After Hurricane Ian, Florida citrus and agriculture struggle

ZOLFO SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — The thousands of oranges scattered on the ground by Hurricane Ian’s fierce winds like so many green and yellow marbles are only the start of the disaster for citrus grower Roy Petteway.

The fruit strewn about his 100-acre (40-hectare) grove in central Florida since the storm swept through will mostly go to waste. But what are even worse are the flood and rain waters that weakened the orange trees in ways that are difficult to see right away.

“For the next six months we'll be evaluating the damage,” Petteway said in an interview at his farm, where he estimates about a 40% crop loss. “You're going to have a lot of damage that will rear its head.”

Citrus is big business in Florida, with more than 375,000 acres (152,000 hectares) in the state devoted to oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and the like for an industry valued at more than $6 billion annually. Hurricane Ian hit the citrus groves hard, as well as the state's large cattle industry, dairy operations, vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, and even hundreds of thousands of bees essential to many growers.

“This year will be tough, no one is disputing that, but I believe in the tenacity and passion of our citrus industry professionals to come back stronger than ever," said Nikki Fried, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The orange forecast for 2022-2023, released Wednesday, puts production at about 28 million boxes, or 1.26 million tons, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. That's 32% below the year before and does not account for damage from the hurricane, which will surely worsen those numbers.

Most Florida oranges are used to make juice, and this season’s drastically lower harvest, combined with the still-unquantified slam from Ian, will press...