Citrus Roundup

Season Ends on Satisfactory Note for Florida Growers

- TERESA SCHIFFER

SUMMER IS HERE and the citrus season is just wrapping up in Florida. All things considered, most growers and experts are satisfied with this season’s yield. Florida’s famous oranges are harvested from October through June, grapefruit gets shipped between September and June, and tangerines, tangelos, and temple oranges hit the markets from October to March. There were 67.65 million boxes of Florida oranges produced and marketed this year, which is down from 71 million just last year, but still a very respectable take.

We talked to Vic Story of the Story Companies, a local conglomerate that manages, harvests, and markets over 7,000 acres’ worth of fruit in Central and South Florida, to get some insight on this year’s citrus harvest. As a family of grove owners and caretakers since 1945, the Storys have seen their fair share of harvests and know the ups and downs of the industry.

“This year’s citrus harvest,” Story tells us, “for us personally, it was pretty good. The earlies were up from the year before, and Valencias were mixed. Some were up and some were down.” The Storys primarily grow Valencia oranges, with a small block of grapefruit for a particular client.