Citrus forecast takes another hit, but full extent of damage unknown

The Florida citrus crop was hurt by Hurricane Irma, but just how much remains uncertain.

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture revised its estimate to indicate the devastation might not be as bad as initially feared.

In October, the USDA reported that orange production was down 21 percent. But in November, the USDA revised that to say production was down 7 percent from the October forecast, dropping it from 54 million boxes to 50 million.

In response, the Florida Citrus Mutual is saying nobody really knows the extent of damage.

“In the wake of Hurricane Irma, it is extremely difficult to estimate the size of this year’s crop. In reality we probably won’t have an accurate number until the middle of 2018 once all fruit is picked. Long term the effects of Irma are going to take years to hash out, especially during the era of HLB where we don’t know how the already-stressed trees are going to respond over the next few seasons,” said Michael W. Sparks, executive vice president/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual.

Citrus growers in Manatee County may have experienced less-severe losses than growers in counties to the east.

Immediately after the hurricane, Gary Bradshaw, president of SMR Farms, estimated that groves at Lakewood Ranch had lost 10 percent of their fruit. But he noted the long-term fallout could be worse. The violent shaking of trees damaged root systems and seemed certain to increase fruit loss.

Ralph Garrison, chairman of this year’s Manatee County Farm City Week, took note of this year’s storm season on Thursday.

“This past year we got a real bad whipping in agriculture. But farmers and ranchers are resilient. It takes time to grow crops. I haven’t heard of anyone who is quitting,” Garrison said.

This story was originally published November 9, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Citrus forecast takes another hit, but full extent of damage unknown."