ARCADIA, Fla. — According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, citrus growers in Florida are finally recovering from the damage Hurricane Ian caused to the industry in 2022.
What You Need To Know
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports citrus production in Florida is up more than 11% for the 2023-2024 growing season, compared to 2022-2023
- Citrus growers say it shows a rebound following the impact of Hurricane Ian in 2022
- One grower said it takes trees about two years to recover from stress caused by hurricanes
According to the USDA’s final citrus forecast report for the 2023-2024 growing season, production has increased over 11% from the previous season as the industry recovers from historic lows caused by Ian.
Caleb Shelfer, the production manager for Joshua Citrus in Arcadia, says they work around the clock to manage the 300-acres of family-owned orange groves.
“They’re looking alright,” he said. “They’re looking real clean, so that’s what matters.”
Even though it’s toward the end of the growing season for citrus, Shelfer said he doesn’t take days off.
“We’re right in the middle of the summertime,” he said. “So we still got quite a bit of growing.”
Joshua Citrus was started in 1887 by Shelfer’s great-great-great grandfather, and has been run by a Shefler ever since.
“I’ve known for my whole life this is what I was going to do, and I was going to do it,” Shelfer said.
Checking the farm’s trees — which grow several varieties of oranges and other citrus — is an important task for Shelfer.
“There’s still water on the branches there,” Shelfer said. “So, you know, we’ve had consistent rain and then the trees really love the rain.”
Shelfer said the fruit grown on his farm goes directly to the consumer — either online, through farmer’s markets or through their general store in Arcadia.
But he said following Hurricane Ian, the last two years have been tough for the entire citrus industry in Florida.
“We lost around 90% of our stuff,” he said. “And I know people further south lost worse than that.”
Shelfer said it takes about two years for citrus trees to fully recover from the stress caused by hurricanes.
While recent reports show production numbers appear to be up, citrus growers still have to worry about citrus greening.
“It [citrus greening] was first discovered in commercial production in 2005 and has since really infected about 100% of our tree inventory. So, we’ve seen as you’re probably aware our crop has declined quite a bit — a little over 90% since its height in the late ‘90s,” Matt Joyner, Executive Vice President & CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual said.
Joyner said he knows all too well the impacts of citrus greening. And he believes now is the time for recovery.
“We don’t see our overall box numbers shoot back up in the next year or two. It’s going to take four, five, or six seasons as we continue this gradual recovery of the industry, but we’re optimistic in the direction we’re heading,” Joyner said.
The owners of Showcase of Citrus in Clermont, John Arnold and Tara Boshell, have been working with the USDA and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences to do something new.
“Thanks to the new genetics and new varieties, not just the new varieties of citrus, but the varieties of rootstock — when put in the right combination, it gives you a secret for success,” Arnold said.
They believe these recent developments will help launch the industry forward.
“We have high hopes and a gut feeling that we are going to have more citrus than we have had before,” Boshell said.
However, growers should still be mindful of unpredictable weather.
