While Florida’s 2016-17 citrus season was up over the last forecast, it was still a historically low season.
Florida’s citrus growers listen avidly to the monthly citrus forecasts to get the latest on how the current citrus season is faring. July offers not a forecast but the culmination of the citrus season totals. The 2016-17 citrus season did end higher than the June forecast, but down 16 percent from the 20154-16 season. It was also lower than the overall forecast at the beginning of the season. See the details, and commentary from industry experts, below.
Florida’s 2016-17 Citrus Season Totals
The 2016-17 citrus season ended with a total of 67.7 million boxes of citrus, according to a Citrus Industry article. Each box is filled with 90 pounds of citrus. The season was originally forecast to harvest 70 million boxes, and citrus growers harvested 81.6 boxes of citrus in the 2015-16 season. This season’s harvest was down 16 percent from last year’s, and it’s all mainly due to citrus greening. In comparison, a decade ago saw harvests around 150 million boxes.
Adam Putnam, Florida’s Ag Commissioner, was quoted in the article as saying ““The future of Florida citrus and the tens of thousands of jobs it supports is wholly dependent on the discovery of a silver bullet in the fight against greening. Florida’s brightest minds are making progress toward a solution, but until then, we must continue to support our growers and provide them every tool available to combat this devastating disease.”
Grapefruit totaled 7.8 million boxes this season, down from last season’s 10.8 million boxes. Two bright points were the slight increase over the June forecast and the production of tangerines and tangelos. According to the article, they produced 1.62 million boxes, compared with 1.415 boxes of last year.
Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Department of Citrus, was quoted as saying, “Ending the season on a positive note is a big deal because it shows there is still an investment in Florida’s signature crop. It takes quite a serious effort to produce every single piece of fruit. Every additional box shows promise for Florida citrus.”
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.