POLK COUNTY, FL. – The resilience of citrus farmers in the United States has been noteworthy over the past several decades. The ‘Sunshine State’ has recently faced major setback in orange production once again.
Florida has been experiencing the largest orange crop shortage since the 1940s. The main reason is due to an insect-borne citrus disease known as greening. Greening occurs when a tiny bug, known as an Asian Citrus Psyllid, feeds on the citrus leaves and stems.
This gnat-sized insect is the vector for the bacteria that causes the greening disease, which stops the tree from receiving nourishment and prohibits the tree from holding the fruit to maturity—ultimately reducing the quantity and quality of fruits. Greening has affected citrus trees in Florida since 2005, and there is currently no cure.
Kevin Updike is the fruit procurement manager at Cutrale Citrus Juices. His family has owned orange groves in the Lake Wales area of Florida since 1942. In the mid-1980s, their groves produced 800 plus boxes per acre. Updike explained that an 8% to 10% drop rate is normal, but it can go up to 45% with greening. Now, they are lucky to get 200 to 300 boxes per acre. “Now it’s twofold, less boxes with less pound solids,” said Updike.
Morgan McKenna is the caretaking manager at McKenna Brothers Inc. They own groves in three locations in the state, Lake Wales, DeSoto, and Labelle, totaling around 4,000 acres. McKenna explained that greening has been a compounding issue because an orange tree is a permanent crop.
“You don’t get to start fresh, like a lot of crops, things that you plant, you harvest, then you plant again. When something becomes infected, and at this point, all our trees are infected, or we assume that they are, those trees are now living with that disease from that day forward,” said McKenna. “So, it’s years and years and years of compromising the health of the tree.”
There is something else contributing to the shortage, a problem that is affecting businesses and families nationwide. Due to inflation, the cost of materials has gone up. Orange juice costs more in the store because it costs more to make. The entire supply chain has been impacted.
There is a shortage of raw materials, including fertilizer and diesel fuel, which drives up the prices of what is available. A labor shortage is currently making it hard to find people to work.
COVID-19 has also greatly affected labor availability. H-2A is a federal program for temporary agricultural employment of foreign workers, and the process became very difficult to navigate due to added COVID-19 regulations. When every orange is handpicked, not having the hands out in the groves when the oranges start dropping will result in wasted fruit.
There is another reason for the shortage, something that will continue to impact orange juice production for the rest of the near future. Developers are paying high prices for land, especially in Florida, the third most populated state in the nation, with more people arriving every year.
Agriculture contributes billions to the Polk Country economy, and citrus is one of the leaders, with the second most citrus land in Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau data of 2021 showed that Florida grew by 240,256 residents from April 2020 to April 2021. The land not immediately being used to build houses is being mined for sand to make concrete.
There is increasing pressure to sell grove land for development and mining. Matt Story is the production manager at The Story Companies. The Story Companies have been operating for 70 years and manage around 7,000 groves.
Story said, “A lot of the good premium citrus land is turning into homes, developments, subdivisions, and stores. You know, all things that are needed for people.”
McKenna said her family feels that the pressure is exceptionally high to sell their land for development. “When you’re in an industry that is battling a disease for over 15 years, and you have some of the land that would allow for more homes, we get calls and real estate fliers all the time,” said McKenna.
Updike said his 600 acres are decreasing because of sand mining. “Now the charge has kind of been just to sell the land and turn it into cash to split it up (within his family). That’s just because of the pressure on the development,” said Updike.
But the price needs to be rather attractive for any of these owners to sell. Updike, Story and McKenna all said it comes down to evaluating the grove. If a piece of property is still producing good fruit and the family is making a profit, it wouldn’t make sense to sell. McKenna said, “While our passion is agriculture, we are a business.”
“People often think that farmers are rich, and they just sell their land to become more rich. I think people forget that farming is one of the most emotional industries,” said McKenna. Farmers have to navigate weather, disease, and inflation. “When your livelihood comes from that (farming), you only do it because you love it. You don’t do it so you can turn it into a sand mine or a neighborhood. That makes the growers more sad than anyone.”
“My passion is agriculture, and that is what I want to be doing,” said McKenna. Florida Citrus reports that 90% of oranges grown in Florida become juice. McKenna said, “We want to be able to successfully farm and help put that glass of orange juice on your table that you know and love.” There is no certainty of what the future for the citrus industry will look like, but family-owned growers are determined to produce the best quality oranges for as long as they can.
Farmers are not selling their land because of some insatiable greed. There is a saying that you can farm yourself out of business. When farmers lose a large portion of their crop to disease or a freeze, they must make up the money they lost to remain profitable. Sometimes they must sell a grove to stay in business to continue farming the fruitful land.
Visit Tampafp.com for Politics, Tampa Area Local News, Sports, and National Headlines. Support journalism by clicking here to our GoFundMe or sign up for our free newsletter by clicking here.
Android Users, Click Here To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook Here Or Twitter Here.