Major Florida grower to end citrus operations after years of hurricanes and tree disease A major grower said this week it was abandoning its citrus growing operations, reflecting the headwinds Florida's signature crops are facing following a series of hurricanes and tree diseases.
The impact of Hurricanes Irma in 2017,Ian in 2022 and Milton in 2024 on trees already weakened from years of citrus greening disease "has led Alico to conclude that growing citrus is no longer economically viable for us in Florida,” said John Kiernan, Alico’s president and CEO.
Florida’s citrus production has been declining for the past two decades because of citrus disease and some growers have been looking for alternative uses of their land.
The Fort Myers-based company owns 53,371 acres (21,598.5 hectares) across eight counties in Florida and 48,700 acres (19,708 hectares) of oil, gas and mineral rights in the state.
Alico Inc. announced Monday that it planned to wind down its citrus operations after the current crop is harvested later this year.
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