The USDA citrus crop forecast for Florida’s citrus harvest has become something of a harbinger of the success or otherwise of a harvest for any given year. The entire citrus industry waits with interest for each monthly citrus harvest to be announced. The first citrus crop forecast from the USDA for the 2016-2017 harvest year will be released October 12th. Find out below how to get the forecast as soon as possible.
Citrus Forecast News So Far
The USDA citrus forecasts for the 2015-2016 citrus harvest ended on a high note. For the last four forecasts of the season, the predictions increased a small bit with each release. Florida growers had grown accustomed to forecasts that only went down, so even a small increase seemed like a win. The 2015-2016 citrus harvest ended on as a high note as could be expected in the face of citrus greening.
Then in August of 2016, another citrus crop forecast put an end to all the increasing citrus forecasts. August 10th saw the release of a forecast from Kissimmee-based citrus consultant, Elizabeth Steger. That forecast predicted a 26 percent drop in the citrus harvest for 2016-2017 for a total of 60.5 million boxes of citrus. To put it in perspective, pre-citrus greening harvests typically exceeded 200 million boxes of citrus by a healthy margin. It’s a forecast that brought zero good news, and the citrus industry as a whole is waiting anxiously for the first USDA citrus crop forecast on October 12th.
Hearing the Citrus Crop Forecast
Citrus Industry Magazine will be broadcasting and webcasting coverage of the first USDA citrus crop forecast on October 12th starting at noon. Listeners can test their computers audio at a link here prior to the broadcast. Links to broadcasting websites, including Citrus Industry Magazine’s website, and a list of Florida radio channels that will also be broadcasting the citrus crop forecast, can be found here.
Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.