citrus

Numbers released Wednesday confirmed that Florida’s 2022-2023 citrus season was the worst in nearly a century, as growers tried to recover from an early-season hurricane that exacerbated industry struggles. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday issued a final report that showed a huge dropoff in production from the 2021-2022 season. The industry would have to go back to the 1929-1930 season to find comparable numbers.

Growers are getting more anxious while continuing to wait for federal assistance approved after Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole uprooted trees and flooded fields last fall.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a forecast that said Florida growers this season are on pace to fill 15.65 million boxes of oranges, which would be the lowest total since the 1934-1935 season.

Officials say the Donaldson tree could offer relief to citrus growers across the state whose latest crop was the lowest since World War II.

Growers in parts of Polk, Highlands, Hardee and DeSoto counties report that Ian claimed from 50% to 90% of their citrus crops. Before the storm, the state’s citrus harvest was already expected to be the lowest since 1935.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that Florida growers will fill 44.75 million boxes of oranges, grapefruit and specialty crops during the soon-to-end season, down more than 22% from the previous season.

California surpassed Florida in a new estimate of orange production, the latest sign of continuing struggles in Florida’s citrus industry.The U.S.…

In the final days of the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency cleared the way for use of the pesticide Aldicarb, a known neurotoxin. Florida citrus growers want to use it to fight citrus greening.

A company wants federal permission to use a pesticide linked to brain damage in young children and infants on citrus trees in Florida and Texas.

Florida’s hurricane-battered citrus growers, facing their lowest yield in eight decades, continue to see a drop in production with the season’s harvest…