TheVoiceOfJoyce Though Florida farmers are cautiously optimistic, the citrus crops in Florida have been on the decline since the 1990’s . In the 1990’s, Florida produced 200 m 90 Lb boxes of Oranges. This year, the Citrus industry will produce 41 m boxes of oranges and next year 16 million. Why the drop in produce? Weather events and an Asian insect that eats the leaves and produces stunted bitter fruit. How many industries, jobs and lives must we sacrifice to “Big Oil & Gas”? Everyone else’s life and livelihood is compromised, as long as we stubborn support the Fossil Fuel Industry. Moving forward takes courage and it’s not just words.

Posted on by jaslvr

www.theguardian.com/science/2023/feb/13/florida-orange-juice-record-prices-weather-disease

Florida’s woes have opened up an opportunity for Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of orange juice. Orange juice shipments from that country were up 58% in the first four months of this season as Florida oranges saw a small yield.

Over the last decade the state has ramped up efforts to protect its industry, which is vulnerable to extreme weather events like hurricanes and has been experiencing a pandemic of its own through a prolific citrus disease.

The citrus industry was once the dominant industry in the state, a role that now belongs to tourism, but the citrus industry still covers 375,000 acres (151,757 hectares) in the state and supports over 32,000 jobs, bringing in economic contributions of about $6.6bn (£5.48bn), according to the University of Florida.

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