A 7 percent upward adjustment in this year’s orange crop estimate is good news for growers, but Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam warns it’s nothing to write home about.
Putnam cites steep budget cuts and layoffs at the Florida Citrus Commission as an example of an industry on the ropes.
“The bottom line is that the crop is a fraction of what it was a decade ago. And until we have long-term relief from citrus greening, we’re witnessing the not-so slow decline of Florida’s signature crop.”
Federal officials now say the yield for 2015-2016 will reach 81 million boxes. But disease, drought and development have decimated the industry and cut deeply into the number of acres still in production. Ten years ago, the yield was 242 million boxes.
