Report: Hurricane Ian farm loss could reach $1.56B
A new report finds preliminary agriculture losses in Florida from Hurricane Ian’s high winds and drenching rains could reach $1.56 billion, with citrus, cattle, vegetable and melon operations hit the hardest
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Agriculture losses in Florida from Hurricane Ian's high winds and drenching rains could reach $1.56 billion, with citrus, cattle, vegetable and melon operations among the hardest hit, the University of Florida reported Tuesday in a preliminary estimate.
The school's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences said there could be many impacts that are yet to emerge from flooded acreage and depend in part on whether some damaged crops can be replanted to salvage some of the winter vegetable growing season.
“There's still a lot of uncertainty,” said Christa Court, an economist and director of economic analysis for the institute. “The effects can be very different in a single location.”
The estimated losses this year are for a high scenario of $1.56 billion and a low potential loss of about $787 million. That's in an area of Florida where total agricultural production is valued at more than $8 billion on an annual basis, according to the report.
