Florida Citrus Growers in Limbo (material ommissions alert)

AP via Yahoo! ^ | 2/20/06 | TRAVIS REED, Associated Press Writer

[the invisib1e hand]

Ellis Hunt's family has made a living growing citrus since the 1920s, when his grandfather went into the business with two brothers. The industry is all they know.

Today, the third-generation farmer wonders how long he can maintain his company's share of Florida's $9 billion industry after one of the worst growing seasons in recent memory.

"My personal goal is to have our 100th year anniversary in 2022, so I guess I've got to make it 16 more years," Hunt said. "We're trying to stay in the business unless we're forced out."

Four hurricanes that struck or brushed Florida in 2005 not only caused an estimated $2.2 billion in damage to the state's crops and farming infrastructure, they are believed to have spread citrus canker that threatens the state's signature citrus crops.

The federal government said last month that the fight against canker was hopeless and yanked its funding for current eradication efforts. The disease makes fruit blemish and prompts it to drop prematurely, making it harder to sell.

Now Hunt and other growers are in limbo until state lawmakers and agriculture officials formulate a new plan to battle canker. The Legislature begins a two-month session March 7.

Lawmakers and regulators also will seek ways to curb other diseases such as greening and tristeza, and prepare for the possibility that more devastating hurricanes will slash through groves this year.

Besides repealing a law requiring the destruction of citrus trees within a 1,900-foot radius of one infected with canker, it's unclear what legislators will devise for growers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with scientists to design a new canker management plan, with a draft expected by the beginning of March, state Agriculture Department spokeswoman Liz Compton said.

Better decontamination of grove equipment and more thorough inspection are under consideration. So are multiple applications of a copper spray already used to control fungal diseases, and natural windbreaks to help prevent canker spread.

Democratic state Sen. Rod Smith, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said hurricane relief and response would top the panel's agenda. He said there would likely be tax relief for growers, particularly for fuels for heavy equipment and machinery.

Democratic state Rep. Dwight Stansel, vice chair of the House Agriculture Committee, said he was disappointed Gov. Jeb Bush didn't mention growers' needs in the same breath as tourism, a commercial spaceport and education when he unveiled his budget recommendations earlier this month.

Bush spokesman Russell Schweiss defended the governor's proposal, saying it included $381 million for agriculture — up nearly 18 percent from $324 million a year before.

The Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association will push lawmakers for bridge loans to help growers rebuild hurricane damage, said Ben Bolusky, the group's executive vice president. Bridge loans typically max out at $25,000 and last up to a year and a half.

Bolusky also said the industry would pursue sales tax exemptions on items such as fuel and incentives for water-conserving irrigation systems.

Meanwhile, growers like Hunt wait and hope for relief.

Workers trying to rid the state of canker left the charred remains of about 15 grapefruit trees in the middle of one of Hunt's groves, among one perfect row after another of still-maturing fruit. Without the change in the eradication policy, all of those trees would be gone.

"If you're in farming, you have to be optimistic," Hunt said. "It's hard to say what the industry is going to look like in 5 to 10 years, but there will be an industry of some kind."

[the invisib1e hand]

Of course, the rest of the story -- in fact, the real story, is that the market has bid up the (already subsidized) FCOJ price -- which is the primary market for Florida citrus -- over 300% from its pre hurricane blowout lows in 2004.

There is no intent here to diminish the confusing situation of the growers, many of whom are faced with the awful dilemma of selling OJ at 3 times the price of a few short years ago, or of selling the farm to developers in the hottest real estate market in history. It is posted mainly to alert those interested that perhaps the most important fact of the story, the one about the price of crop that the growers grow, was completely overlooked, ignored, and otherwise omitted from the story.

What the devil kind of reporting is this?

the 2004 Low was less than $0.60, and can be viewed on a longer term PDF chart here.

[BigBobber]

Did I read somewhere that colder weather in the last few decades was forcing citrus growers into the very southern tip of Florida?

[doc30]

I was wondering what would happen with the news tha citrus cancer has spread throughout the state. It the old laws were properly applied under today's circumstances, there essentially wouldn't be any orchards left in the state!

[the invisib1e hand]

The Florida Citrus belt has been inching south for at least a generation, I am told.

The Great Freeze of 1894-95 ruined many of the groves throughout Florida. Production dropped to a mere 147 thousand boxes in 1895. As a result, growers began their gradual move to locations farther south in the state. By 1910, the crops had returned to pre-freeze production levels..... By 1915, production reached 10 million boxes. In 1950, the state’s citrus industry picked its first total citrus crop of 100 million boxes. In 1971, Florida’s citrus growers harvested the first crop to exceed 200 million boxes of fruit..... Although Florida’s citrus industry has encountered more freezing temperatures during the 20th century, the industry has continued to thrive as new groves are planted farther south after each freeze.

[Gay State Conservative]

We often vacation in Bradenton,home of a huge Tropicana plant.It's really impressive to see the plant and all the truckloads of oranges being brought to the plant.

Sometimes,if the wind is right,you can even get the aroma of citrus coming from the plant.

That fragrance sure beats what you get around Newark.

[PPHSFL]

A combination of factors, including explosive population growth and severe freezes during the 1980s, basically ended the days of massive citrus groves in central FL. They are mostly now in the southern parts of the state.

[Casekirchen]

"Did I read somewhere that colder weather in the last few decades was forcing citrus growers into the very southern tip of Florida?"

--- Thats strange, I thought that global warming was forcing the citrus growers into Georgia

[CFC__VRWC]

Back in the early 1980's, you could drive US 27 in northern Polk and southern Lake Counties, and see nothing but vast citrus groves as far as the eye could see. The land there is ideal for citrus - high and dry and well drained (citrus doesn't tolerate damp roots very well).

The freeze of 1989 pretty much wiped out those groves, and the real estate market really started to take off in that area at about the same time. Many of the growers sold their property to developers and either got out of the citrus business entirely, or moved south. When you drive that stretch of US 27 today, all you see is rooftops and shopping plazas, with the occasional going-to-wild patch of citrus trees. It may well be the fastest growing part of Florida today, as Orlando steadily spreads out.

[the invisib1e hand]

I remember those days well, as in my teens I drove a truck from Tampa to Orlando and sometimes the coast every day. That's near the "Citrus Ridge."

Did you know that, prior to the big hurricane that hit, I believe in the '50's, Pinellas was the top producing county in the state (has much high and dry land)? Now, with the exception of a few tiny, tiny groves, the only citrus is the remnant in the backyard of the houses built on the former groves.