Through an interview with Ellis Hunt Jr., Chairman of the Florida Citrus Commission, National Public Radio’s Kelly McEvers uncovers the impact of Hurricane Irma on this year’s citrus crops. Hunt, a citrus farmer himself, owns five thousand acres of citrus trees which did not fare well during the storm. In his interview, he revealed images of the trees uprooted, flooded, and bent. He goes on to elaborate that the images cannot capture the smell of stagnant water that is rotting the plant life below. Beyond the loss of grass, this year’s crop far from harvest floats on the water which feels more like thousands of dollars floating rather than unripe fruit. It becomes clear that South Florida and the area of the Indian River face the largest impact due to their flat geography. Water has laid stagnant for over ten days.
Economically, the impact of the future is uncertain. Farmers are unable to discern how crops with yield next year, but what they do know is a forty-six thousand employee industry has lost all of this year’s yield and investment. Estimates place the total loss of fifty to sixty percent; however, Hunt stays optimistic accrediting it to the resilience of citrus growers. McEvers asks Hunt about the loss of interest in orange juice and disease infections, but Hunt just replies with optimism (Florida’s Citrus Groves Hit Hard By Hurricane Irma).
While this is not the first devastating event in an agricultural sector I worry for these farmers. Traditionally, farmers receive economic assistance from the federal government, but with continued disinterest, in disaster relief, I fear farmers will be left on their own to recover from losing their entire source of income. Moreover, forty-six thousand people will be impacted with the no crops to harvest. These individuals are often immigrants with no governmental support and already face difficulties finding work, proper pay, and economic stability. Additionally, I worry about the future stability of crops. Future crop yields producing lower amounts will drive prices up in a market that has lost an interest in products such as orange juice. Furthermore, it is clear that climate change has forever changed the patterns of storms and hurricanes that hit Florida. What will future farmers and farm workers do in the case of multiple storms in one year such as we have already seen? What will become of farmers and farmworkers if back to back yearly crops are lost due to severe hurricanes? I can only hope that the optimism of citrus farmers keeps them adaptable to shift as the result of the impacts of climate change induced superstorms.
(February 2018)
Works Cited
“Florida’s Citrus Groves Hit Hard By Hurricane Irma.” NPR, NPR, 21 Sept. 2017,
www.npr.org/2017/09/21/552708262/floridas-citurs-groves-hit-hard-by-hurricane-irma. Accessed 27 Sept. 2017.
