Florida Citrus and Agriculture Struggle After Hurricane Ian

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The thousands of oranges scattered on the ground by Hurricane Ian’s fierce winds are only the start of the disaster for citrus growers. Citrus is a $6 billion business in Florida, with more than 375,000 acres in the state devoted to oranges, grapefruit, tangerines. Hurricane Ian also hit the state’s large cattle industry, dairy operations, vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, and even hundreds of thousands of bees. The orange forecast for 2022-2023 was released Wednesday. It production at 32% below the year before and does not account for damage from the hurricane. Most Florida oranges are used to make juice.

“This is a gut punch. There's no doubt about it,” said Matt Joyner, CEO of the Florida Citrus Mutual trade association. “You've really got about 72 hours to get the water off these trees before you start sustaining significant damage if not mortality. Trees need water to grow. They don't need to be standing in water.”

“When you lose land, and what happens is people can't afford to keep doing this anymore, and that land is taken. It's gone,” the Republican senator said. “I've never seen a mall turned back into agricultural land.”The University of Florida estimates that about 380,000 known bee colonies were in the path of Hurricane Ian as it bisected the state.

“Masses of honeybee colonies submerged in water are in distress,” the Florida Farm Bureau said in a statement. “Bee pollination is critical to the livelihood of our state's plants and crops, and is just one example of the long-term effects of this deadly storm.” Hardee County, home to Petteway's citrus and cattle operation, recorded four of those storm-related deaths. Adding to that tragedy, the long-term effects on the farm industry will add broad impacts on the community.

 

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