Hurricane Idalia’s Florida ag losses now pushing $447M

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Hurricane Idalia’s Florida ag losses now pushing $447M

A preliminary estimate by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services puts total crop and infrastructure losses caused by Hurricane Idalia at an estimated $447.9 million.

A previous estimate, released Sept. 21 by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), put damages at $370.9 million.

Losses for non-citrus fruits and tree nuts were  roughly $2.6 million, while vegetables and melons saw damages of $60.6 million, the report says.

Additionally, an estimated 444,300 acres of field crops were affected in Florida. Approximately 54,000 acres of fruits and vegetables received the impact of the strong storm winds.


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According to the University of Florida, the estimated value of production on the affected acreages is valued at $313,600,000.

However, Florida’s citrus sector, which was previously  extensively impacted by adverse weather and citrus greening, didn’t report any new major damage from Idalia.

These estimates are based on data from the UF-IFAS Preliminary Assessment of Hurricane Idalia, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Florida Census of Agriculture, USDA My Market News, Timber Damage Estimates prepared by the Florida Forest Service, and the early communication conducted by FDACS with industry leaders and individual producers.

During the emergency, 16 counties were listed as disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

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