By Stewart Truelsen
American Farm Bureau Federation
Polk County citrus grower Mike Machata likes to say he was baptized by fire because he started farming just in time for the citrus freezes of the 1980s.

As a grower, he’s hoping this won’t be remembered as the decade of hurricanes like that was the decade of freezes.

Polk County was nailed by three of the four hurricanes that tag-teamed Florida and the Southeast. Machata lost half of the oranges in his groves and suffered severe structural damage to his greenhouse nursery where he raises thousands of citrus trees for sale to other growers.

He also lost tangerines and grapefruit. He’s giving up on his small acreage of grapefruit and is uncertain about completely rebuilding the nursery.

Changes in irrigation techniques and cultural practices made Florida citrus groves less vulnerable to freezes, but how do you stop hurricane force winds and torrential rains? After the ’80s freezes, the markets responded to the supply shortage with higher prices for at least a year or two.

“It doesn’t function that way any more with the surpluses we’ve had and with Brazil,” said Machata. Florida orange growers typically produce Valencia and other juice varieties that are known in the trade as “round oranges.” Most Florida orange juice is consumed domestically. Brazil is the largest exporter.

“I think we are going to see some real economic hits as a result of this,” said Pat Cockrell, executive director of organization and programs for Florida Farm Bureau. The American Farm Bureau Federation, Florida Farm Bureau and citrus organizations have pursued federal disaster funds to help the growers.

“Primarily this year if we can get their production costs back for them and pay for the cleanup, that’s going to be a big help to them, but our problem is the $80,000 payment limitation. That’s not going to be a big help to a lot of growers here,” added Cockrell.

There was financial stress prior to the storms and now Machata expects some citrus groves to be sold or abandoned. “You grow citrus, homes or go back to cow pastures with the land,” he said.

He is selling some of his land. “It’s not what I want to do, but between the storm damage and markets, it’s time to trim the sails.”

“Florida farmers are generally a resilient, hardy group of people. They thrive on challenges, but the challenges we’ve had this year are more than people want to thrive on,” said Cockrell. Nevertheless, he expects a strong response from the citrus industry.

Florida’s citrus industry is a vital part of the state’s economy and the state’s image, and its rebound from this multiple-hurricane disaster is important in the larger context of the variety and abundance we expect from American agriculture.

Adapting
to markets

Storms
may return

CONTACT WEBMASTER

Florida Farm Bureau Federation
P.O. Box 147030
Gainesville, FL 32614-7030
Phone: (352) 378-1321