Report: Hurricane Ian farm loss could hit $1.56B in Florida

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Agriculture losses in Florida from Hurricane Ian’s high winds and drenching rains could reach $1.56 billion, with citrus, cattle, vegetable and melon operations among the hardest hit, the University of Florida reported Tuesday in a preliminary estimate.

The school’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences said there could be many impacts that are yet to emerge from flooded acreage and depend in part on whether some damaged crops can be replanted to salvage some of the winter vegetable growing season.

“There’s still a lot of uncertainty,” said Christa Court, an economist and director of economic analysis for the institute. “The effects can be very different in a single location.”

The estimated losses this year are for a high scenario of $1.56 billion and a low potential loss of about $787 million. That’s in an area of Florida where total agricultural production is valued at more than $8 billion on an annual basis, according to the report.

“It’s not completely devastating to the entire agriculture industry in the state,” Court said during an online news conference. “Some of the seasons were just getting started.”

Hurricane Ian swept ashore Sept. 28 in southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm with winds estimated at 155 mph, then bisected the center of the state, where most agricultural production is located. About 5 million acres of farmland were affected by the storm, according to the UF report.

Before the storm, citrus production in Florida was already forecast to drop by a third compared with the year before, in part because of winter freezes and ongoing disease problems. Now, a primary source of orange juice for much of the nation will take another hit, with losses estimated at as much as $304.2 million.