry, highlights the causes of the industry’s demise in recent decades. Edited excerpts follow: In the last 20 years, Florida’s total citrus production has decreased by more than 90%, from around 300 million boxes in 2003–04 to just 20 million boxes in 2023–24. The 2022–23 season was the worst …
Alico Citrus to Cease Operations After This Season
Large Florida citrus grower Alico Citrus will cease operations after the current season’s harvest, parent company Alico, Inc. announced Jan. 6. The company cited increasing financial challenges from citrus greening disease and “environmental factors.” Alico owns approximately 53,371 acres of land across eight counties in Florida, as well as approximately 48,700 acres of oil, gas and mineral rights in the …
The Florida Citrus Perfect Storm: Disease, Weather and Market Swings
By Ariel Singerman Orange yield in Florida has decreased by more than 80% since HLB was first found in the state in 2005. It is hard to find another example in recent history of an industry as iconic as Florida citrus that has declined so significantly as a consequence of a plant disease. As a comparison, at the global level, …
Tree Age and Yields: Implications for Trunk Injection
By Ariel Singerman This article examines the impact of HLB and other factors on yield by tree age group in Florida using U.S. Department of Agriculture statewide average data from 1994 to 2021. To focus on the impact of HLB and other relevant lasting factors, seasons in which there were hurricanes or freezes are excluded. YIELD REDUCTIONS Figures 1 and …
Nurturing Demand Amid a Global OJ Shortage
By Marisa L. Zansler In May 2024, news of Brazil’s 2024–25 orange crop forecast declining from 307 million boxes to 232 million boxes — a 24% drop — sent frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) futures prices to historic highs. The futures price reached $4.87 per pound solids on May 28 before settling at $4.22 per pound solids at the end …
Grower Mood Mixed at Mutual’s Annual Conference
Florida citrus growers gathered in rainy Bonita Springs last week for the Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference. The event hosted by Florida Citrus Mutual drew a good crowd, who were happy to see the heavy rains brought by a no-name tropical system that helped break the drought in some areas of the state. The mood of growers was mixed. While …
The Relationship Between Roots and OTC Treatments
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 …
Moving Beyond Greening
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 …
Florida OJ Has Solid Share of Consumers
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 …
Florida Citrus: The Road Back
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 …
U.S. Fresh Oranges Up; OJ Down in 2022–23
The fresh-market orange crop in the United States rose 2% in 2022–23 compared to the prior year, to 1.44 million tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service reported this fall. The increase was due to larger navel orange and early/midseason crops in California and Texas. FRESH FRUIT PRICES FALL With increased supply, grower prices for fresh oranges were …
U.S. Citrus Production in 2022–23: Winners and Losers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (USDA/NASS) final estimates for the 2022–23 season show U.S. citrus production reaching 4.9 million tons, down 12% from 2021–22. This marks the lowest combined production levels for U.S. citrus in at least 50 years. The U.S. citrus crop was valued at $2.6 billion in 2022–23, 13.5% below the prior year’s value. …
Alico Citrus Production Halved
Florida citrus grower and landholder Alico, Inc. on Aug. 3 announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 and the nine months ended June 30, 2023. For the nine months, Alico harvested approximately 2.7 million boxes of citrus, a decrease of approximately 51% from the same period in the prior fiscal year. After the completion of the …
RAISE Act Would Improve Grower Disaster Relief
Several members of Congress from Florida recently introduced the Restore Agricultural Investment, Stability and Expansion (RAISE) Act of 2023. The act would provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with standing authority to help American growers recover after natural disasters by issuing block grants. Supporters said the bill better positions the measure to reach President Joe Biden’s desk and become …
Economists Study Cover Crops in Citrus
Economists with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) recently published two studies about the adoption of cover crops in citrus. One looked at the economic feasibility of cover crop adoption for citrus growers. The other looked at the preferences and willingness of growers to incorporate cover crops into their production practices. The studies were conducted …
Weather, Costs and Other Citrus Impacts
In U.S. Citrus Production – An Uphill Battle to Survive, Daniel Munch zeroed in on issues impacting citrus-producing states. In excerpts that follow, the American Farm Bureau Federation economist focuses on weather, disease, population, production shifts and increasing costs that have impacted citrus. FLORIDA FACES NUMEROUS CHALLENGESIn 2017, Hurricane Irma’s high winds and damaging rains battered key citrus-producing regions in …
Alico Discusses Second Quarter Status
Alico, Inc. announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2023. For the six months ended March 31, 2023, the company reported net loss of approximately $10.9 million, compared to net income of approximately $30.8 million for the six months ended March 31, 2022. This was primarily due to 1) the timing of the gains on sale of …
Fine-Tuning CUPS Production Practices
Mixon family members were pioneers in the Florida blueberry industry. Brothers Jerry and Keith Mixon planted their first berries in 1993. Over the years, they grew their business and became worldwide marketers, eventually adding blackberries, raspberries and strawberries to their portfolio. BACK TO CITRUSIn 2011, they sold their berry business to the Dole Food Company. But the brothers still had …
Disaster Relief Discussed at Annual Meeting
The Highlands Country Citrus Growers Association (HCCGA) held its annual meeting in early March, celebrating 33 years of service to its membership. The event turned out a packed house in Sebring, with growers optimistic despite a challenging season. Matt Joyner, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual, spoke during the event and outlined a busy list …
Florida Forecast Sees Small Gains
The Florida 2022–23 all-orange forecast inched up 1% in March to 16.1 million boxes while the grapefruit forecast rose 7% to 1.6 million boxes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS) forecast for Florida tangerines and tangelos was unchanged at 500,000 boxes. The entire rise of 100,000 boxes in the orange forecast was in the …