Why Florida citrus is showing signs of stability

Could the plight of the Florida orange be coming to an end? The U.S. Department of Agriculture says there has been stabilization in the citrus industry following years of production decline. To learn more about the status of the citrus industry, we are now joined by a fourth generation citrus grower, Paul Meador. He is the citrus commissioner for Collier and Hendry counties and the president of Everglades Harvesting. Mr. meador, thank you so much for joining us today from your office in Belle Glade. Thank you. Good morning. Now, this year, Florida's orange production is estimated at 12 million boxes, which would be comparable to last year's season. What are some of the ways the citrus industry has stabilized? Well, I think the first thing is we've been blessed with good weather. This past year, we did not have a hurricane or any real tropical depressions that caused any, any harm to our industry, which was extremely helpful. But in addition to that, we have some therapies available to us now that have have really helped stabilize the industry as a whole. What are some of those therapies you mentioned? So we have an injection, that is placed directly into the flow, of the tree by drilling a hole. That is, having a direct effect on the bacterial load inside the tree. So that remedy by itself or that therapy by itself has made a substantial change, in our ability to keep trees alive. That last year, you spoke with us and you talked about the potential use of individual protective covers to help protect young trees. Can you update us on any other technologies being used now to help boost the citrus output? Well, certainly that's a was a big step. It sounds relatively simple, simplicity, but it has been a, real, advantage for citrus growers planting young trees to use these bags to protect the trees from everything from deer eating the foliage to caterpillars. And then our real serious problem, which was citrus psyllid. It keeps them from affecting those young trees, allows those trees to get off to a really good start. And the extra warmth that it creates is good for cold weather, which is what we experienced a month ago and and may very well experience again in the morning. But it also it keeps the trees warm and allows them to grow more months out of the year. And so that's, that's that by itself has been fantastic. In addition to that, we also have, potentially have some trees that, the research community has developed that are more tolerant of the disease. And, those trees are being planted now, being grown in the nurseries. And we hope that that will be the future of the industry. How important are seasonal migrant workers to the success of farming and has recent immigration enforcement efforts impacted your ability to find enough workers for harvesting? So I think, in Florida, because of the construction and, and, resort, industries, our labor pool was depleted a number of years ago, decades ago. So most growers in the state of Florida are using the H-2a program, which is the only legal method of bringing, foreign workers into the United States to work in agriculture. So, Florida has been pretty stable at least the citrus industry has been had a pretty stable labor pool, for a number of years using that program. And last year, Lee county's largest grower, Elko Incorporated, left the citrus business altogether, turning its focus to land development. After enduring a terrible time in citrus, do you expect other citrus companies to sort of fold and give up as well? Well, you know, it's been a very, very difficult, two decades. Starting in 2004 with Hurricane Charley. At the same time fighting canker and then greening, following, the four hurricanes that took place, Charlie, Frances, Jane and Wilma. And then again, here we had Irma and, Ian. To follow. So it's been a very, very difficult, occupation for, for for this, for the farmer. And, so, we all understand what, growers have not continued to, to remain in the industry. It just unfortunately, just hasn't been sustainable for some. But some growers have been in the path of growth and have been able to, to use their land for other purposes. Some growers have been in an area where they might be able to convert to sugarcane or maybe some other crop, maybe strawberries. But there are a lot of growers in the state of Florida that their land is truly citrus land. And I think those growers, are either not still in the industry or they're just pausing, waiting to get back into the industry as the science community catches up with, with what we need. Aliko, incorporated. President John Kiernan said that growing citrus is no longer economically viable for us in Florida. Now, as a fourth generation citrus farmer yourself, what is your perspective on on this? And certainly John's organization is very large. It's a big ship to steer and, was they were faced with some very difficult, decisions to make, and they suffered the grunt or the brunt of, of all the hurricanes I mentioned, which did significant structural damage to, their operations. And, I can see how that would be overwhelming. So that that just has to be a business decision that every individual makes. Hopefully small, Florida growers or multi-generational growers like myself or will be able to find a way to continue going forward and reestablish, a really wonderful industry with a lot of history. Now, Florida Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody last year teamed up to introduce legislation that defends domestic orange juice production. What else would you like to see from both a state and federal level to help citrus growers? Well, we are so blessed to have, legislators that are so supportive of our industry. We have exhausted them with our needs over two decades. And, now that the science community, I think has caught up with many of our problems. I think that, we we just need to remain thankful for what they've done. If they can continue just a little bit longer to support us as they're doing. We're almost there. So, no, I can't think of anything. Additionally, we could ask from them, if they can just hang in there a little bit longer. We're almost there. Now, you told me you used to produce 1 million boxes of citrus every year, and last year you produced just 100,000 boxes. What hope do you have for the citrus industry in Florida? Well, certainly there's some acreage that may never become an orange grove ever again, whether it have houses on it or some other conversion. Maybe it's solar panels, but for the remaining acreage, I hope that, the yields that these new trees, produce will be better. And, and, the infrastructure that we've had for so many years, will remain, there for us to, to support. So, I think, to all the things are aligning to make for a really, a really positive, industry again in the very near future. And I hope that answers your question. Yes. You have hope, which is wonderful. And, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing with us your expertise and your insight. Thank you very much for having me.