Florida's orange sector faces challenges from hurricanes and citrus greening, yet the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recent production forecast indicates potential recovery. Kyle Story, Vice President of The Story Companies, observed a promising bloom post-hurricane Milton, which damaged half his crop. "We see the trees recovering very well. Our crop has been impacted, but that is a new normal when we have a hurricane," Story noted.
Story's Lake Wales grove contributes to orange juice production. While his Polk County crop lags behind southern groves, there are improvements in grapefruit and mandarin production. "We do produce grapefruit in other sites as well as some mandarins, which we did see improvement on, but as far as the juice fruit here in the center of the state, we saw a decrease," Story added.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's forecast maintains orange production estimates at 11.6 million 90-pound boxes, consistent with March projections. Grapefruit production is expected to rise from 1.2 million boxes to 1.3 million boxes. Tangerines and mandarins are projected to increase from 350,000 boxes to 400,000 boxes. "The trees are improving. We have therapies that we've deployed over the last few years to make the trees healthier, and we're seeing those improvements," Story commented.
Despite incremental gains, the 2024-2025 season is predicted to have low production levels due to ongoing challenges from citrus greening and hurricane-related losses. "Wholistically, we're down this season, there's no doubt about it. The hurricane had an impact, and there was loss, but to see the crop level out here at the end of the season may not be surprising, but it's hopeful," said Matt Joyner, CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual.
Source: ABC Action News