Latest news with #Shepp
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Florida orange juice production drops amid crop disease, low demand
In its juicy heyday, a glass of orange juice was a staple of a healthy breakfast. Orange crops flourished in Florida — the "Orange State." Shannon Shepp, executive director of the state's Department of Citrus, agrees those were the "good old days," but she also knows nostalgia is no nutrient to grow a sunny future. While some industries have supply issues and some have demand issues, oranges have both. Right now, supply is the greater challenge, Shepp said, due to a "terminal disease" that's been affecting citrus trees for two decades. Citrus greening is a bacterial infection spread by an Asian bug. It has blighted the state's orange industry, and although research is ongoing, there's no cure. Over the last 20 years, production in Florida orange groves has plummeted 92%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Demand for orange juice hit an all-time low last year, and this year is projected to be no better. Over the years, consumer tastes changed. Concerns about sugar content have far fewer Americans drinking orange juice. At the industry's peak in the late 1990s, Florida produced 240 million boxes of oranges, according to the USDA. Last year, just 17 million boxes were produced, Shepp said. "It's a huge drop. We hold our breath on every crop forecast," she added. This year's crop looked promising for farmers like Christian Spinosa, whose family's fifth-generation farm spans 800 acres. But last October, Hurricane Milton killed 40% of his Valencia oranges. And now, there's a new threat: tariffs targeting Canada, the major importer of Florida oranges. "Really it's our position that anybody who wants orange juice, we want them to have it," Shepp said. Still, a defiant Spinsoa is fighting to make sure his family farm has a sixth generation to run it. "Without a doubt, we can have America drinking orange juice. I don't envision a day where orange juice for breakfast is not a normal thing in America," Spinosa said. Sen. Rand Paul says he thinks Supreme Court will uphold the Alien Enemies Act for deportations George Clooney: The 2025 60 Minutes Interview Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal on their Broadway "Othello"
CBS News
25-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Florida orange juice production plummets amid crop disease, natural disasters and shrinking demand
In its juicy heyday, a glass of orange juice was a staple of a healthy breakfast. Orange crops flourished in Florida — the "Orange State." Shannon Shepp, executive director of the state's Department of Citrus , agrees those were the "good old days," but she also knows nostalgia is no nutrient to grow a sunny future. While some industries have supply issues and some have demand issues, oranges have both. Right now, supply is the greater challenge, Shepp said, due to a " terminal disease " that's been affecting citrus trees for two decades. Citrus greening is a bacterial infection spread by an Asian bug. It has blighted the state's orange industry, and although research is ongoing, there's no cure. Over the last 20 years, production in Florida orange groves has plummeted 92%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Demand for orange juice hit an all-time low last year, and this year is projected to be no better. Over the years, consumer tastes changed. Concerns about sugar content have far fewer Americans drinking orange juice. At the industry's peak in the late 1990s, Florida produced 240 million boxes of oranges, according to the USDA. Last year, just 17 million boxes were produced, Shepp said. "It's a huge drop. We hold our breath on every crop forecast," she added. This year's crop looked promising for farmers like Christian Spinosa, whose family's fifth-generation farm spans 800 acres. But last October, Hurricane Milton killed 40% of his Valencia oranges. And now, there's a new threat: tariffs targeting Canada, the major importer of Florida oranges. "Really it's our position that anybody who wants orange juice, we want them to have it," Shepp said. Still, a defiant Spinsoa is fighting to make sure his family farm has a sixth generation to run it. "Without a doubt, we can have America drinking orange juice. I don't envision a day where orange juice for breakfast is not a normal thing in America," Spinosa said.
CBS News
05-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Florida's struggling citrus industry asks for help from state lawmakers
TALLAHASSEE - Citrus growers called on lawmakers Tuesday to continue providing research and advertising money to help an industry that has seen production drop more than 90% in less than three decades. Otherwise, they cautioned that more of the roughly 1,500 remaining citrus growers in the state could exit the industry. Appearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday, Florida Citrus Mutual CEO and Executive Vice President Matt Joyner stressed the need to continue providing money for research in the long-running battle against deadly citrus greening disease. Meanwhile, Department of Citrus Executive Director Shannon Shepp focused on money for marketing. "We are admittedly an industry in need of your help on many levels," Shepp said. "I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't hearken the words of Henry Ford, that, 'Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping a clock to save time.'" "There will be a renaissance in this industry," Shepp added. "We need to maintain a market for these growers." With research occurring at places such as the University of Florida, Joyner said the goal is to stabilize the industry by putting into groves trees that are resistant to citrus greening, which is spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, a small insect that feeds on trees. "Losing the citrus industry is not an option," Joyner said. In addition to a $6.8 billion to $6.9 billion annual economic impact, Joyner argued that the 250,000 acres of citrus trees scattered throughout the state have other benefits, such as aquifer recharge and wildlife habitat. Florida citrus industry has seen production drop Florida produced 244 million boxes of oranges and 50 million boxes of grapefruit in 1998, when the industry was at its peak, according to Florida Citrus Mutual. As a comparison, the U.S. Department of Agriculture projected last month that Florida this growing season will produce 12 million boxes of oranges and 1.2 million boxes of grapefruit. Along with citrus greening, the industry has faced constant pressures from residential and commercial development and has been hit by hurricanes and winter freezes. Last month, Fort Myers-based Alico Inc., a major grower, announced it was getting out of the citrus business once the current crop is harvested. Alico President and Chief Executive Officer John Kiernan, in a prepared statement, told investors that after more than a century growing citrus "we must now reluctantly adapt to changing environmental and economic realities." Alico's decision is estimated to remove about 12 percent of the acres used in Florida for citrus. Florida budget impacts citrus growers The state budget for the current fiscal year, which runs through June 30, includes more than $47 million for the citrus industry. It includes $29 million for technologies to research, treat and prevent citrus greening. Another $9 million was earmarked for citrus marketing. Gov. Ron DeSantis late Sunday released a budget proposal for the 2025-2026 fiscal year that included $20 million for citrus research and what is known as the Citrus Health Response Program, with $7 million of the total going to the Department of Citrus. Lawmakers will consider DeSantis' proposal as they start piecing together a budget during the legislative session that will begin March 4. Senate Agriculture Chairman Sen. Keith Truenow, a Tavares Republican who founded Lake Jem Farms in Central Florida, suggested lawmakers could look into how citrus groves are assessed for property values. "Some of those things I think need to be tightened up so that they don't feel like they have to pay three or four times or five times the rate just to hold on to their property, when everyone knows that they're not going to hold it very long at that rate because they've already been losing money the last 20 years," Truenow said. Sen. Colleen Burton, a Lakeland Republican whose district includes key parts of the citrus industry, said the state needs to support growers "through the difficult times as much as we can." "My concern is that a reduction in growers, a reduction in participation by the growers we have, and all the work that both of your organizations do, is not healthy," Burton told Shepp and Joyner.
