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Citrus industry, ‘decimated’ by greening, clings to hope, Simpson says • Florida Phoenix
Citrus industry, ‘decimated’ by greening, clings to hope, Simpson says
by Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix
February 11, 2025
A pathway still exists to rebuild a “robust” citrus industry through continued research and state support, notwithstanding grave environmental challenges, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson insisted to a Senate committee last month.
Hurricanes, real estate development, and citrus greening contributed to a 90% citrus industry decline in Florida over the past 20 years. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Florida farmers produced nearly 300 million boxes of citrus in 2004. By 2024, harvests yielded about 20 million boxes. The forecast for 2025 is 14.1 million boxes, according to the USDA.
Citrus greening, the insect-carried tree disease that first hit Florida in 2005, has “decimated” the industry, Simpson told the Senate Agriculture Committee on Jan. 14. Psyllids, or plant lice, infect citrus trees, damaging yields and ultimately killing the tree.
In 2019, citrus farmers reported that about 80% of their trees were infected.
“Losing the citrus industry is not an option,” Matt Joyner, CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, an industry group, said during the committee hearing.
Killing psyllids
There is good news: The University of Florida last month announced its researchers have “one of the most promising discoveries to date” related to citrus greening.
Those researchers genetically modified trees to kill baby psyllids that make contact with the plant by producing a protein toxic to the bug. They hope to begin field tests in “about a year,” meaning the university is “a few years away” from confirming the effectiveness of the method.
“The only way we’re going to solve [citrus greening] is to continue to plant and see what works. And unfortunately, it takes three to five years before we get to the answers after we plant,” Simpson said.
Joyner figures the “gold standard” will be a tree resistant to greening, or a tree, like UF just announced, that kills psyllids, preventing the bugs from spreading the disease.
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Keep growing
Research is “critical,” Joyner said, “but replanting is critical as well.”
“We’ve got extensive infrastructure in this state that requires us to produce boxes of oranges to keep it going,” he said, including nurseries and packing plants.
Decline of Florida’s citrus industry hastened by Trump’s tariff tiff
Simpson advocated for the Citrus Research and Field Trials program (CRAFT), a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services support organization that researches management practices.
“If we continue with the CRAFT program and the gains that we’re making with the various rootstocks and a citrus greening-resistant tree, I believe we can have a robust citrus industry,” Simpson said. Expanding production to 50-70 million boxes per year in 10 years, “maybe that spells success,” the commissioner said.
The citrus industry was worth about $7 billion in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, according to University of Florida researchers.
“Everybody thinks of beaches and Mickey Mouse in the state of Florida, but agriculture, citrus and others, is the heart of this industry, it’s the backbone of this industry,” Joyner said.
Hurricane impacts
Hurricanes inflicted nearly $1 billion in Florida agriculture production losses in 2024, a year when three hurricanes made landfall in the state, according to UF researchers.
2024 agriculture production losses could near $1 billion, researchers say
Total agricultural production losses for the 2024 hurricane season are estimated at between $402.3 million and $975.8 million, with the third storm, Hurricane Milton, costing up to $642.7 million.
Forty-one counties experienced at least tropical storm conditions during all three 2024 events. Taylor, Lafayette, Dixie, and Suwannee counties faced hurricane conditions during Debby and Helene — areas that had already experienced Idalia in 2023 and Ian in 2022.
Exiting the industry
Damaged crops paired with the thirst for land development have driven producers out of the industry, such as Alico Inc. The company, which operates in eight counties, said it will cease citrus production after this season.
Alico owns more than 50,000 acres of agricultural land but in the face of “increasing financial challenges from citrus greening disease and environmental factors for many seasons” henceforth “will focus its resources on creating new opportunities for profitable growth while also acting prudently on behalf of shareholders.”
“The impact of Hurricanes Irma in 2017, Ian in 2022, and Milton in 2024 on our trees, already weakened from years of citrus greening disease, has led Alico to conclude that growing citrus is no longer economically viable for us in Florida,” said John Kiernan, CEO of Alico, in a news release.
Sen. Keith Truenow, a Republican from Tavares and chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said he recognizes the struggle.
“I think with everything facing the citrus industry, we have to figure out all the things we can do to encourage farmers to stay in the business,” he said.
Truenow added that property taxes and land classification regulations “need to be tightened up” so producers “don’t feel like they have to pay three or four times or five times the [tax] rate to hold on to their property. Everyone knows they’re not going to hold it very long at that rate because they’re already losing money for the last 20 years, basically.”
While Florida’s population grows, and property values increase while farmers wait for a solution to greening, “it can be a real allure to sell these acres for what they’re worth,” Joyner said. “Committed” growers, he continued, will have to wait years before research produces commercially productive groves.
Meanwhile, Alico said it expects to “entitle certain parcels of its land for commercial and residential development.”
