Repairs to the packinghouse may cost $500,000.

By GB Crawford
Assistant Editor

The economic roller-coaster ride for Florida citrus growers has reached an apparent transition in the wake of the severe hurricanes this year. But whether the change will be a climb in profits over the long-term is an open question.

Despite the fruit loss inflicted by the storms, citrus growers who produce for the juice market may not experience the climb. To secure profitability, they must find a way to sell in the midst of a glut of stored concentrate from past seasons. They must also lobby hard to retain the federal tariff on cheap, imported juice.

Most industry observers predict that profits for those growers who have fresh fruit to sell will be excellent in the 2004-2005 season. The tree value of fresh fruit such as navel oranges has settled around $13 or more per box. Fresh grapefruit has garnered more than three times its wholesale value before the wave of hurricanes began in August.

Robbie Johnson, a St. Lucie County grower who produces citrus in St. Lucie, Indian River and Martin counties, hopes the predictions will be proven correct. His multi-dimensional business maintains its own groves and operates a grove caretaking firm, a hauling company and a packinghouse located in Ft. Pierce.

Hurricanes have destroyed 90 percent of Johnson’s crop this year.

Unfortunately, Johnson, a fourth generation Florida farmer, will not have a normal volume of fruit to market. His groves suffered substantial losses from both Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne. Most of his crop consists of fresh grapefruit. According to initial estimates, his trees have lost 90 percent of their expected harvest.

“Our good grapefruit groves that usually produce from 500 to 600 boxes per acre will probably yield 65 boxes per acre this year,” Johnson explained. “Our navels, which are about 5 percent of our crop, got hit as hard as the grapefruit.”

Most of the citrus farmers in the Indian River citrus region counted similar losses.

“The guys who were not affected by the hurricanes this year will do very well just selling their fruit on the trees,” Johnson said. “Those of us who do not have very much fruit left will get a little bit of crop insurance, the money that the 65 boxes will bring and the federal aid money that will at least cover production costs.”

In a typical season Johnson runs his packinghouse, known as Hilliard Groves, Inc., from Sept. 25 through May 1. This year, because of the limited fruit available, the facility opened in the third week of November and will close by mid-February.

Johnson is grateful for the special support from the government this year. “That may be what keeps a lot of people in business on the growing side of it – including us. If you are out of an entire crop and the crops do not come along that often, it is tough.”

Robbie Johnson has been producing and packing grapefruit since the early 1980s.

He has been involved in the industry since the early 1980s when he joined his father, Buddy Johnson, in the diversified operation. The younger Johnson has since witnessed wide swings in the market for citrus.

“In the 1980s the fruit was worth something because all the freezes kept the on-tree fruit value high, so the grower was happy,” he pointed out. “Then in the 1990s we had a massive over-supply of fruit and no natural disasters. We have been trying to deal with that every season.”

Johnson has noted that in the past 18 months another trend has emerged within the Indian River citrus region. “Land values have gone through the roof,” he reported. “It has given some of the small growers a way out. They were stuck with their groves in the 1990s. They couldn’t give one away. Now some of the land these groves are on is worth a whole lot of money and people are getting out of the business.”

As a result, the harvest volume will decrease. “The grapefruit crop will probably be in the 35-million-box range for several years – which will benefit the whole industry.”

The same downward harvest trend occurred after the freezes of the 1980s. But it was fleeting. “What happened last time was that when it was worth money, people started planting again,” Johnson said. “The glut came back. I don’t know if that will happen now because so much land will be out of production. It also depends upon how many trees are stuck in the ground.”
Over time his family business has developed a unique market niche by cultivating buyers in Japan. Most of the grapefruit packed at Hilliard Groves is shipped directly to Japanese customers. Their insistent preference for high quality fruit that sports a clean, bright appearance returns a higher profit for growers who can enter that market.

“This is a market everybody is after,” Johnson reported. “But Japan takes only about 10 million cartons, which is equivalent to five million field boxes. We are lucky enough to get a piece of it.”
Consistent production of a superior fruit helped Johnson to capture the opportunity. “We have packed for Japan for a long time,” he said. “But we sold it through other people. Slowly some of the buyers over there started associating our house with our fruit. So that gave us an in.”

Long experience with sales to Japan has taught him that the appearance of the fruit, in addition to taste, ensures a continued market there. Johnson is meticulous in keeping the fruit clean of scab, melanose and greasy spot – problems that will persuade a Japanese buyer to refuse a shipment.

“Our biggest advantage is that during April and May, the two months they consume most of our grapefruit, there is no other citrus available in the world,” he explained. “Our fruit is good and it tastes good. But that is not the reason they buy it. They buy their own domestic product first, then they look to foreign sources.”

At the moment, Johnson must make repairs to his operation as he struggles with fruit losses. Damages to the packinghouse alone may exceed $500,000. The 65 employees at the facility will not have a full season of work. The 10 other workers with the grove care and hauling companies may not be fully employed, either. They can only hope for a full production and harvest cycle in 2005-2006.

Aside from the challenges this year’s storms have imposed upon farmers, a second legacy has appeared, according to Johnson. This one has been noticed by the residents of urban districts. “I think the hurricanes have shown urban people just how important the citrus industry is to this area,” he said. “It is so far reaching into the economy of this county. The losses of employment, sales and income for services will continue to affect the whole county.”
Such a recognition will add to the importance urbanites place upon maintaining green space. “Some of the people who used to look at agriculture as not necessarily a friend now see ranchers and grove owners as friends. They know we keep the land green without houses on it.
“They see us as allies. They want to keep us in St. Lucie County. They want to see ranches and groves, not four houses to the acre.”
Johnson, a member of the St. Lucie County Farm Bureau’s board of directors, says elected officials in the area now understand the value of agriculture. This understanding bodes well for the citrus industry in the future.
“I think we have their attention,” he said. “I don’t think it is because we have done something new. We are doing what we have always been doing. We have just never gotten recognition for it.
“All farmers are good stewards of the land, whether they grow tomatoes or citrus. As part of our livelihood, we take care of natural resources for our own needs and in doing so, we serve the larger community.”

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