Florida citrus production drops as growers battle weather, disease to survive
In addition to hurricanes, drought has plagued Florida, where 82% of the state is in drought with 16% in extreme drought.
Farm Forecast: Florida citrus growers battle drought, hurricanes to survive
Trevor Murphy, third-generation citrus grower in Florida, spoke about how the crop this year was down 40-60%, the lowest crop they've had in about 100 years.
SEBRING, Fla. – A combination of weather and disease has posed significant challenges for Florida farmers.
Trevor Murphy, a third-generation citrus grower, noted that his farm had the lowest crop in about a century.
"Last year, we had Hurricane Milton that came through, so we dropped from 18 million boxes to roughly 11 million boxes this year," Murphy told FOX Weather Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen.
Oranges fell to the ground due to powerful winds from Hurricane Milton in 2024.
(Trevor Murphy / FOX Weather)
In addition to hurricanes, drought has plagued Florida, where 82% of the state is in drought with 16% in extreme drought.
"It's been bone dry down here for the past two months," he said. "We've received 1 inch of rain, and that was over a month ago. So we're hoping and waiting for some rain."
FLORIDA CITRUS GROWERS BRACE FOR SMALLEST PRODUCTION IN 95 YEARS FOLLOWING HURRICANES, DISEASE
However, the weather is not the only factor farmers like Murphy have to contend with. One factor in particular has caused the number of boxes harvested to plummet from about 133 million in earlier years.
Murphy said that the main culprit is a disease known as citrus greening. One of the most serious diseases in the world, it can cause infected citrus trees to die within a few years, according to the USDA.
Oranges plagued by citrus greening (left) and Asian citrus psyllid (right).
(USDA / FOX Weather)
The disease is carried by an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid, which Florida farmers have been battling for about 20 years, Murphy said.
Because of the insect and the deadly disease it carries, citrus farmers have had to innovate the ways they care for their trees.
"We're farming a lot smarter and harder than we used to," Murphy said.
Some of the methods farmers adopted is spoonfeeding micronutrients and fertilizers to the trees, along with timing their sprays differently and watering their trees with smaller, but more frequent, doses of water.