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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
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News from the South - Florida News Feed
Who pays attorney fees in a property insurance lawsuit? Florida bill shifts the burden again
SUMMARY: In Florida, a House panel has advanced a bill (HB 1551) to revise a 2022 law limiting homeowner attorney fees against insurers, sparking debate on legal rights in claim disputes. Supporters argue the existing law favors insurers too heavily, making it difficult for homeowners to contest wrongful claim denials. Rep. Michele Rayner emphasized the need to prioritize consumer protection. However, opponents, including various industry representatives, claim the law has stabilized the market and low rate increases. The proposed bill would implement a “loser pays” system, shifting attorney costs to the losing party, and is facing varying levels of support among lawmakers.
The post Who pays attorney fees in a property insurance lawsuit? Florida bill shifts the burden again appeared first on www.clickorlando.com
News from the South - Florida News Feed
Geraldine Thompson remembered for her ‘perfect blend of grace and strength’
Geraldine Thompson remembered for her ‘perfect blend of grace and strength’
by Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix
March 13, 2025
Sen. Geraldine Thompson was remembered by her colleagues Thursday as an advocate for equality, justice, Black history, and, as Senate President Ben Albritton put it, as a “perfect blend of grace and strength.”
Senators sat together during the second week of session to remember Thompson, who died in office a month ago at the age of 76 following complications from knee surgery.
Thompson was widely known for her commitment to African American history, serving as chair of the Florida Museum of Black History Task Force, campaigning to preserve the Wells’Built Hotel in Orlando as a museum, and writing “Black America: Orlando, Florida,” a history of Orlando’s Black community.
Sen. Darryl Rouson recalled Thompson for her drive for equity.
“Sen. Thompson epitomized Black history,” Rouson said. “Throughout her life, she worked to make things easier, more equitable for all. While she was teaching our past and helping preserve the stories of Black history, she was brightening our future. … It is not lost on me or others that God called her home untimely during Black History month.”
Thompson’s family, including her husband Emerson, were in the chamber for the service.
Albritton noted he wore a purple tie Thursday to emphasize the blend between red and blue.
“She was the perfect blend of grace and strength, perfect blend, and knew how to use each of those to make better the lives of other people,” Albritton said.
Sen. Don Gaetz recalled the attire Thompson would wear in the chamber, taking on the personalities of notable people in history.
“When she donned a uniform and she took on the personality of a heroic African American historical figure, you believed that that’s who it was,” Gaetz said.
“You believed it. And I remember one time she took on the persona of an African American aviatress who made history, and who’s one of the solo flyers. And I didn’t know the story. I didn’t know until she told it in the first person, I can tell you that I believe that Geraldine Thompson could fly, and I still do,” Gaetz said.
Rouson offered the idea of her meeting those figures she portrayed in the afterlife.
“I’m confident in knowing that she’s at peace with our God and has received her crown of glory,” Rouson said. “I imagine her communing with the spirits of those she studied so fervently and taught us about so passionately.”
Former President Barack Obama wrote a letter to the Thompson family.
“Geraldine was a model of the best kind of public service, the kind that’s driven by a heart for justice that builds up communities, and that isn’t swayed by flattery or the pursuit of power,” Sen. Tracie Davis said, reading the letter.
“I have no doubt that Geraldine’s trailblazing legacy will live on through all those she impacted during her time on this earth. While there are no words that can ease your grief, I hope that the support of your friends and loved ones and the outpouring from your community brings you some comfort as you navigate the days ahead.”
Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith served with Thompson in the House and Senate. He recalled the late senator supporting diversity and inclusion.
“Personally, to me, like for so many of you, she was a friend, a friend who was there with her daughter Elizabeth for Jerick and my wedding; she was an ally who rode shotgun in a convertible with us in colorful attire during a recent Orlando Pride parade to show her support for diversity and inclusion,” Smith said.
Sen. Jason Pizzo, whose desk in the chamber is next to Thompson’s, recalled her ability to earn the respect of all people and the way she drew people’s attention.
“I remember talking to your wife,” Pizzo said, addressing Emerson Thompson. “We were halfway through a conversation about something. I said, ‘Geraldine you could me the nutritional facts off the side of a Cheerios box, and it just has that gravitas.’”
The Orlando lawmaker’s first legislative term was nearly 20 years ago, when she was elected to the House in 2006. Six years later, she was elected to the Senate. Following an unsuccessful congressional run in 2016, she returned to the House in 2018 and to the Senate in 2022.
Thompson attended Miami-Dade Community College, the University of Miami, and Florida State University. She was a teacher in Orange County before starting a 24-year career as an administrator at Valencia Community College.
Gov. Ron DeSantis directed flags to fly at half staff at the Capitol and in Orange County on Thursday.
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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
The post Geraldine Thompson remembered for her ‘perfect blend of grace and strength’ appeared first on floridaphoenix.com
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