Irma Deals Devastating Blow to Florida Ag

Hurricane Irma may have destroyed half of Florida’s $800 million citrus crop and 70 percent of ground crops.

Overall losses to agriculture, which is the state’s second biggest industry, are estimated in the billions of dollars.

“Agriculture took it on the chin,” said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

Most severely impacted was southwest Florida. The Florida Farm Bureau said that farmers who had already planted fall vegetables, including tomatoes, reported a near-total loss. In Okeechobee County alone, the Farm Bureau estimates a $16 million loss. Producers also expect a diminished sugarcane harvest.

In addition to flooding root systems and downing trees, Irma made it impossible for farmers to access their land and cattle in the days after the storm.

Flooding blocked access to fields and groves and limited access to pastures. As far north as Putnam County, west of St. Augustine, vegetable growers could not enter their fields.

Blueberry producers from south-central Florida north to Gainesville also saw their acres transformed into lakes or muddy bogs, the bureau said.

Sources: Farm Progress, Wall Street Journal